Indian Space Association

According to the Department of Space, in January 2014, the first successful flight with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage, in the GSLV-D5 launch vehicle was achieved and GSAT-14 was placed into GTO. Thereafter, in September 2014, India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully entered an orbit around planet Mars, putting India into a league of select nations which had sent a spacecraft to the Red Planet.

The space agency transferred its operational assets to NSIL and the latter also selected a consortium to make five PSLV-XL rockets. The private space startups also flew their satellites and rockets during the year under review, S. Somanath, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO told IANS.

"The countdown will begin three hours before the rocket's lift off. The rocket is expected to lift off at 11.30 a.m. on Friday. The countdown time is less as it is a small rocket," a senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS. Further, the single-stage rocket is powered with solid fuel which has also cut down the countdown time.

Jitendra Singh said that the non-government entity, startup Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd (SAPL) has developed the Vikram-suborbital (VKS) rocket, which is a single stage spin stabilised solid propellant rocket with mass of approx 550 kg. He said, the rocket goes to the max altitude of 101 km and splashes into the sea and the overall duration of launch is 300 seconds only.

"We will be flying the student satellite in the Vikram-S rocket. The fee for carrying the satellite is under discussion with Skyroot Aerospace. The satellite was built by students and in some cases with their grandparents," founder-CEO Srimathy Kesan told IANS.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could have done better in naming the rocket that will compete with the likes of Ariane, and Falcon rockets in the global market with a better name than the unimaginative LVM3 is the general view gleaned by IANS.

Speaking to the reporters here Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath said integration tests are happening with regard to the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. He said the space agency will look at June 2023 for the moon mission. The ISRO is also planning to have its mission to the sun with its satellite Aditya-L1, a coronagraphy spacecraft to study the solar atmosphere, an official told IANS.

India's heavy lift rocket the about 640 ton Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII (GSLV MkIII) was nicknamed as 'Bahubali' when it flew with the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft. On Sunday, the rocket renamed as LVM3 M2 will on a historic mission of carrying 36 OneWeb satellites weighing about six ton to sling them in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).