In the year 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved historic milestones in the arena of space exploration. Since its inception in 1969, ISRO has so far accomplished 125 spacecraft missions, 94 launch missions, 15 student satellites and 431 foreign satellites among its numerous successful endeavours. This year alone, ISRO has successfully carried out eight successful missions including the “universal history maker” Chandrayaan-3. Whether reaching the moon’s south pole or studying the sun, ISRO is achieving its diverse space ambitions that too in budgets less than Hollywood sci-fi movies.
SSLV-D2/EOS-07 Mission
On 10th February 2023, ISRO successfully launched its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)-SSLV-D2 and placed the Earth Observation Satellite-07 (EOS-07) and two co-passenger satellites — Janus-1 and AzaadiSat2 — in a 450-km circular orbit around the Earth. Designed and developed by ISRO, SSLVs offer a “launch-on-demand” facility for smaller satellites weighing up to 500 kg into low Earth orbit. SSLVs have proven to be a game-changer for ISRO in the small satellite launch market.
Designed and developed by ISRO, the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-07) weighing 153.6 kg is used in various applications such as Agriculture, Forestry & Plantation, Soil Moisture and hydrology and Flood mapping. In this mission, ISRO added two new experiments mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload. A detailed analysis of this mission can be read here.
OneWeb India-2 Mission
Consolidating its position in the market of commercial satellite launch, ISRO in March this year successfully placed 36 OneWeb satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) through its Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3) M3. Notably, this was the second time ISRO launched OneWeb’s satellites as in October 2022, ISRO successfully launched the LVM-3 M2 and placed 36 OneWeb satellites in the LEO under the OneWeb India-1 mission. Interestingly, this was LVM-3’s sixth consecutive successful flight.
It is worth noting that OneWeb Ltd (now merged with Eutelsat) is a UK-based customer of NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm and a worldwide communication network powered by space that enables governments and businesses to connect to the internet. Bharti Enterprises is a significant investor in OneWeb.
Notably, with the successful placement of 36 OneWeb India 2 satellites in low earth orbit, NSIL executed its contract with the UK-based company to launch 72 satellites. ISRO accomplished the target by launching 36 OneWeb satellites in December last year and another 36 in March 2023.
An interesting aspect of the Indian space agency launching OneWeb satellites was that initially not ISRO but Russia’s Roscosmos was supposed to launch the 72 satellites, however, as Russia entered into a war with Ukraine, the Russian authorities demanded that it would launch OneWeb satellites only after getting an assurance that it would not be used for military purposes against them and that the UK government would sell its stake. The UK, however, refused to fulfil Russia’s demands and thus OneWeb turned to India.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises and founder of Bharti Airtel while speaking at the recently held 7th edition of the India Mobile Congress said that satellite communication is now available in India and will serve the country and the world.
With this crucial technological leap in satellite communication India will usher into the era of increased interconnectivity with satellite communication linking even the most remote places, boosting development, and revolutionising the way the country communicates.
Mittal credited “ISRO’s intervention” for this momentous achievement as he said, “With your intervention, we were able to get two rockets GSLV Mk 3 from ISRO to launch 72 satellites last year.”
It is notable that Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) was formerly identified as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).
Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX)
In April this year, ISRO stepped closer to its ambition of having its own reusable space vehicle as the space agency conducted a successful test of RLV LEX, an autonomous winged spaceplane. The mission was carried out by ISRO in Karnataka’s Chitradurga on 2nd April 2023.
According to ISRO, the autonomous landing was performed under the identical conditions as a Space Re-entry vehicle landing – high speed, unmanned, accurate landing from the same return path — as if the vehicle arrived from space. Landing characteristics such as ground relative velocity, Landing Gear sink rate, and precise body rates, as experienced by an orbital re-entry spaceship on its return course, were obtained.
The RLV LEX made use of various cutting-edge technology, including precise navigation hardware and software, a pseudolite system, a Ka-band Radar Altimeter, a NavIC receiver, indigenous landing gear, aerofoil honeycomb fins, and a brake parachute system. Moreover, for the first time ever, a winged body was carried to an altitude of 4.5 km by a helicopter and released to carry out an autonomous landing on a runway.
PSLV-C55 TeLEOS-2 Mission
In another successfully undertaken commercial mission by NSIL, the Indian space agency launched two Singaporean satellites TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4 through its reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on April 22 this year. The satellites weighing 741 kg and 16 kg respectively were placed in orbit. In addition to the primary and co-passenger satellites, the PSLV-C55 TeLEOS-2 Mission also included the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) carrying out experiments with seven payloads attached to its PS4 upper stage. Notably, this was the 57th flight of PSLV and the 16th mission using the PSLV Core Alone configuration (PSLV-CA).
The core alone (CA) model of PSLV was first launched in April 2007 when ISRO successfully launched its first commercial flight placing the Italian satellite Agile into orbit. In the CA model, six strap-on boosters are not used as is the case in the standard configuration of PSLVs. Moreover, PSLV-CA is less propellant.
GSLV-F12 NVS-01 Mission
On May 29, ISRO successfully placed the NVS-01 navigation satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The NVS-01 satellite is the first in a series of second-generation satellites planned for Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) services. This series of satellites is aimed at assisting and enhancing the NavIC with improved capabilities. Notably, the NVS-01 carried an indigenous atomic clock for the first time. Along with the Ranging payload, it carried Navigation payloads.
#WATCH | Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), launches its advanced navigation satellite GSLV-F12 and NVS-01 from Sriharikota.
— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2023
(Video: ISRO) pic.twitter.com/2ylZ8giW8U
According to ISRO, NavIC’s key applications included terrestrial, aerial, and maritime navigation, precision agriculture, geodetic surveying, emergency services, fleet management, location-based services in mobile devices, satellite orbit determination, marine fisheries, power grids, strategic and government agencies, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications.
Chandrayaan-3: India’s journey to the south of the moon
On 23rd August 2023, India scripted history by demonstrating its unparalleled capability of soft-landing on the south pole of the moon. With Vikram lander touching the lunar south pole at around 6:04 PM IST, India became the first nation to achieve this spectacular feat. ISRO’s accomplishment garnered global appreciation as the Indian space agency’s achievement holds the capability to bring about significant positive changes in the lives of people across the world.
Chandrayaan-3 was the follow-up mission Chandrayaan-2. It comprised of Lander and Rover configuration. Chandrayaan-3 was launched by LVM3 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The mission’s goals included demonstrating a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, as well as roving on the moon and conducting in-situ scientific experiments. A detailed report on what is so “special” about the lunar south pole can be read here.
Making a significant discovery, the presence of sulphur in the region was “unambiguously” confirmed by the Rover’s Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument. Other elements detected in the study included aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon, and oxygen.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) August 29, 2023
In-situ scientific experiments continue …..
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Rover unambiguously confirms the presence of Sulphur (S) in the lunar surface near the south pole, through first-ever in-situ measurements.… pic.twitter.com/vDQmByWcSL
Upholding the Hindu beliefs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 26 announced that the touchdown point of the Chandrayaan-3 moon lander will be renamed as ‘Shiv Shakti Point’. When the Chandrayaan-2 mission failed, India did not lose hope although it was a moment when the whole nation cried but stood rock solid with ISRO. This support and strength was demonstrated by Prime Minister Modi who embraced K Sivan, the former ISRO chief as he broke into tears following the crash landing of Chandrayaan 2 in 2019. With the success of Chandrayaan 3, India showed the world, that there is no bigger motivation than failure.
PSLV-C56/DS-SAR Mission
In July this year, ISRO successfully launched the PSLV-C56 carrying Singapore’s DS-SAR satellite including six other satellites from SDSC SHAR in Sriharikota. Notably, the core-alone model PSLV-C56 launched a DS-SAR satellite weighing 360 kg satellite into a Near-equatorial Orbit (NEO). The Singaporean satellite was launched with the objective to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the Government of Singapore. DS-SAR included an Israel Aerospace Industries manufactured Space Aperture Radar (SAR).
Aditya L-1 Mission
After Chandrayaan-3 created history by landing near the moon’s south pole, ISRO launched India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on September 2. It has seven payloads that will undertake extensive research on the sun. Four of these seven payloads will research solar light, while the remaining three will examine plasma and magnetic field parameters in real-time.
PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) September 2, 2023
The launch of Aditya-L1 by PSLV-C57 is accomplished successfully.
The vehicle has placed the satellite precisely into its intended orbit.
India’s first solar observatory has begun its journey to the destination of Sun-Earth L1 point.
After reaching its destination 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, Aditya-L1 would be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1). The journey is projected to take four months to complete. Aditya-L1 would orbit the Earth facing the Sun at a distance of around 1.5 million kilometres, or 1% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Aditya L-1 has completed four earth-bound manoeuvres. According to ISRO, the spacecraft has escaped the sphere of Earth’s influence, on its way to the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1.
The objectives of the mission included the study of the upper atmospheric dynamics (chromospheres and corona) of the Sun, the study of the chromospheric and coronal heating, the physics of the partially ionised plasma and the initiation of coronal mass ejections and flares. Moreover, the mission also aimed to observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment, providing data for studying particle dynamics from the Sun. OpIndia report on Aditya L-1 mission, its objectives, significance and other specifics can be read here.
Moving forward relentlessly to accomplish its diverse space ambitions, ISRO is preparing for unmanned flight tests of the mission’s ‘crew escape system’. The Indian space agency recently announced that it will soon commence the unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission as the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is in the final stages of preparation.
Mission Gaganyaan:
— ISRO (@isro) October 7, 2023
ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission.
Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway.https://t.co/HSY0qfVDEH @indiannavy #Gaganyaan pic.twitter.com/XszSDEqs7w
ISRO will launch a crew of two to three members into a circular orbit 400 kilometres above Earth as part of the Gaganyaan project. The mission will take one to three days and will focus on assuring their safe return to Earth.
ISRO is making India a prominent global force and making India proud with their persistent endeavours to propel India to the top of the space exploration and commercial satellite launch markets.
