"The Indian Space Research Organisation [ISRO] will aim at launching between six and eight missions every year to meet its objectives in the areas of national development and space science" - ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan.
ISRO to replace computers on future satellites Stung by the finding that the failure of the Chandrayaan was mainly due to the malfunction of onboard computers, the Indian Space Research Organisation has decided to replace the processing units on all future satellites, including two scheduled for immediate launch. A decision to equip the Oceansat- 2 and GSat-4 with a new bus management unit (BMU) instead of the existing one has already been taken.
Indian Space Research Organisation will launch four foreign satellites this year as it seeks to make further inroads into the international satellite-building and launch services market in 2009. Two weeks ago, communication satellite, W2M, built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched by the European Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana.
The year 2008 was a golden year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with successes in both launch vehicle and spacecraft technologies. Capping them was the impeccable launch of Chandrayaan-1, Indias first mission to the moon on October 22 from Sriharikota, and the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) hitting the moons surface on November 14. India joined Russia, the U.S, Japan and the European Space Agency in the elite club of those who have impacted a probe on the moons surface.
ISRO Teams get IAA Team Achievement Awards The team from Indian Space Research Organisation which successfully realised the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) mission that launched CARTOSAT-2 as well as the team that deployed and recovered Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) have been awarded the prestigious Team Achievement Award of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). This Award was presented to the Teams on September 28, 2008 at Glasgow, Scotland, UK during the Academy Day organised as a part of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC).
After achieving the stupendous feat of launching 10 satellites into the orbit at one go through its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now planning to increase its commercial launches.
As part of an effort to increase its ability to map the country through satellite imaging, India plans to create a chain of nine earth observation satellites which will be used for civilian applications such as identifying potential fishing zones or mapping streets in cities. They will be placed in the so-called low earth orbit or around 700km above the earths surface by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). The agency will launch the satellites, also known as remote sensing satellites, over the next five years beginning June with Oceansat-2, a satellite that has devices that can track wind velocity on the surface of the sea and which can be used to identify fishing zones.
Indian space programme witnessed several major accomplishments and scaled newer heights in mastering space technology during the year. It is significant to note that the remarkable successes were the result of well-orchestrated programmes undertaken by the department aimed at achieving total self-reliance in this cutting edge technology solely through indigenous efforts and utilizing the expertise available within the organization. Some of the recent, important developments, were the successful orbiting and recovery of a space capsule from the Indian soil using our own launch vehicle, launching of the state of the art remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2 with better than one meter resolution, launching of a satellite exclusively for an European customer under a commercial contract, successful ground testing of indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage and fabrication and installation of a large antenna for providing tracking and command support for deep space missions in general and Chandrayaan-I, India's first un-manned lunar mission in particular.
Though the study of the atmosphere and space is one of the oldest sciences, man has never ceased to be curious about stellar and galactic properties and activities. Spearheaded by the US and the USSR, astronomical research has always been an important area of interest worldwide. Space science in India has been growing in leaps and bounds with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) focusing on moon research and India launching the AstroSat, a multi-wavelength astronomy satellite, next year.
"The making of satellites for communication, mapping and education are all part of India's space research programme. Recently, ISRO has also made plans for the lunar explorer, Chandrayaan" - Samir Dhurde, Scientific Assistant, IUCAA.
The IT revolution has also played a role in augmenting the progress in space science.