@isro’s latest rocket, #SSLV, is geared for launch with the space agency aiming for an early Feb launch carrying three payloads. While the main payload will be #EOS7, the mission is also expected to launch #Janus1 from US' Antaris & an Indian sat. 1/n
The Earth observation satellite #SSLV is scheduled to carry will be in the small satellite class with its mass not exceeding 200kg, while the other two satellites sharing the ride will be smaller. 2/n
#SSLV can launch around 500kg sat in a 500km planar orbit and its key features — low cost, low turn-around time, flexibility to launch multiple sats, launch-on-demand, minimal infra requirements, etc,. — can make it a go-to LV for commercial launches in the future. 3/n
However, with its maiden developmental mission having failed to put the satellite in a desired orbit on August 7, 2022, the second developmental flight scheduled now will be critical for the launch vehicle. 4/n
@isro, sources indicated, could be carrying out more than two developmental flights of the new rocket before it is declared operational. And, the space agency has already indicated that SSLV would eventually be handed over to the industry for production. 5/n
And, unlike with the PSLV, where the contract with the industry — HAL-L&T consortium — is only for building the rocket, Isro is even likely to transfer technology with SSLV. 6/n
In another development, satellites from @OneWeb — the second batch the UK firm will be launching on an Indian LV (#GSLVMk3 or #LVM3) — should have arrived at SHAR as we speak. 7/n
This is OneWeb’s 2nd commercial mission using an Indian rocket after the first mission was carried out flawlessly by Isro, which was implementing a contract Space PSU @NSIL_India had with OneWeb. 8/n
On Jan 10, OneWeb confirmed successful deployment of 40 sat launched by @SpaceX & that launch was the firm’s 16th, with only a couple of more remaining to complete its first-generation constellation enabling global connectivity in 2023. 9/n
With 542 satellites now in orbit, OneWeb has more than 80% of its first-generation constellation launched and the LVM3 mission will add another 36 satellites to its constellation. (see attachment for story) n/n
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Had to be away. But here are some developments. More to follow later this evening or early tomorrow.
First, the #RLVTDLEX date will be fixed after the lifting trial is done. Isro will use Chinook as opposed to Mi17 as planned earlier. 1/n
@isro, which has received a key payload #VELC for #AdityaL1 today, has completed survey and radiation studies at Fiji Islands for a temporary station being designed specifically for the Solar mission, while exploration of other sites is ongoing. 2/n
Fiji Islands is one of the options being explored to support the observatory-class space-based solar mission wherein the spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around L1. A final decision on location will be taken later based on the exact mission profile of the mission. 3/n
@isro completed the first blow down test of the newly installed Trisonic Wind Tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the space agency’s lead rocket-building agency, on Thursday. 1/n
Trisonic Wind Tunnel is a system to aid aerodynamic design of rockets and re-entry spacecrafts by characterising a scaled model by evaluating forces, moments, load distribution, unsteady pressures, acoustic levels etc. 2/n
Arguing that this is a major step towards India’s increasing self-reliance in the aerospace sector, Isro said: “The tunnel has an overall length of about 160m and has a maximum cross section of 5.4m… 3/n
In line with its renewed mandate to hand hold and encourage private industry, @isro and @SocialAlphaIN have launched a new innovation platform for the space sector: SpaceTech Innovation Network or #SpIN. 1/n
This is India’s first dedicated platform for innovation curation & venture development for space entrepreneurial ecosystem. 2/n
“A one-of-its-kind public-pvt collaboration for space startups, SMEs, #SpIN is a step in providing stimulus to India’s space reform policies & will work towards identifying & unleashing mkt potential of most promising space tech innovators & entrepreneurs,” Isro said. 3/n
Today, @RRI_Bangalore (in pic) said in a first-of-its-kind work, using data from an Indian telescope, scientists have determined properties of radio luminous galaxies formed just 200-mn yrs after #BigBang — a period known as #CosmicDawn. 1/n
Pointing out that telescopes, both ground and space-based, are aiming to capture faint signals from the depths of the cosmos to better the understanding of our Universe, RRI said they used the Shaped Antenna measurement of the background RAdio Spectrum-3 (#SARAS3) telescope. 2/n
For the study, SARAS-3, indigenously designed and built at RRI, was deployed over Dandiganahalli Lake and Sharavathi backwaters, located in Karnataka, in early 2020 (see pic). 3/n
Space-tech start-up @AgnikulCosmos today said it has established India’s first launchpad designed and operated by a private player. The facility, situated at Sriharikota, was inaugurated by Isro chairman S Somanath on Nov 25. 1/n
The facility which was designed by Agnikul and executed with support from Isro and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) has two sections to it — the Agnikul launchpad (ALP) and the Agnikul mission control centre (AMCC). 2/n
“Critical systems connecting these two sections, which are 4km away from each other are redundant to ensure 100% operationality during countdown… 3/n
#Update Been under the weather the last couple of days. Another weekend, another key launch. A 3-in-1 mission for @isro on Nov 26: #PSLVC54 to launch 7 commercial, one diplomatic & 1 main national satellites.
#Thread to put things in one place, I may not be around tomorrow: 1/n
Last Friday, a private single-stage rocket became the first non-Isro launch vehicle to ever enter the space agency’s spaceport in Sriharikota, which already boasts of 620 launch missions, including sounding rockets (see image/doesn’t include #VikramS). 2/n
This Saturday, the main payload is a satellite for national objectives designed and developed for ocean studies, the Oceansat-3 or Earth observation Satellite-06 (EOS-06). This is part of a series of satellites from Isro dedicated to oceanography and atmospheric studies. 3/n