Mini-PSLV testflight only after Chandrayaan-2 moonlanding: Isro chief

NEW DELHI: Indian Space Research Organisation has delayed the test-flight of its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) or mini-PSLV, which was earlier planned in June-July.


Isro chairman K Sivan told TOI, “Our entire focus is now on the

Chandrayaan-2

mission. The SSLV testflight will now happen only after the Chandryaan-2 lands on Moon as per scheduled date on September 7.”
The SSLV, which can be assembled in just 3-5 days as compared to 30-40 days for a normal-size PSLV, will boost commercial launches as the SSLV is a vehicle-on-demand rocket and can carry payloads up to 500kg in the low-earth orbit.

Isro will first conduct 2-3 testflights of the SSLV, about which TOI first reported last year, and thereafter give the contract to private companies to build mini-PSLVs through its newly founded commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). The launch of a PSLV costs around Rs 150 crore while a mini-PSLV or SSLV can be made with just one-tenth of that cost.

On the moon mission, the Isro chairman said, “On August 14, trans-lunar insertion will be conducted (putting the craft into the lunar trajectory) and thereafter after six days, it will reach the lunar orbit on August 20. Further manoevures will then be conducted to lower the orbit of the craft.” On Wednesday, Isro conducted the first orbit-raising manoeuvres of Chandrayaan-2 out of the four it has planned for taking the craft out of the Earth’s gravitational pull.

“After Chandrayaan-2, the next launch will now be of Cartosat-3 satellite in October,” Sivan told TOI. Cartosat-3 is advanced version of Cartosat-2 series of remote sensing satellites with improved spatial and spectral characteristics. The satellite’s imaging payload will have a ground resolution of 0.25 m with 16 km swath in panchromatic mode. The Army used images from the earlier Cartosat series to plan the surgical strikes on terror launchpads in POK in 2016.

Sivan said Isro will conduct the Aditya solar mission, another interplanetary mission, in the middle of next year.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.