India will launch a weather satellite next month with its heavy rocket, the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mk II), Indian space agency chief A.S. Kiran Kumar said in a meeting in Chennai.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch INSAT-3DR next month with its GSLV rocket, said Dr Kiran Kumar. He was speaking at the Madras Institute of Technology Alumni Association meeting held in Chennai.
He also said ISRO is targeting to increase the number of its satellite and rocket launches from the current six-eight per year to 12-18 per year.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) director K. Sivan said that ISRO will also be launching ScatSat — a weather monitoring and forecasting satellite — with the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV).
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, he said that the Indian satellite will be a co-passenger to an Algerian satellite.
“Both the satellites will be put into different orbits. So the fourth stage/engine of the rocket will be switched off after ejecting ScatSat first. Then after a gap of around 30 minutes, the engine will be switched on and put the Algerian satellite into its intended orbit,” Sivan said.
According to him, the year end is expected to see the launch of GSLV-Mk-III with communication satellite GSAT 19 weighing around 3.2 ton — the heaviest satellite to be lifted by an Indian rocket from the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh.
Dr Sivan also said ISRO will soon be testing its scramjet or air breathing engine for use future use to power Indian rockets.
The scramjet engine used only during the atmospheric phase of the rocket’s flight will help in bringing down the launch cost by reducing the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel.
Quelle: The Hindu
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Update: 31.07.2016
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Preparations on for August 28 launch of Indian weather satellite
Preparations for the launch of weather satellite INSAT-3DR with the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-MkII) next month are progressing at Sriharikota, officials said on Friday. "The weather satellite INSAT-3DR will be put into orbit by a GSLV rocket August end. Preparations for the launch are going on," P. Kunhi Krishnan, Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), told IANS. India's rocket port is located in SDSC in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It is learnt that the launch is tentatively slated for August 28. A senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS that the satellite is yet to reach the rocket port. Normally the satellites reach the rocket port around a couple of weeks before the launch date. "With improved shock absorbing aspects during the transit, nowadays Indian satellites are first sent to filling of fuel and then to the clean room. We have avoided one testing stage of the satellite and thereby cutting down the launch time," a senior ISRO official told IANS. "However foreign satellites that ISRO launches with its PSLV rockets will be tested in full without skipping even the first clean room," he added.
In September 2016, ISRO will launch ScatSat -- a weather monitoring and forecasting satellite -- with polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV).
The Indian satellite will be a co-passenger to an Algerian satellite.
Both the satellites will be put into different orbits. So the fourth stage/engine of the rocket will be switched off after ejecting ScatSat first. Then after a gap of around 30 minutes, the engine will be switched on and put the Algerian satellite into its intended orbit.
