India has established itself as an Astrosat nation long ago and attempts are made to grab global attention by testing its first reusable launch vehicle next month. It would reduce the cost considerably and other nations may start hiring Indian expertise in launching their own satellites.
ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar said that the launch vehicle will land in ocean in its first attempt and later in the airstrip at Sriharikota. ISRO has plans of launching Astrosat, India’s first dedicated satellite for astronomy in September this year, and two satellites of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and three more IRNSS in subsequent years.
Country’s lunar mission will take three more years and Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is harvesting images which are being analysed.
India has a working agreement with NASA. French space agency CNES and UAE are also at discussion stage. UK’s Disaster Monitoring Constellation satellite will be launched next month.
ISRO also plans to distribute free Android based application “Sakaar” to empower school children to get a better understanding about MOM, PSLV, GLSV Mark III and INSAT 3D. The three-dimensional models he said, will help children understand space projects and India’s achievement in a better way. He concluded that India’s contribution to space debris is minimal.
