Everything about ISRO and the Indian Space Program. Regular updates, news, pictures, and more. (This account is NOT affiliated with ISRO)
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๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ต ๐ก๐ฉ๐ฆ-๐ฌ๐ฏ (๐ก๐ฎ๐๐๐) ๐ถ๐ป ๐ข๐ฐ๐ ๐ญ๐ฑ-๐ฎ๐ฌ, ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ-๐๐ญ๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐!
Just 2 weeks after their last launch, ISRO has begun the launch campaign of their next mission to rescue India's NavIC constellation! ๐
NVS-03, weighing in at 2.2 tons, is the 3rd satellite in the 2nd generation of India's satellite navigation constellation 'NavIC'.
It will be launched into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) on a GSLV rocket, after which the satellite will use its on board propulsion to enter into a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO).
So far, the first stage of the GSLV-F18 vehicle has been stacked, with its launch expected to take place between October 15-20, 2026.
This is going to be a crucial mission as out of the total 11 satellites launched till date in the 1st & 2nd generations of NavIC, only 3 remain currently operational due to mass failures of imported Swiss atomic clocks on 1st gen sats and the failure of NVS-02 (2nd gen) to reach GEO.
As a result, the constellation currently does not fulfill its minimum 4 satellite requirement to stay operational and remains in a defunct state.
If successful, NVS-03 will finally bring NavIC back into service by adding the 4th active satellite in the constellation!
This is also going to be the 5th-to-last launch of the GSLV rocket.
ALT This image is from the previous GSLV-F17 mission and has been used only for representative purpose.
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Source:
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/โฆ
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๐ฐ First launch of Reliance Jio's satellite internet constellation in Sept, 2027! ๐
Reliance Jio, that has been developing a 1,600-satellite constellation for delivering high-speed internet, is now planning to launch their first mission in September next year!
In that first mission, they will launch a small number of satellites to validate their systems and hardware.
From there onwards, the roadmap will be as follows โ
โข 90-100 total satellites by Q2, 2028, internet coverage across India.
โข 400-450 satellites by 2030.
โข Completed constellation having 1,600 satellites by 2035, global coverage.
The constellation will operate in Low Earth Orbit at an altitude of 650 km.
Once the constellation is complete, India will have 30-32 satellites over it at all times, with each satellite delivering 100-150 Gbps throughput, adding up to a total of 4-4.8 Terabits per second!
This is higher than the 600 Gbps that SpaceX Starlink has approval for, and the 3 Tbps over India that Amazon Leo has applied for.
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Source:
m.economictimes.com/industryโฆ
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๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฆ-๐ฌ๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐
4 days after launch on GSLV-F17, ISRO's EOS-05 (GISAT-1A) satellite has completed its third & final orbit raise maneuver at 8:57 pm IST tonight, finally entering into a circular Geostationary orbit! ๐
During this maneuver, the satellite fired its Liquid Apogee Motor thruster for 20 min 47 sec, raising its perigee from ~20,000 km to 34,903 km.
ISRO reported the satellite is healthy and working as expected, with its current orbit measuring 34,903 km ร 35,884 km and the satellite located at the 85.5ยฐ East longitude slot.
The satellite is expected to be in service for >9 years, extended from its originally planned 7 year mission duration.
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๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฆ-๐ฌ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ!
At 7:00 PM IST tonight, the EOS-05 spacecraft performed a 338.9 second burn with its Liquid Apogee Motor thruster and raised its apogee from 31,121 km to 35,786 km (Geostationary altitude)! ๐ฅ
Next, the satellite will raise its perigee which is currently at ~20,000 km, to match the apogee and enter a circular 35,786 km Geostationary orbit, at which point EOS-05 will have reached its destination. ๐
ISRO has reported that the satellite is healthy and performing as expected.
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๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฆ-๐ฌ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ!
The EOS-05 satellite, which was launched into Sub-GTO yesterday, has fired up its thrusters for the first time and raised its perigee from 171 km to 20,000 km! ๐ฅ
The engine was fired for a duration of 5406.4 seconds and was completed at 8:19 PM IST tonight.
This is the first in a series of planned maneuvers that will raise the orbit of EOS-05 into a circular ~35,786 km geostationary orbit.
Even though this is a routine maneuver for any geostationary satellite, ISRO's previous geostationary mission i.e. NVS-02 (which used the same I-2K satellite bus as EOS-05) had failed to ignite its engine after being launched successfully and was left stranded in its transfer orbit which led to a failed mission and is the reason ISRO's NavIC constellation remains in a defunct state today.
For this reason, the normal performance of the engine on EOS-05 is a positive milestone for ISRO.
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๐จ ๐ฆ๐-๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ณ๐๐น๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ% ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ! ๐ฅ
ISRO has successfully conducted the first hot fire test of their Kerolox SE-2000 (formerly, SCE-200) engine Power Head Test Article (PHTA) at its full 2,000 kN (200 ton) thrust level today at IPRC, Mahendragiri!
This was the 9th test of SE-2000 PHTA. Previously, it has been tested at 47% (94 ton), 60% (120 ton) and 88% (175 ton) thrust, and this was the first time it was tested at the 100% (200 ton) thrust level.
Today's complete test lasted for 35 seconds, where the engine was fired at 100% thrust for 5 seconds.
Additionally, ISRO also tested switching over of propellant supply from a low pressure tank to a medium pressure tank to validate the engine performance for subsequent longer duration hot fires!
SE-2000 will power ISRO's upcoming SC120 stage which is being developed to replace LVM3's hypergolic L110 stage alongside replacement of LVM3's C25 cryogenic stage with the mkre powerful C32 stage, as part of the LVM3 upgrade program to enhance its payload capacity.
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Also check out our earlier graphic explaining the LVM3 Upgrade Program ๐
#ISRO's LVM3 rocket is on the verge of a big transformation, where its core stage & upper stage will be replaced by new stages! ๐
This will be done to upgrade LVM3's performance for missions like CH-4 & BAS launches.
Here's our graphic comparing the present & upgraded LVM3 ๐
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๐จ IT'S OFFICIAL:
ISRO Chairman Dr. V Narayanan has confirmed that due to GSLV's extra performance, the mission life of EOS-05 is increased to >9 years from its planned 7 years! ๐
๐จ GSLV performs better than expected, EOS-05 mission life likely to increase! ๐ฅ
GSLV-F17 was supposed to place EOS-05 into a transfer orbit with an apogee of 28,934 km. However, GSLV's cryogenic third stage performed better than expected, achieving an apogee of 31,026 km!
Being a Geostationary satellite, EOS-05 would ideally be launched into an elliptical 170 ร 35,786 km Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), from where it would use its own propellant and thrusters to raise its perigee and eventually enter a circular Geostationary Orbit (GEO).
However, at 2,367 kg, EOS-05 is heavier than the 2,250 kg maximum mass GSLV can deliver to GTO.
Therefore, for this mission, GSLV's third stage was made to fire until all propellant is exhausted (burn to depletion), sending the satellite the furthest it could.
ISRO had estimated an apogee of 28,934 km i.e. lower than GTO altitude, hence the term Sub-GTO. EOS-05 would then use its own propulsion system to raise its apogee to GTO altitude before continuing its journey to GEO.
But GSLV achieved an apogee +2,092 km higher than expected!
This means EOS-05 will need to use less of its own propellant to reach GTO, leaving more propellant available once it reaches GEO.
This extra propellant can then be used for stationkeeping and attitude control, likely extending EOS-05's planned 10-year mission life!
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