‘2024 will be a Gaganyaan year’: ISRO chief
ISRO Chairman S Somnath on Monday stated that 2024 will be the year when Gaganyaan will be ready, with numerous drop and rating tests related to the mission.
Sriharikota: After ringing in the new year with the successful launch of India’s first mission and its readiness, stressing that the year is ‘moving towards the Gaganyaan year’. “2024 will be the year when Gaganyaan will be ready… Besides, we will have a helicopter-based drop test to prove the parachute systems, multiple drop tests will be conducted. We will also conduct many hundreds of rating tests. So it will be a Gaganyaan year. In addition, we will launch GSLV,” he said during the press conference.
#WATCH | ISRO chairman S Somnath says, “2024 will be the year when Gaganyaan is ready… Besides, we will have a helicopter-based drop test to prove the parachute systems, there will be multiple drop tests. We will also conduct many hundreds of rating tests. That’s how it is… pic.twitter.com/T3VAqloXng
— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2024
He further informed about other plans of the Indian Space Agency that it is pursuing this year. he stated that the space agency plans to fly at least twelve to fourteen missions within twelve months. “Only in twelve months’ time (in 2024) will we have to have at least twelve missions on target. It could be bigger depending on our ability to produce hardware, run the tests and if everything goes well. If things don’t go well, it can have consequences. Otherwise, we will prepare for at least 12 to 14 missions…,” Somanath said.
What is Gaganyaan Mission
The Gaganyaan mission is India’s first manned space mission developed at a cost of Rs 90 billion. Under this mission, ISRO plans to send three people to a 400 km orbit for three days and return them safely to Earth. Before humans are sent into space, test missions include the Integrated AirDrop Test, the Pad Abort Test and Test Vehicle flights to ensure their safety. The Indian Space Agency will send humans into space only after ensuring their safety.
XpoSat
The Indian Space Agency on Monday launched the XPoSat, its primary payload and ten other satellites were launched into low Earth orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota at 9:10 am.
It is the second mission of its kind in the world. Notably, the US space agency NASA launched Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in 2021 to perform X-ray polarization measurements within the soft X-ray band. On the other hand, ISRO’s satellite, which will carry two payloads, POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing), will operate within the medium X-ray band. According to the Indian Space Agency, POLIX will observe around 40 bright astronomical sources of different categories, while XSPECT will study the electromagnetic spectrum generated by different matter.
The spacecraft will study neutron stars in new light and black holes while trying to gather information about some of the most mysterious features in the universe.
Objectively
The mission’s objectives are multifaceted, including conducting long-term spectral and temporal studies, measuring the polarization of X-rays originating from cosmic sources and understanding the distribution of magnetic fields, while investigating the nature of accelerators in galactic cosmic X-ray sources is being studied.
Other loads
The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, or POEM, also carries several experimental satellites from other private space companies. It is worth noting that it is the used fourth stage of the launch vehicle that would serve as an orbital platform for conducting scientific experiments with non-separating payloads.