Undeterred by failures, he and his colleagues are drawing lessons from Chandrayaan-2, which ended in September last year after a software glitch caused the lander Vikram to crash-land on the moon.
In an exclusive interview, Sivan talked to THE WEEK about the missions ahead. Chandrayaan-3 will reattempt a soft-landing on the moon next year; Gaganyaan, India’s first manned space mission, is on schedule; and Aditya L1, ISRO’s first mission to study the sun, will help scientists analyse the sun’s corona.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q/ What are ISRO’s major projects and missions this year?
A/ The small satellite launch vehicle (GSAT-20) is the first development flight this year. GSAT-20 is a high-throughput satellite that will provide high bandwidth connectivity to rural and remote areas of the country, such as the northeast. It will also facilitate flight connectivity.
The other major project is the Aditya L1 mission. Then there is the launch of IDRSS (Indian Data Relay Satellite System). The work on Chandrayaan-3 is also going on; it should be launched in the next 16 months or so.
Q/ What is IDRSS?
A/ The IDRSS mission is aimed at giving 100 per cent coverage for the Gaganyaan mission. It will continuously develop contact with the manned Gaganyaan mission wherever it goes. IDRSS will be placed in a geostationary orbit so that Gaganyaan can be continuously monitored.
Q/ How is work on Gaganyaan progressing?
Denne historien er fra February 02, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 02, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The female act
The 19th edition of the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival was of the women and by the women
A SHOT OF ARCHER
An excerpt from the prologue of An Eye for an Eye
MASTER OF MAKE-BELIEVE
50 years. after his first book, Jeffrey*Archer refuses to put down his'felt-tip Pilot pen
Smart and sassy Passi
Pop culture works according to its own unpredictable, crazy logic. An unlikely, overnight celebrity has become the talk of India. Everyone, especially on social media, is discussing, dissing, hissing and mimicking just one person—Shalini Passi.
Energy transition and AI are reshaping shipping
PORTS AND ALLIED infrastructure development are at the heart of India's ambitions to become a maritime heavyweight.
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
Trump’s preferred transactional approach to foreign policy meshes well with Modi’s bent towards strategic autonomy
DOOM AND GLOOM
Democrats’ message came across as vague, preachy and hopelessly removed from reality. And voters believed Trump’s depiction of illegal immigrants as a source of their economic woes
WOES TO WOWS
The fundamental reason behind Trump’s success was his ability to convert average Americans’ feelings of grievance into votes for him
POWER HOUSE
Trump International Hotel was the only place outside the White House where Trump ever dined during his four years as president
DON 2.0
Trump returns to presidency stronger than before, but just as unpredictable
