A recap of events that occurred in India in the past week.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
For the first time in the history of Indian space research, a satellite developed by a university in India will be launched by the Indian Space Research Institute (Isro) during the next flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Tentatively scheduled for launch in March-April this year, the vehicle will carry a small remote-sensing satellite completely developed and fabricated by Chennai-based Anna University, sources in Isro said.
RISAT-2, India's spy satellite, was successfully placed into the 550 km orbit around Earth on Monday morning.Earlier, the PSLV-C12, carrying 300-kg Radar Imaging Satellite and 40-kg Micro Satellite ANUSAT, had lifted off from Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan space Centre in Sriharikota today morning. The RISAT-2 has an all weather capability to take images of Earth.
On Thursday, scientists sent the 1,380 kg spacecraft to its next destination -- highly elliptical orbit of 300 km perigee and 1.6 lakh km apogee respectively. This will be followed by three more orbit-transfer exercises.
The agreement for cooperation in space technology was signed between Astrium and Antrix -- commercial arm of the ISRO -- entailes utilisation of the PSLV launch services. It enables Astrium to offer attractive solutions in international markets for in-orbit delivery of its earth observation satellites, using the PSLV launch services from Antrix/ISRO.
It also carries equipment for meteorological data relay and satellite based search and rescue services being provided by earlier INSAT satellites.
Click here to watch the live broadcast of the historic launch!
The final 52-hour countdown for the October 22 launch of the country's first moon mission, Chandrayaan-I, began early on Monday morning at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
Just over 22 minutes into the flight, the rocket put Astrosat into orbit at an altitude of 650 km above the earth
India on Friday moved a step closer to launch its maiden unmanned moon session when the lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-I was mated with the polar rocket which is set to blast off on October 22 from the Sriharikota spaceport. Gearing up for the final countdown, Space officials said all operations for the mission are progressing satisfactorily and barring a cyclone threat the PSLV-C11 will keep the date with the country's historic mission on October 22.
They made history for India and the world.
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam lauded ISRO scientists for successfully launching the PSLV-C9 to put 10 satellites in orbit. "Though I have envisioned India to become a superpower by 2020, the attitude and the confidence of the youth, to conquer everything in the right spirit, would make the country a global leader and superpower within five years," Kalam said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday met the victims of the building collapse incident in Chennai and promised to provide necessary medical care and relief on a "war-footing" for them.
It is important for India to develop multiple launch sites and become capable of undertaking more launches in a year's time, says Ajey Lele.
The Indian Space Research Organisation will launch ten satellites, including eight from abroad, which will be carried by PSLV-C9, on April 28.The cluster of satellites to be lifted includes the Indian satellite Cartosat-2A, weighing 690 kg. The vehicle would also carry eight nano satellites of 16 to 27 kg from Canada, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Of the eight nano satellites, six are form a cluster called NLS-4. These satellites were built to test nano technoloy.
Indian Space Research Organisation's immediate plan was the launch of two more PSLV flights this year and a GSLV launch early next year.
The Indian Space Research Organisation is set to achieve a breakthrough on January 10 with the launch of four payloads, including the Cartosat-2 satellite and a recoverable space capsule
India on Monday successfully launched Israeli satellite 'Polaris' from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota by a homegrown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation said. This is the second time that a 'core alone' PSLV configuration had put a satellite into orbit. In April 2007, an Italian satellite Agile was put into the orbit, the space agency spokesman said.
The T-52 hour countdown for the launch of the PSLV-C7 began at 0548 hours on Monday, and it was progessing smoothly.
With the development of GSLV Mark-III, India will be able to launch heavy satellites into the geosynchronous transfer orbit. This vehicle is billed as the technological successor to GSLV Mark-II.
The third of the total of five orbit raising manoeuvres of the Mars Orbiter spacecraft was performed early on Saturday, raising its apogee, the farthest point from Earth, to over 71,000 km.
After PLSV-C8, PLSV-C10 carrying Polaris satellite would also be launched either in June or July, officials added.
President Pranab Mukherjee has advised state governors not to undertake official visits outside their states as part of the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
The website of Indian Space Research Organisation's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited was reportedly hacked on Sunday and the space agency said efforts are on to set it right.
The rocket can put satellites weighing upto four tonnes in space, double the weight that the current GSLV-Mark-II can lift.
Chandrayaan-3's success is a must for India's space ambitions; we can't afford to lose out. And for realising our space dreams, the Indian private sector must be encouraged because if we lose this race, the moon, Mars, and mineral-rich asteroids will already be crowded before we reach there.
ISRO to launch EU satellite, earn $10 million
While Team Indus had backing from Nandan Nilekani, Ratan Tata and Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal, it could not even muster half of the Rs 4.5 billion it required for the mission to the moon.
The prime minister said gradually people are "shedding their hard currency mindset" and moving towards digital currency and the youth are leading the way using their mobile phones as the new tool to make and receive payments.
Chandrayan's operations will be controlled by robots and cover 3.50 lakh kilometre within a period of two years, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said.
The launch will be a major feat in country's space history as no exercise on this scale has been attempted before.
And the first Indian to go into space from 'Indian soil' could well be a woman.
Starting on Monday, the country's low-cost Mars mission that is in a rendezvous with the red planet for an extended period will enter the "blackout" phase snapping communication with the satellite.
India's Mars orbiter has sent a picture of regional dust storm activities over the northern hemisphere of the red planet, Indian Space Research Organisation said on Monday.
GSLV-MK III, which uses a homegrown cryogenic engine, has to do at least two more launches before it begins commercial operations, report Raghu Krishnan and T E Narasimhan.
However, some of the provisions in the draft Bill needs scrutiny, as these could scare away international investors
"Efforts are underway to establish the link with the satellite," it added.
Union ministers Prakash Javedkar and Nirmla Sitharaman and senior Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Nationalist Congress Party's Praful Patel on Monday took oath as members of Rajya Sabha.
'It is time we Indians learnt to believe in ourselves, and stopped questioning our own capabilities every time a space launch is not a glorious success,' says M D Riti.
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