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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on August 24, 2024

Daily Insights and Initiatives for UPSC Exam Notes: Comprehensive explanations and high-quality material provided regularly for students

A look at ongoing Indian space missions

For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

For Mains Examination: GS III - Science & Technology

Context:

Over the past year, ISRO has made significant strides with several key missions; the Aditya L1 spacecraft began studying solar radiation from the earth-Sun Lagrange point, while the Gaganyaan TV-D1 mission successfully demonstrated crew safety systems

Read about:

What are the important missions of ISRO?

What is the Gaganyan Mission?

Key takeaways:

• Aditya L1: After the successful lunar mission, India launched its solar science mission, Aditya-L1, on September 2, 2023. The launch, which used ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), was relatively straightforward. The spacecraft then performed a series of maneuvers to enter orbit around the first Earth-Sun Lagrange point (L1) by January 6, 2024, and completed its first orbit around L1 on July 2, 2024. In May 2024, it studied a solar storm in collaboration with ground-based observatories and lunar orbiting spacecraft.
• Gaganyaan TV-D1: As part of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, ISRO utilized a modified L-40 Vikas engine to create its Test Vehicle (TV), which conducted its first abort mission on October 21, 2023. This mission demonstrated the Crew Escape System (CES), which successfully detached from the TV, guided the crew module to safety, and slowed it down for a safe splashdown in the Bay of Bengal. The Indian Navy's INS Shakthi later retrieved the crew module.
• XPoSat: On January 1, 2024, ISRO launched the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), aiming to examine the polarization of radiation from various celestial bodies. This mission is the second space-based observatory of its kind, following NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IPEX) launched in 2021. XPoSat’s two instruments, XSPECT and POLIX, became operational on January 5 and 10, respectively.
• INSAT-3DS: The meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS was launched by ISRO on February 17 using a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). This mission was vital for showcasing the GSLV's reliability ahead of the significant NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, which is anticipated to launch in early 2025. This version of the GSLV previously succeeded in launching the NVS-01 satellite in 2023.
• RLV-TD: ISRO conducted two landing tests with a scaled-down version of the Reusable Launch Vehicle, named Pushpak, on March 22 and June 7, at its Aeronautical Testing Range in Challakere, Karnataka. These tests simulated space landing conditions by dropping the Pushpak from a Chinook helicopter—along its landing path in LEX-02 and 500 meters off-course in LEX-03. The success of these tests provided ISRO with the confidence to proceed with the Orbital Return Flight Experiment.
• SSLV: On August 16, ISRO launched the third and final test flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), deploying the EOS-08 and SR-0 Demosat satellites into orbit. With the success of two consecutive test flights, ISRO declared the SSLV's development phase complete, paving the way for its industrial handover. EOS-08 carried three payloads: one for infrared Earth observation, another for testing reflections from a global satellite navigation system, and a third as an ultraviolet dosimeter and alarm system, to be used in the Gaganyaan crew module.
• ISRO Roadmaps: After transferring commercial operations to NewSpace India, Ltd. (NSIL), ISRO shifted its focus to research. In December