ISRO's Next Launch, An Experimental Satellite Ride On A "Small" Rocket
NDTV
The first flight of the SSLV in 2022 ended in failure but its second flight on February 10 in 2023 was successful.
To celebrate India's Independence Day, a small rocket with big ambitions is set to fly. ISRO's baby rocket, called the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), will carry an experimental earth imaging satellite named EOS-8 and SR-0 Demo Sat made by a Chennai-based start-up with a cheeky name - Space Rickshaw, Both will be lofted into a low Earth orbit from Sriharikota on Friday morning.
"It is a trailblazing satellite packed with new futuristic technologies," says Dr M Sankaran, Director of the UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC) adding that "the small 175 kg, EOS-8 satellite is packed with new and novel experimental technologies that will help power ISRO's and India's dreams."
The first flight of the SSLV in 2022 ended in failure but its second flight on February 10 in 2023 was successful. ISRO feels after this third flight, the technology for SSLV can be transferred to the industry. According to ISRO, nearly 21 new technologies are being tested. The start-up Space Rickshaw will also launch a half-kg satellite.
A very unique instrument on board the EOS8 satellite will measure how much exposure happens to surfaces through ultra-violet (UV light), and this will be a forerunner instrument for a similar package to be used on Gaganyaan to measure how much cancer-causing UV light exposure the "Gaganyatris" face on their space mission.The SSLV is a slim and trim rocket that can carry a few hundred kilograms to space but the main selling point is that it can have a turn-around time within a week. ISRO hopes the industry will fully take over the launcher and make it a commercial success. In future, it could also be used as a missile.
