Five recent achievements of ISRO that make us proud
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is one of the largest and most successful space agencies in the world. Since its inception back in 1969, the Indian space agency has achieved a number of milestones, proving its mettle in the field of space technology. From successfully launching Chandrayaan-2 to testing a critical technology for human spaceflight, here are ISRO's five recent major achievements.
On July 22, ISRO successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, the country's ambitious second moon mission, from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It comprises a fully indigenous orbiter, a lander named Vikram, and a rover dubbed Pragyan. If the lunar mission is successful, India will become only the fourth country to soft-land a rover on the Moon after Russia, the US, and China.
The Indian space agency, earlier on May 22 this year, scripted history by successfully launching RISAT-2B, a super surveillance satellite, from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. The radar imaging satellite can take high-resolution images even in cloudy conditions that can be used for military surveillance to keep an eye on the country's borders as well as for agriculture, forestry, and disaster management support.
On December 19 last year, ISRO launched the GSAT-7A, an advanced military communications satellite that is dubbed the "Indian Angry Bird", successfully from Sriharikota. The satellite is meant to boost the communication capabilities of the defense forces, particularly the Indian Air Force. Built exclusively for the IAF, the GSAT-7A satellite will enhance the air force's warfare capabilities and also boost its global operations.
ISRO successfully launched 31 satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota on November 29, 2018. ISRO's PSLV-C43 lifted off with India's Hyper-Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS), the country's best high-resolution satellite ever, which can study the earth's surface in visible, near-infrared, and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Along with HysIS, ISRO also launched one micro and 29 nano-satellites from eight countries.
On July 5 last year, ISRO successfully carried flight test of the indigenous Crew Escape System, a crucial technology for launching astronauts into space. The Crew Escape System is an emergency escape measure that is designed to quickly pull the crew module and the astronauts away from the launch vehicle, to a safe distance, in case of a malfunction in the initial launch stage.
