Isro likely to miss 3 key missions despite reducing its targets

THE 3 PLANNED MISSIONS APPEAR UNLIKELY THIS YEAR, A SENIOR SCIENTIST SAID

NEW DELHI: Despite the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) reducing its launch target from 16 to five projects in 2021 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the agency is likely to miss some critical missions, according to people aware of the matter.

The space agency was to launch two earth observation satellites, one navigation satellite, one purely scientific mission, and the first unmanned flight under the Gaganyaan mission as per its revised targets for the year.

Two of the missions were to use the new small satellite launch vehicle in two development flights. Isro qualifies a launch vehicle after two successful development flights. The small satellite launch vehicle or SSLV will mostly be used for commercial launches, according to people aware of the matter.

There have only been two launches this year – the purely commercial PSLV C-51 launch in February carrying Brazil’s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and the GSLV-F10 mission in August carrying an Indian earth observation satellite EOS-03 that failed.

To be sure, the space agency has plans for three more missions before the end of the year, including the first development flight of the SSLV. The other two will use India’s workhorse PSLV to launch two earth observation satellites EOS-04 and EOS-06.

“The three planned missions appear unlikely this year,” a senior scientist at the agency said on condition of anonymity.

Ajey Lele, senior fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, said: “It is critical for Isro to quickly conduct the SSLV launches; they have been delayed for far too long. It will be a commercial satellite and some of the slots even in the development flight has been booked by foreign agencies. If the launches do not happen soon, they might move to other launch service providers and Isro will lose market.”

The space agency will also miss the launch of the navigation satellite NVS-01 that is to replace one of the satellites in India’s own regional Gps-like system Navigation with Indian Constellation (NAVIC).

The NVS-01 satellite is to replace the IRNSS-1G satellite that was launched in 2016 and has a mission life of 12 years. Among the still functioning satellites in the constellation, the earliest to be launched is IRNSS-1B launched in 2014 with a mission life of 10 years.

“This is likely to be one of the satellites where the atomic clock malfunctioned,” said Lele.

There was no confirmation from Isro.