ISRO’s LVM-3 to launch CMS-03 satellite in November, confirms chairman Narayanan

Bengaluru: ISRO has scheduled two launches of its heavy-lift rocket LVM-3 to place in orbit two satellites -- CMS-03 and private US communications satellite BlueBird--before this year-end, chairman V Narayanan said on Thursday.

Narayanan said the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, launched on July 30, was currently in the calibration stage and will become operational within 10-15 days.

“The satellite is healthy and both the payloads are working well,” he added. At a press conference to announce the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave 2025, the ISRO chief listed out future missions of the space agency and asserted that 90 per cent work on the Gaganyaan project was complete. The Gaganyaan mission is India’s first human spaceflight mission under development.

“Next month beginning, we are going to have the LVM3-M5 lift off to place a CMS-03 satellite,” Narayanan said.

According to ISRO officials, the CMS-03 also known as GSAT7-R is likely to be launched on November 2.

BlueBird-6, a 6.5 tonne satellite of a US firm, is expected to be launched by the year-end, Narayanan said. “We have received the satellite and are working for the launch, and the launch vehicle build-up is going on,” the ISRO Chairman told reporters here.

One of the heaviest commercial satellites, BlueBird-6, arrived in India from the United States on October 19.

Asked about the progress of Chandrayaan-4, the ISRO Chairman said the project is in its design phase.

“Right now, we are working on the design phase and its approved projects. Also establishing the infrastructure that is the basic standard,” he said.

The Chandrayaan-4 mission includes bringing back moon rocks and soil to earth after a soft landing on the lunar surface, launching a spacecraft from the moon, demonstrating a space docking experiment in lunar orbit and getting the samples back to earth.

Speaking about NavIC, India’s indigenous navigation satellite system, Narayanan said, “We have four satellites and are building three more satellites. Yes, there were setbacks, but we’re working on it.”

“The NavIC navigation constellation, too, will be completed within 18 months with three new satellites,” he added.

Responding to a question on the NVS-02 satellite which had a technical glitch, he said, “The satellite has gone to the elliptical orbit and we could not take it to circular orbit because of a valve malfunction.”

The failure analysis committee formed to look into it has completed the investigation and zeroed down on the fault, he said. “The recommendation of the committee will be placed before the government,” he added.

Stating that PM Narendra Modi has clearly outlined the space mission 2047, the ISRO chief said today, India has around 56 satellites

in orbit.