Isro’s 2020 target: Sun mission, Gaganyaan test, 10 satellite launches

NEW DELHI: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will aim to touch new heights in 2020 as it is planning to launch around a dozen key satellite missions, highprofile interplanetary mission Aditya (sun) and first unmanned test-flight of the Gaganyaan mission carrying a humanoid next year.

Talking to TOI, Isro chairman K Sivan said, “We are targeting to launch over 10 satellite missions next year. They will include advanced communication satellites Gisat1 and Gisat-12R and earth observation satellites Risat-2BR2 and Microsat (for surveillance). We are also targeting to launch Aditya L1 (sun) mission by mid-2020 and the first unmanned test-flight of Gaganyaan in December.”

The Aditya L1 mission will be the country’s first solar mission that will help scientists study the solar corona. The Isro chief said, “A PSLV will be used to carry the spacecraft, work on which is going on.” The 400kgclass satellite, which will carry six scientific payloads, will be inserted in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1), which is 1.5 million km from the Earth, so that there is a major advantage of continously viewing the Sun without any eclipse.