The Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) has gotten back on track after the impact of the pandemic. The state-run space agency is gearing up for two upcoming launches- one in August and one in September. According to the Satish Dhawan Space Center(SDSC) website, the GSLV launch is scheduled for August and PSLV is scheduled for September. However, the dates have not been specified yet.
The GSLV rocket would be carrying India’s GISAT-1, an earth observation satellite that is meant to be placed in Geostationary orbit (36,000kms from Earth). This orbit is typically meant for communication satellites that have to cover a large swathe of land.
A satellite in geostationary orbit would be in sync with the rotation cycle of the earth(24hrs) and it would appear to be stationary when seen from the earth, thus giving it the name. It is said that three aptly positioned Geostationary satellites can cover pretty much all of Earth.
According to ISRO, GISAT-1 is meant to provide…
