New Delhi, India

India's new-age rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) would have its maiden flight by July end, said ISRO Chairman, Dr S. Somanath. He was speaking following the successful launch of the PSLV-C53 mission that ISRO had performed to orbit three customer satellites from Singapore. Having completed two launch missions in 2022, Somanath added that ISRO is looking forward to performing three more launch missions by the end of the year. 

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SSLV is a rocket that is designed to orbit satellites weighing less than 500kg in Low Earth Orbit. Dr Somanath had earlier told WION that SSLV was being conceptualised as a rocket that can be handed over to the Indian industry for the entire manufacturing process and it can be put together for launch in a week's time. He had added that SSLV uses less-exotic materials in its manufacturing process to ensure that it is kept simple and easy to adopt by industry. 

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On the 'POEM' (PSLV Orbital Experiment Module) that is being carried out by the fourth stage of the PSLV C-53 rocket, he said that it was akin to recycling space debris and putting it to productive uses. "This time, the stage won't be uncontrolled (it will be stabilised) and we have used on-board computers and sensors to handle it," he said, referring to how the stage carries science experiments from Indian start-ups. 

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Sharing updates on the upcoming high-profile national missions, he said that the Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight mission would happen only around 2024 and elaborated that two Crew Escape system tests would be carried out this year, using a new vehicle known as 'Test Vehicle' or TV. 

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"Unmanned mission we could have by mid-2023 and then we will have two more escape tests and then another unmanned mission, followed by a manned mission," he said. 

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In terms of Aditya-L1, the science mission to study the Sun, he said that its critical payload- a Coronagraph to study the sun's corona effect was being tested and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and could possibly be launched by year-end. With regards third Lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, the Chairman said that testing of its lander propulsion systems and ruggedization of the Lunar lander's legs were in progress.