Isro’s century of launches

If all goes well, on September 9, just before 9.51 am, mission director Kunhi Krishnan sitting before a computer in Sriharikota will give the 'go' for the launch of a historic space mission. Then, sharp at 9.51 am, the ground will reverberate to the ear-deafening roar of the four-stage 44m-long Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV-C21) as it kicks into life. Seconds later, the mighty rocket will lift off, triggering a huge round of applause in the control room as well as among hundreds of spectators and media persons gathered in the terraces of buildings at the vast spaceport. 

As the rocket thunders higher and higher carrying a French and Japanese satellite, it will mark a proud moment for Isro. With this flight, the space agency will complete 100 missions. The first one began with the launch of Aryabhata, India's first satellite, by a Russian rocket on April 19, 1975. The PSLV will fly Spot 6, the 720 kg French advanced remote sensing satellite and Proeiteres, the Japanese 10 kg micro satellite. 

Isro chief spokesperson Dev Prasad Karnik explained that "each Indian rocket going up is considered a mission. Each Indian satellite being placed in orbit is a mission. For calculating the 100th flight, Isro took into consideration only Indian rockets and satellites which were launched." This means if an Indian satellite is carried by Arianespace's Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guyana, only the satellite's mission is considered, not the foreign launcher's. 

Karnik said that till date, 62 Indian satellites and 37 rockets have been launched. "The September 9 launch will mark the 100th mission, but the two foreign payloads are not being considered,'' he said. Of these, the PSLV has proved a star performer. Its missions included carrying Israeli spy satellite Tescar on January 21, 2008, placing 10 satellites in different orbits in rapid succession on April 28,2008, and taking India to the moon on October 22,2008, with the launch of Chandrayaan-1. 

The indigenous Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-IC), too has got kudos. It was launched by a Russian Molniya rocket on December 28,1995, and was given the title "jewel in the crown" by American aerospace journal, AviationWeek and Space Technology. Its success paved the way for India to enter the highly competitive global remote sensing market and capture a substantial chunk of the business. Data from other Indian remote sensing satellites are also regularly bought by other countries, including the US. It has been a long journey, all right. Ex-Isro chairman, U R Rao, said, "I witnessed the launch of Aryabhata in the former Soviet Union; now I am looking forward to the launch of Isro's 100th mission.'' He however said that China has beaten India in rocket technology. "China's rockets have the capacity to fly payloads up to nine tonnes, but our GSLV carry only up to 2 to 2.5 tonnes."