Year-End Review-2022: Department of Space

Year-End Review-2022: Department of Space

The Ministry of Science and Technology recently published the Year-End-Review for the Department of Space for the year 2022.

What are the Department of Space's major accomplishments?

Support for education, development of capacity, and outreach:

Space Technology Incubation Centers (STIC):

• Since its establishment in 2018, STIC has boosted space research operations.
• Nine Space Technology Cells (STC), six STIC, and six Regional Academic Centers for Space (RACS) are currently in existence as part of this effort.

Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Sciences:

• Recently, Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Sciences was jointly established by ISRO/DoS and Central University of Jammu.

Unispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training by ISRO:

• In June 2018, India announced UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training by ISRO), a capacity-building training programme on Nanosatellites development through a combination of theoretical coursework and practical training on Assembly, Integration, and Testing (AIT).

Young Scientist Program:

• In accordance with the government's goal of "Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan," ISRO introduced an annual special programme in 2019 named "Young Scientist Program" or the "Yuva VIgyani KAryakram" (YUVIKA).
• The Program's major goal is to teach young people the fundamentals of space technology, space science, and space applications in order to inspire them to pursue careers in the intriguing field of space exploration.

SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN):

• In December 2022, ISRO and Social Alpha inked a memorandum of understanding to establish SpIN as India's first specialised platform for innovation curation and business development for the booming space entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Important Missions:

• Since 2014, 44 spacecraft missions, 42 missions involving launch vehicles, and 5 missions involving technology demonstrations have all been accomplished successfully.

Mission Chandrayaan-2:

• Chandrayaan-2 was launched in 2019.
• It is giving the scientific community useful data they can use.

PSLV's 50th launch:

• The PSLV, or workhorse launch vehicle, made its 50th launch in December 2019 with the launch of PSLV-C48/RISAT-2BR1.
• By enabling continuous border surveillance, RISAT-2BR1 will prevent infiltration.

The ISRO System for Safe & Sustained Operations Management (IS4OM)

• It was dedicated to the country by the Ministry of Science in July 2022.

• It is a facility designed with a comprehensive strategy for assuring safety and sustainability while gaining the advantages of sustainable space utilisation for national growth.

LVM3/OneWeb India-1 is the Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM) 3:

• In October 2022, the mission was successfully completed.

• With this launch, LVM3 epitomises the Atmanirbharata and strengthens India's competitive position in the market for international commercial launch services.

Airdrop Test with Main Parachute Integrated (IMAT):

• In November 2022, IMAT of the crew module deceleration system was successfully completed at Babina Field Fire Range (BFFR), Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, as part of the Gaganyaan programme.

Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD):

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully showed innovative technology with this game-changing device that has numerous uses for upcoming missions.
• The IAD offers enormous promise for a range of space applications, including recovering rocket spent stages, putting payloads on Mars or Venus, and building habitats for manned space missions.

PSLV-C54:

• In November 2022, PSLV-C54 successfully launched EOS-06 and eight nano-satellites, including INDIA-BHUTAN SAT (INS-2B).
• India's attempts to support Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck's intentions to utilise cutting-edge technology, particularly ICT and space technology, for the development of Bhutan include the launch of the new satellite.

First Private Launchpad & Mission Control Center:

• In November 2022, M/s Agnikul Cosmos Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, erected the first private launchpad & mission control centre on the ISRO premises at SDSC, SHAR.

Indian Space Policy - 2022:

• The Space Commission has approved the Indian Space Policy - 2022 policy. The Policy is currently through a second approval process after extensive discussions with industry organisations and inter-ministerial dialogues. It has also been reviewed by Empowered Technology Group.

Manage disasters:

• Monitoring flood inundation, creating flood hazard zonation atlases of flood-prone states, developing flood early warning models, identifying and disseminating active forest fires on a daily basis, forecasting cyclone track, intensity, and landfall, estimating damage from earthquakes and landslides, etc. were all done.

Reforms and Increased Industry Participation:

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL):

• The NSIL was incorporated in 2019 as a Central Public Sector Enterprise and a fully owned Government of India undertaking (CPSE).
• It was designed to make it possible for Indian Industries to expand their high-tech manufacturing base for their space programme and to commercially exploit the goods and services that came from their space programme to satisfy the needs of both domestic and international customers.
• In June 2022, the GSAT-24 communication satellite—the first NSIL demand-driven mission—was launched from Kourou, French Guiana.

IN-SPACe:

• IN-SPACe was established to give private businesses an equal opportunity to utilise Indian space infrastructure.
• It serves as a central point of contact between ISRO and anyone wishing to engage in space-related activities or utilise Indian space resources.

Indian Space Association (ISpA):

• ISpA strives to represent the Indian space sector as a whole. Leading domestic and international businesses with cutting-edge skills in space and satellite technologies will represent ISpA.