PSLV-C49/EOS-1 Mission
India’s space agency, ISRO announced the first launch of 2020 from Indian soil on November 7, 2020 at 1502 hrs (IST). This is November 7, 2020 at 0932 hrs (UTC). The PSLV-C49 was expected to take off with RISAT-2BR2. This has now been renamed to EOS-01.
The ISRO mission page nor the mission brochure placed on the website mention the reason behind the change of name. But, IANS, reports that this is part of a “new ISRO naming convention”.
ISRO’s remote sensing were initially named after the applications they were intended to fulfill. As an example, cartographic applications had satellite named CARTOSAT. Radar imaging satellite are called RISAT. And so on.
SatSure launches SPARTA - Open
SatSure, an Indian company providing remote sensing data for agriculture, banking and finance, infrastructure and climate change to help decision makers make better decisions. They have recently launched a freemium version of their SPARTA product they call SPARTA-Open.
The company hopes to provide “satellite-derived datasets of crops, climate, and water, along with location data of post-harvest infrastructure and commodity prices,” as per this report in Geospatial World.
SpaceX urges India to facilitate satellite broadband
SpaceX’s Starlink is conducting a beta version test of it’s service in the United States. Alongside, it is also pushing for its services in India. Medianama reported on SpaceX responded to a TRAI consultation on enhancing broadband access and penetration.
Many news reports are reporting that they have also sent the same response to the ISRO’s Space Communications policy. However, the filing which is linked to in the Medianama article make it clear that they have submitted the document only to TRAI.
Amity University to fly astrobiology experiment in 2021
Amity Space Biology team’s experiment, Autonomous Life Growth Experiment (ALGE-1) has been approved to fly on ISRO’s PSLV’s fourth stage.
The PSLV’s fourth stage is the stage that delivers the satellite to it’s designated orbit. After this, the stage usually remains in orbit for a period of about 6 months. ISRO decided to fly experiments on this stage by providing a communications and propulsion unit.
The Times of India is reporting that the crewed mission is likely to miss it’s targeted launch date in August 22, on the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day.
Israel will launch a 100% electric propulsion satellite on ISRO launch vehicle
L&T has delivered the first launch hardware for the uncrewed Gaganyaan mission slated for 2021.