This will revive the Indian Space Research Organisation‘s programmes, which had faced a setback due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Isro was able to achieve only two of its planned 18 launches a year since 2020.
In February, it hurled an Amazonian earth observation satellite as a paying customer, along with small satellites.
“The Covid-19 delayed our programmes. It is not just our facilities, but also the industry partners who are spread across the country,” an Isro official said. “With improved vaccination, hopefully the activities will pick up pace.”
The Covid-19 virus outbreak’s impact on India‘s space programme has been severe compared to the rest of the world.
Since January, China has launched over 22 missions to space, including a three-member crewed mission to its space station. SpaceX, the US space company owned by Tesla’s Elon Musk, has done over 8 launches including sending astronauts to the International Space Station.
EOS is the latest range of earth observation satellites of Isro, which would be used for near real-time monitoring of water bodies and vegetation conditions.
GSLV, which is powered by a homegrown cryogenic engine, was previously used in 2018. The rocket has a record 13 launches so far, with two unsuccessful launches.
The rocket will have an aerodynamically improvised payload fairing – the rocket cone where the satellite is housed.
India has also delayed the launch of its two uncrewed human spaceflight missions on its GSLV Mk-3 rocket, scheduled this year, to 2022, due to the impact of Covid-19.
This is likely to have a ripple effect on other space projects of Isro, as the agency has stepped up its focus on India’s human-space flight Gaganyaan planned for 2023.