Let’s dance, Hubble. Looking to become a major player in the $300 billion global space industry, India launched its first ever astronomical satellite–a research observatory that has been called a miniature version of the Hubble telescope–into orbit on Monday.
The observatory is called ASTROSAT, and according to Reuters, it will enable scientists in that country to get a better look at distant stars and conduct in-depth analyses of far-off systems. The observatory will be able to detect objects in multiple wavelengths (including X-rays), but it lacks the precision of the Hubble, officials told the international news agency.
“This will bring little commercial advantage but will show India’s new capability in space research,” said Mayank Vahia of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, a group which made three of ASTROSAT’s five instruments. The probe is scheduled to have a five-year mission and will transmit data to a control center located in Bangalore, Reuters noted.
Harsh Vardhan, India’s minister for earth sciences, called the launch “important for astronomical sciences” in a statement. It lifted off at 10 am local time, according to Time, and entered its low-earth, 650 km orbit about 20 minutes later, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said.
Observatory could boost India’s space program
India, whose landmark mission to Mars last year succeeded on its first attempt, has not had such a great overall success rate on their proposed missions. While the ISRO is just the fifth space program to place an observatory in orbit, it was only able to complete about half of the 60 missions it had planned between 2007 and 2012.
Last December, the country was able to successfully test a more powerful new rocket known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III. While the rocket will be able to carry heavier payloads into space, reports indicate that it is not yet fully functional.
ASTROSAT was one of seven probes carried into space by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL), said Time. Four of them were from the US, one was from Canada, and the remaining one was from Indonesia. The PSLV-XL lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, approximately 55 miles from the city of Chennai, according to The Guardian.
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Feature Image: Indian Space Research Organisation
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