ISRO set for historic 100th mission today

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday began its final countdown for the launch of its 100th rocket into space, in what is a major milestone in its largely successful exploratory odyssey beyond the earth’s atmosphere.

A GSLV, designated F15, is scheduled to lift-off from the spaceport at Sriharikota, off the coast of Odisha, at 6.23 pm on January 29. It is carrying NVS-02, a satellite vital for the country’s independent regional navigation satellite system that has civilian as well as military applications.

The GSLV-F15 is the 17th flight of this type of rocket and the eighth with an indigenous cryogenic stage engine. Cryogenics are critical as they require optimal functioning at extremely low temperatures, around -160°C, in outer space. The GSLV is designed to inject heavy satellites into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.