Launch of PSLV C-60 and facts about the ISS

A giant leap for ISRO – the launch of PSLV C-60 tonight (December 30, 2024)

Tonight at 9.58pm, the world’s attention will be focused on ISRO’s launch of PSLV C-60 rocket into space. This venture is a precursor of India’s desire to erect its own Space Station by the year 2036. This technology masterpiece designed and built solely by ISRO’s engineers has been named Bharatiya Antariksh Station(BAS).

The PSLV C-60 mission will test ISRO’s capacity to carry out docking and undocking of satellites. Such a procedure is critical for the success of India’s Gangayan and BAS projects. Understandably, the PSLV C-60 will carry two rockets – one to act as a target, and the other to act as the chaser. The two will be maneuvered to couple and de-couple in space through ISRO’S commands from earth. Docking and un-docking are essential procedures for the Gangayan mission and the transportation of components to the BAS. This is why ISRO has put its heart and soul together to make this PSLV C-60 mission a success.

Learning more about the International Space Station (ISS)…..

The International Space Station is a mindboggling human achievement whose work started in 1998 and completed by 2011. The four leading space powers such as the U.S., Russia, Europe, and China spearheaded the ISS project. Components were sourced from another 16 countries from around the world. India’s role in the ISS. It’s virtually nil because India was just taking baby steps in space flight technology at that time. Now, things are different. India has made some giant strides in this field and has ventured to plan and execute the BAS project by 2036. plans to put its own Space Station by the year 2036.

More facts about the International Space Station(ISS)….

It is a huge man-made platform moving around the earth. It is of the size of a football field. The total weight of this platform is around 344 tons. It has large solar panels to absorb sunlight and convert it to electricity for use by the ISS. The platform can accommodate about seven human beings who can live there for months and do their scientific experiments.

The ISS moves around the earth in a relatively low orbit. Because of its giant size and the relatively small distance from the earth’s surface, one can, at times, see the ISS by one’s naked eyes, if the sky is clear.

What is the main aim of the ISS?

Humans have historically yearned to learn more about the universe, the planets, stars, galaxies etc. From the earth’s surface, we can do the viewing, and analyze our findings, but such observation from earth’s surface is limited in scope. The earth’s atmosphere has clouds and dust particles. These blur our vision. Earth has its own magnetic field.  Observing the magnetic influence of other heavenly bodies like the planets and stars gets distorted due to the influence of earth’s strong magnetic field. Apart from all these, knowing the effect of weightlessness on our body and those of plants and animals can’t be done unless researchers live in a weightless and gravity-less environment for sufficiently long duration. Our bones and muscles will deteriorate if they remain idle or do very little physical activity daily when on earth. But by how much will they deteriorate in a gravity-less environment, such as outer space? How to avoid the ruinous effect of zero gravity on living beings sent on long space travel from earth? These are important questions space engineers need to answer before sending a man on an extended space voyage.

A prolonged stay in the ISS helps us to understand this unknown science. Then there is the question of studying the pattern and intensity of radiation coming out of different celestial bodies in the universe. On earth, we receive some of them, but not all. Some radiations are so weak that we can’t analyze them properly. By keeping well-trained scientists and good recording instruments on board the ISS, we can monitor and capture the radiation, images and a host of other strange things happening in space.

The ISS is not only a living quarter for scientists far above the earth, but also a huge research laboratory with sophisticated instruments. It has rooms and toilets for use by the people living in it.

Who built them and when?

The ISS is an splendid example of how countries with different ideologies and military strengths can cooperate to study the universe. No single nation has the money, manpower and technical knowledge to put such a 344-ton high-tech research lab in space. Components for the ISS were made by so many countries. They were then transported piece by piece to space to a designated place and assembled there. The transporting rocket had to dock and undock from the semi-built ISS multiple times.

The work started in 1998, and was completed in 2011. Hundreds of flights of the American Discovery space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz rocket were conducted to ferry these components and human engineers  to build the space station by assembling the components sent from earth.

The sixteen participating countries are America, Russia, Japan, Canda and eleven members of the European Space Agency (the United States of America, Russian Federation, Japan, Canada and eleven member states of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom).

How long the human beings stay there, and how do they come back?

Research scientists and flight engineers have spent months at a time on board the ISS. Even some space tourists have gone there to spend a few days in zero-gravity conditions.
These tourists pay huge amount of money for their trips. The Russians have an exclusive section on board the ISS. The tourists spend their space holiday in that section. So, their fees are credited to Russia’s account.

The Americans dislike the idea of allowing members of the general public to visit the ISS, possibly out of safety considerations. So they request the Russians not to allow the tourists to trespass into their section on board the ISS.

The re-usable space shuttles of NASA were the main transporters of goods, food stuff and astronauts to the ISS. The Russian Soyuz rockets with lesser carrying capacity also made many trips to do the to and fro transportation job.

However, the Discovery space shuttle vehicles have become old and obsolete. There have been a number of ghastly accidents in these space shuttles. So, these vehicles don’t fly to the ISS anymore. They have been substituted by NASA with completely re-designed space vehicles.

The work was entrusted to Boeing who made the Boeing Starliner rocket to do the to and fro ferrying job for the ISS. Sadly, on one trip to bring back some U.S. astronauts from the ISS, the Starliner vehicle developed technical problems. The plan of bringing back the astronauts was abandoned. The Starliner returned empty.

Now, the job has been entrusted to SpaceX, an Elon Musk initiative. Space X Crew-9 will bring back four of the stranded astronauts. Till then the ISS crew will be completely dependent on the Russian Soyuz rockets for bringing in vital supplies from earth.

Conclusion ..

Let’s keep our fingers crossed till ISRO announces the success or otherwise of the PSLV C-60 launch. Either way, tonight’s launch will mark an important milestone in India’s space journey.

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