Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), May 29 (UNI) Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) Chairman S.Somanath today said India's spaceport of Sriharikota is abuzz

with activity as the space agency has lined up a series of missions in the coming

months.

Talking to reporters after GSLV-F12 successfully launched India's first in

the series of second Generational Navigation satellite NVS-01 into a precise

orbit, he said ISRO will be having a busy year ahead as it will be taking

up a series of missions with PSLV, GSLV, the heaviest rocket LVM and the

SSLV.

The missions included the third Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-3 in July,

INSAT-3DS satellite, besides the ISRO-NASA NISAR satellite mission.

The INSAT-3DS satellite will be launched using the heavy GSLV rocket.

Apart from this, the rocket crew escape systems ahead of the maiden human

flight mission, Gagayaan will be tested in July which will be followed

by two unmanned missions.

“We are getting ready for the test vehicle mission. We have to get the

crew module and crew escape system. By July we will integrate the systems

with the rocket,” Dr Somanath said.

The safety systems of the crew module and the crew escape system will be

tested at an altitude of about 14 km.

On the second spaceport, which is coming up at Kulasekarapattinam in

Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, he said 99 per cent of land acquisition

was bee completed and the lands for the approach roads are to be acquired.

Dr Somanath said works were on in designing a new rocket that could carry

much higher payloads, besides upgrading the LVM3 rocket to carry heavier

satellites that could weigh up to 5.5 ton from the present 4 ton capacity.