ISRO gearing up for launch of small satellite launch vehicles: Sivan
Sriharikota: Indian Space Research organization is gearing up for a series of missions, including the launch of small satellite launch vehicles, chairman K Sivan said on Saturday.
He made the comments after the successful launch of earth observation satellite - EOS-01- and nine customer satellites onboard its Polar rocket, PSLV-C49, from this spaceport, about 110 km from Chennai.
Addressing the scientists at the Mission Control Centre, he said "..we have started this mission (PSLV-C49/EOS-01) after COVID pandemic.
Now we have a series of missions on our hands.
Immediately we are going to have the PSLV-C50. It is going to launch satellite CMS01 then we will be having the new vehicle SSLV, the first development flight."
According to ISRO, those satellites which weigh less and come with limited launch options can be sent on Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs).
The earth observation satellite sent on PSLV-C49 was weighing around 630 kg.
Currently, small satellites are sent along with other big satellites that are launched using ISRO's trusted workhorse polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLVs) or Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
Sivan said ISRO was also planning to launch Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle GSLV-F10 carrying earth observation satellite -- EOS-03.
"I am sure team ISRO will always rise to the occasion and meet the requirements as per the demand put on them," he said.
Meanwhile, in a press release, ISRO said following the successful launch of the PSLV-C49/EOS-01 on Saturday, the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru assumed control of the earth observation satellite which is the primary satellite.
"In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration," the release said.
EOS-01, an earth observation satellite, is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry, and disaster management support.
The nine customer satellites are from Lithuania, Luxembourg, and the USA were launched under a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Ltd.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
