Mon Dec 30 00:00:00 UTC 2024: ## ISRO Caps 2024 with Ambitious PSLV-C60 Mission, Paving Way for Human Spaceflight

**Bengaluru, India (December 30, 2024)** – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to conclude 2024 with the launch of its PSLV-C60 rocket, a crucial mission testing technologies vital for future interplanetary and human spaceflight endeavors. The launch, scheduled for 9:58 PM IST, will mark a significant step towards India’s ambitious human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, which has faced delays.

PSLV-C60 will deploy two satellites, ‘Chaser’ and ‘Target,’ designed for the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), a precursor to ISRO’s future Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) and Chandrayaan-4 missions. The experiment will demonstrate the rendezvous, docking, and undocking of the two satellites in low-earth orbit. The rocket’s fourth stage will also carry over 20 payloads from various ISRO centers, academic institutions, and private Indian companies, conducting experiments ranging from robotic arm technology demonstrations to plant growth studies in microgravity. Notable private sector contributions include green propulsion system testing and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capabilities demonstrations.

This mission builds upon the success of the PSLV-C59, which successfully launched the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit on December 5th. Furthermore, the successful 2014 test flight of the LVM-3 X, including the Crew-module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE), provided valuable data for Gaganyaan. On December 18th, 2024, ISRO commenced the assembly of the human-rated LVM-3 (HLVM-3) for its first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission (G1/OM-1).

The PSLV-C60 mission uses the rocket in its core alone configuration (CA), without strap-on boosters. The successful completion of this mission will be a major milestone for ISRO, setting the stage for a pivotal 2025, which includes the first uncrewed HLVM-3 mission, and the potential participation of an Indian astronaut, Shubanshu Shukla, in the Axiom 4 mission to the International Space Station. The launch of the joint NASA-ISRO SAR mission is also anticipated in 2025.

Read More