A year after the successful launch of India's first multi-wavelength observational satellite Astrosat, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) formally unveiled a portal displaying data sent by the satellite for general public.
●    The Astrosat Support Cell is a joint venture between Isro and Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), which also designed one of the payloads, instruments which collect and transmit data, on the satellite.
●    Various stakeholders of the programme met at the IUCAA on Thursday for a review of the results received from the payloads currently on the Astrosat.
●    The Astrosat has five main payloads, mainly focused on observing ultra-violet bands, hard and soft X-rays- its sources and binaries, stellar coronae, and clusters of faraway galaxies, known as quasars and blazars. 
●    The observations may help in understanding phenomena like the supernova, or the fate of galaxies.
●    Apart from the IUCAA, the payloads were developed by institutions like the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR), the University of Leicester, and the Canadian Space Agency.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 26 September 2016 successfully launched eight satellites in two different orbits in a single mission. 
•    Three smaller payloads from Algeria: Alsat-1B 103 kg, Alsat-2B 110 kg and Alsat Nano 7 kg.
•    One from US: Pathfinder-1 of 44 kg. It is a high resolution imaging microsatellite and is owned by BlackSky.
•    One from Canada: NLS-19 of 8 kg developed at University of Toronto, Canada. It is a nano-satellite to experiment reduction of space debris.
•    The other two satellites are from India and they are
•    Pratham: A student-satellite of the IIT, Bombay. 
•    PISAT: It is developed by a consortium-led by the PES University in Bengaluru. 
•    The two Universities/Academic Institute Satellites and the five foreign satellites were placed into a 670 km polar orbit. 
•    This was the first mission of PSLV in which launched its payloads into two different orbits. 

While India had lagged far behind developed nations in terms of space tech, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has progressively covered the gap over the last few years. 
•    ISRO, which had successfully launched satellites to activate its regional navigation system and a reusable launch vehicle earlier this year, achieved yet another feat on Thursday as it successfully tested its indigenous cryogenic engine. 
•    While the space agency had successfully tested the engine two years ago, GSLV F05 carrying a payload of 2,211 kg INSAT-3DR weather satellite was the first commercial launch using cryogenic upper stage technology.
•    The breakthrough makes the country the sixth nation apart from the US, Russia, France, Japan and China to possess cryogenic engine technology, which uses liquid hydrogen as a fuel and liquid oxygen as an oxidiser. 
•    While India—which embarked on a cryogenic-adoption path in 1992—had been using Russian engines since 2001, it had also started in-house development. 
•    Though a big achievement in itself, this would also propel ISRO’s plans to launch larger satellites to farther destinations as cryogenic engines are more efficient.
•    It also paves the way for India to launch its second mission to the moon, the Chandrayaan 2.
 

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched advanced weather satellite, INSAT-3DR on 8 September 2016.
•    The advanced weather satellite was launched with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F05), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
•    GSLV-F05, the tenth flight of India's GSLV, carried 2211 kg INSAT-3DR into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). 
•    GSLV is designed to inject 2 - 2.5 ton class of satellites into GTO.
•    After reaching GTO, INSAT-3DR will use its own propulsion system to reach its final geosynchronous orbital home and will be stationed at 74 deg East longitude.
•    INSAT-3DR is an advanced meteorological satellite of India configured with an imaging System and an Atmospheric Sounder.
•    INSAT-3DR is an improved variant of INSAT-3D, the improvements incorporated includes 
•    The satellite has a solar array generating 1700 Watts of power.
•    INSAT-3DR will provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched advanced weather satellite, INSAT-3DR on 8 September 2016.
•    The advanced weather satellite was launched with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F05), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
•    GSLV-F05, the tenth flight of India's GSLV, carried 2211 kg INSAT-3DR into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). GSLV is designed to inject 2 - 2.5 ton class of satellites into GTO.
•    INSAT-3DR is an advanced meteorological satellite of India configured with an imaging System and an Atmospheric Sounder.
•    INSAT-3DR is an improved variant of INSAT-3D, the improvements incorporated includes
•    Imaging in Middle Infrared band to provide night time pictures of low clouds and fog
•    Imaging in two Thermal Infrared bands for estimation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) with better accuracy
 

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 28 August 2016 successfully test launched the Supersonic Combustion Ramjet engine, called Scramjet, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.
•    The experimental mission aimed at realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System (ABPS) uses hydrogen as fuel and oxygen from the atmosphere air as the oxidiser.
•    Two scramjet engines were mounted alongside of a two-stage, solid fueled rocket called Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket. The national space agency said that its first ever experimental mission met all the specified goals. The rocket carrying Scramjet engines weighed 3277 kg at lift-off.
•    After a flight of about 300 seconds, the vehicle touched down in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 320 km from Sriharikota. The vehicle was successfully tracked during its flight from the ground stations at Sriharikota.
•    With this success, India joined the select league of four space faring nations that have demonstrated flight testing of Scramjet engines.
•    A scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet air breathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow.
•    The scramjet engine is used only during the atmospheric phase of the rocket’s flight.
•    It uses hydrogen as fuel and the oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidizer.