Current Science

M. Vishnu Nampoothiri ¹, L. Sowmianarayanan ¹, B. Jayakumar ¹, P. Kunhikrishnan ¹

Affiliations
1 Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Thiruvananthapuram 695 022, IN

Abstract

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully executed the launch of the Indian Mars Orbiter by precisely placing the spacecraft in the initial Earthbound orbit on 5 November 2013. This was the critical first step of the three-phase Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). The focus of this article is on the major challenges tackled by the launch vehicle project team in designing, planning and executing MOM.

Keywords

Argument of perigee, coasting, launch vehicle, Mars mission flexibility.

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