Anniversaries

INSAT-3B Launch (22 March 2000)

The first satellite in INSAT-3 series, the third generation geostationary satellites was launched by Ariane Space.

ASLV First Flight (24 March 1987)

Book: From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet

ISRO’s second launch vehicle after the SLV-3, the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle, first flew on this day. It was an SLV-3 rocket augmented with two strap-on boosters. Fifty seconds after lift-off, the strap-ons burned out and separated but AS-1, the first stage never ignited. ISRO could never pinpoint the reason for the failure, though they did have 37! theories for it.

IRNSS-1D Launch (28 March 2015)

A more recent event, the fourth satellite of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System was launched onboard PSLV-C27. This was the twenty-ninth flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and eight flight of the XL variant of the same.

Upcoming Events

Following events are lined up for the next week.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and with Europe being the current epicentre, the Guiana Space Center suspended all launch campaigns. But don’t worry, there is a launch planned for the week.

Atlas V Launch of AEHF-6 Satellite (27 March 2020)

The United Launch Alliance will launch the Advanced Extremely High-Frequency spacecraft for the US Space Force. The launch from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex-41 is planned for next Thursday night, 12:27 AM IST (1857 UTC, 26 March).

Venus and Moon Conjunction (28 March 2020)

The hottest planet and moon will appear closest to each other on Saturday Evening. The pair will be visible by the naked eye at about 39 degrees in the western horizon. Make sure to view the spectacle before 9:00 PM IST as they’ll set around 9:42 PM IST.

If you are aware of any other space events or anniversaries for this week, then let me know through Facebook. Currently, only Indian anniversaries are added, we will try to include international ones soon.