In view of ISRO’s upcoming Chandrayaan-3 mission, a ban on digging and construction near Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Tamil Nadu’s Sriharikota has been imposed from Monday until the launch day on Friday
As the Indian space agency is progressing forward with its third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, slated on July 14, the telecom division of Tamil Nadu’s Sriharikota has imposed a ban on all digging and construction activity around the Satish Dhawan Space Centre from Monday till launch day on Friday. The temporary restrictions are reportedly aimed at safeguarding critical communication lines, including optical fibre cables, required for essential pre-launch tests to be conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
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“ISRO is launching LVM3-M4 on July 14 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. In this connection, it is absolutely essential to maintain stable communications without any interruption. The tests are in progress,” a news report by Hindustan Times quotes the order issued by the telecommunications division as saying.
As per the report, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is responsible for maintaining the major communication links connecting ISRO’s space centre, which traverse through key roads in the area, such as NH5 (Chennai-Perambur-Gummidipundi), NH205 (Chennai-Tiruvallur), SH56 (Perambur-Ponneri), and SH50 (Tiruvallur-Uthukotai).
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These links reportedly also provide connectivity to various locations, including Vellore, Aarani, Thiruvattipuram, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Vandalur in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Vellore, and Tiruvallur districts.
“To ensure the success of the rocket launch, it is essential to prevent damage to BSNL optical fibre cables caused by road widening, road repairs, and other digging activities during the period July 9-14,” the order added as per the HT report.
The stability of communication lines is of paramount importance as they facilitate the transmission of critical data to control the mission, and by imposing the ban, the telecom division aims to maintain uninterrupted communication.
CHANDRAYAAN-3 LAUNCH
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which is scheduled to be launched on July 14 at 2:35 pm IST from SDSC, Sriharikota, by LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-III) (earlier referred as GSLV Mk III), is a composite of three modules — propulsion, lander, and rover (which is housed inside the lander).
Secretary of the Department of Space and ISRO Chairman Somanath S told reporters that the space agency would attempt soft-landing of the lander on August 23 or August 24.
ISRO officials noted that the mission life of the lander is one lunar day, which is equal to 14 Earth days.
Chandrayaan-3 mission carries scientific instruments to study the thermo-physical properties of the lunar regolith, lunar seismicity, lunar surface plasma environment and elemental composition in the vicinity of the landing site.
In March this year, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully completed the essential tests that validated its capability to withstand the harsh vibration and acoustic environment that the spacecraft would encounter during its launch.
