Satellite Launch Pads All Over the World | General Awareness for SSC CGL PDF Download

Satellite Launch Pads All Over the World

• Kennedy Space Centre, Florida-USA
• Vanderberg Air Force Base, California-USA
• Edward Air Force Base Station, California-USA
• Wallops Island, Virginia-USA
• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida-USA
• Kagoshima Space Centre, Tanegashima Island-Japan
• Sriharikota Space Centre, India
• Kourou French Guiana Space Centre-European Space Agency (ESA)
• Woomera Spaceport-Australia
• Alcântara Launch Centre-Brazil
• Jiuquan Space Launch Centre (Shuang Cheng Tzu)-China
• Xichang Space Launch Centre-China
• Hammaguir, Algeria
• Kourou, French Guiana-France
• Palmachim Air Base in the Xledger Desert-Israel
• Volgograd Station, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Svobodny Cosmodrome-Russia

Avatar

AVATAR, or Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace Transportation, was a conceptual project aimed at developing a single-stage reusable space plane with horizontal takeoff and landing capabilities. This initiative was a collaborative effort by India's DRDO, ISRO, and other research organizations.

GSLV-D5

On January 5, 2014, ISRO successfully launched the GSLV-D5 rocket, powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. With this launch, India joined the ranks of countries such as the US, Russia, Japan, France, and China in developing its own cryogenic engines.

Other Space-Related Developments

• GEMINI: The Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) provides satellite-based advisory services to deep-sea fishermen. It was recently launched in 2019.
• Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS): This new satellite series is designed for space-to-space tracking and communication of India’s space assets, aiming to reduce dependence on ground stations for satellite tracking.
• UNISPACE Nanosatellite Assembly and Training Programme (UNNATI): Launched to mark the 50th anniversary of the first UN conference on outer space, this program focuses on nanosatellite development and offers opportunities for developing countries to enhance their capabilities in this field.
• NISAR: The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is the first dual-band radar imaging satellite. It aims to provide detailed data on ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards like tsunamis and earthquakes.

International Space Station (ISS)

The ISS is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit, involving contributions from 15 nations. Major contributors include NASA (USA), ROSCOSMOS (Russia), and the European Space Agency (ESA), who provide the majority of the funding for the station.