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Department of Space
26-October, 2015 18:06 IST
First-ever Hindi Atlas book on Mars Mission released

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released the first-ever Hindi Atlas Book on “Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in New Delhi today. He released this book on the occasion of the first meeting of reconstituted “Joint Hindi Salahkar Samiti” of the Department of Space and Department of Atomic Energy.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that during the last 18 months, as a result of active impetus and encouragement from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India’s Space Programme has registered some of the unprecedented and landmark achievements which have placed India as a frontline nation in the world. Incidentally however, he said, even though India’s achievements in Space missions are being appreciated the world over, Hindi language can serve as a medium for spreading further awareness within the country about recent Space missions, particularly the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM. MOM is totally indigenous, living up to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative and has also, at the same time, provided useful information which is being shared by even the most advanced nations of the world.

Dr. Jitendra Singh appreciated the efforts of both the Department of Space as well as Department of Atomic Energy for coming up with literature including periodicals and booklets in Hindi for popularizing various projects and programmes undertaken by them. He suggested that in future, the Hindi scholars, who are non-official members of “Hindi Salahkar Samiti”, will be more closely associated with the day to day activities of both the departments, so that use of Hindi becomes a natural style of working in these departments.

In the years to come, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, as India’s Space technology and Atomic Energy programmes attract more and more scientific researchers from other parts of the world, the use of Hindi language among the native scientists will also become a motivation for foreign scientists to pick up working Hindi for easier communication with their Indian counterparts. In addition, he said, promotion of Hindi as a medium of instruction in scientific departments like Space technology and Atomic Energy, will also provide the best of the young scientific minds in India, an opportunity to contribute their talent even if they do not possess the knowledge of English language.

Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission and Chairman, ISRO and Dr Sekhar Basu, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and senior scientists from both the departments and learned scholars of Hindi were also present on the occasion.

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s2015102672288.jpg


The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh releasing the first-ever Hindi Atlas Book on “Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)”, in New Delhi on October 26, 2015. The Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO, Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to Department of Atomic Energy, Dr. Sekhar Basu and other dignitaries are also seen.
 
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Diwali Gift


GSAT-15 to be launched on November 10 from French Guiana

ISRO’s latest communication satellite GSAT-15 is all set to be launched on November 10, 2015 from French Guiana on board Ariane 5.

The Indian space agency, as part of augmenting telecommunication services, had earlier launched communication satellites GSAT-14 and GSAT-6, respectively.
GSAT-14 was launched in January 2014 while GSAT-6 on GSLV in August 2015.

“In its 10th mission, scientists at Arianespace recently integrated GSAT-15 satellite with the launcher (Ariane 5)”, Arianespace said in a statement.

Preparations for Arianespace’s sixth heavy-lift mission have advanced into payload integration phase with GSAT-15 satellite making its first contact with the launch vehicle, it said.
GSAT-15, developed by ISRO, would provide C and Ku band telecommunications and navigation services to India.

It will have a lift off mass of 3,164.5 kg.
“Flight VA227 (Ariane 5) is set for a November 10 lift off. It will mark Arianespace’s 10th launch this year”, it said.

GSAT-15 would be launched along with Arabsat6B, set up by the Arab League Intergovernmental Organisation. Arabsat will be launched to provide telecommunications and television broadcast services for Middle East and African region.

The mission life of GSAT-15 will be 12 years.
 
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Updated: November 5, 2015 00:54 IST
GSAT-15 set to replace INSAT-3A, 4B - The Hindu


Its transponders will cater to DTH television, besides supporting VSAT operators who provide broadband services

GSAT-15, the mainly communications satellite being put in space next week, will replace two older spacecraft that will likely expire in the coming months.


Its 24 transponders are solely in the Ku band and will cater to DTH (direct-to-home) television first, besides supporting the thousands of VSAT operators who provide broadband services; and DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) for TV news channels.

GSAT-15 will not add new transponder capacity to the country; it will ‘ensure sustainability of service’for the capacity-hungry DTH sector, according to A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Secretary, Department of Space. It will also carry the third GAGAN satellite navigation transponder as a back-up for airlines and other users of augmented GPS-based systems.

GSAT-15, weighing 3,164 kg, will be launched in the wee hours of November 11 (IST) from Kourou in French Guiana (in South America) on the European Arianespace’s Ariane-5 launcher. The satellite cost and the launch fee are around Rs. 860 crore. GSAT-15 will be flown along with Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat-6B/Badr-7.

To be stationed over the country at a slot at 93.5 degrees East longitude, the upcoming satellite must quickly replace INSAT-3A and INSAT-4B that are completing their tenure — one in November and another later next year.

INSAT-3A, launched in April 2003, has completed its 12-year life. INSAT-4B, flown in March 2007, got reduced to half its functions in 2010 after one of its power-generating solar panels developed a snag.
 
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Launching satellites high on ISRO priority - The Hindu

Updated: November 8, 2015 05:38 IST

The Indian Space Research Organisation here on Saturday said firing satellites into space orbit at frequent intervals is high on its priority than the much-hyped manned mission to space.

“At present, development of critical technologies pertaining to manned mission is going on. Space suit is nearly done. We are working on crew module re-entry exercise and know-how to extricate astronaut in case of emergency and also environment control system such as addressing environmental toxicity,” ISRO chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar said here.

Mr. Kiran Kumar received Doctorate of Science degree from city-based KIIT University which held its 11th Annual Convocation on Saturday.

“The Government has to give clearance for the manned mission. It requires substantial investment by the government for development of these critical technologies. We had moved the Union government sometime back,” said Mr. Kiran Kumar.
 
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09TH_ISRO_2614320f.jpg

ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar handing over the certificate to a student at the graduation day ceremony of SMV Institute of Technology and Management in Udupi district on Sunday.

Updated: November 9, 2015 00:27 IST
Mars Orbiter Mission is in good nick, says ISRO chief - The Hindu

The ISRO had also set up a study team which was studying the future programmes to be taken by the organisation.
Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said on Sunday that the health of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan was extremely good.

Speaking to presspersons after participating in the Graduation Day ceremony of SMV Institute of Technology and Management (SMVITM) here in Karnataka, Mr. Kumar said that the ISRO had a programme in Bengaluru on November 5, where it marked two years of completion of launch of Mangalyaan and more than a year of its orbiting around the Mars.

All five payloads of MOM were sending data on a regular basis. “It is completing one revolution around the Mars roughly in two and a half days. All the sub-systems are working fine. We still have about 35 kg of fuel. The satellite is expected to last for quite some time,” he said.

Future plans
To a query, he said Chandrayaan-2 would carry a lander and a rover. It would help in having a controlled landing on the surface of the moon. The rover would move on the surface of the moon. It would collect data and send it to Earth. Chandrayaan-2 was likely to be launched in 2017 or 2018. The ISRO was planning to launch Aditya, the satellite, which would help in studying solar eclipses on continuous basis and also other aspects of the Sun.

The ISRO had also set up a study team which was studying the future programmes to be taken by the organisation. The team would study if there was a need for another Mars Mission or the need to go to Venus or asteroids. “The team is going to come up with a study report. The ISRO also has an advisory committee headed by scientist U.R. Rao, which will take a decision on future missions,” he said.

All the five payloads of the Astrosat, the dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory launched by the ISRO in September, were functioning well. The four payloads on it were returning data and its systems were working well.

In the immediate future, the ISRO planned to increase its launch frequencies. GSAT-15, a communication satellite, would be launched on November 10. There would be a launch every month from December 2015 to March 2016.
 
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Department of Space
11-November, 2015 08:42 IST
India's GSAT-15 Communication Satellite Launched Successfully


GSAT-15, India’s latest communications satellite, was launched successfully by the European Ariane 5 VA-227 launch Vehicle in the early morning hours of today (November 11, 2015). The 3164 kg GSAT-15 carries communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.

After a smooth countdown lasting 11 hours and 30 minutes, the Ariane 5 launch vehicle lifted off right on schedule at 0304 hrs (3:04 am) IST today. After a flight of 43 minutes and 24 seconds, GSAT-15 separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,819 km, inclined at an angle of 3.9 degree to the equator. The achieved orbit was very close to the intended one.

ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-15 immediately after its separation from the launch vehicle. Preliminary health checks of the satellite revealed its normal health.

In the coming days, orbit raising manoeuvres will be performed to place the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit (36,000 km above the equator) by using the satellite’s propulsion system in steps.

After the completion of orbit raising operations, the two solar arrays and both the antenna reflectors of GSAT-15 will be deployed. Following this, the satellite will be put in its final orbital configuration. GSAT-15 will be positioned at 93.5 deg East longitude in the geostationary orbit along with the operational INSAT-3A and INSAT-4B satellites. Later, it is planned to experimentally turn on the communication payloads of GSAT-15. After the successful completion of all the in-orbit tests, GSAT-15 will be ready for operational use.

***
 
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Isro to launch 5 Singapore satellites on Dec 16: Chairman

BELAGAVI: AS Kiran Kumar, chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) lauded the yeomen services of the KLE society rendering for the society since past one century in the fields of education and health.

Inaugurating the 100th Foundation Day of KLE Society, Kiran Kumar compared works of KLES with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Bengaluru which celebrating its golden jubilee. Both organizations have done remarkable works for the society to improve living quality of the people, he said.

Saptarishis (seven founders) established KLE society 99 years ago to provide educational services to the society. Being from poor financial background, they collected donation and ran the institutions. The small sapling planted century ago is now turned into banyan tree of 250 institutions. Similarly, space scientist Vikram Sarabhai established space centre five decades ago along with friends from India and abroad five decades ago. Now the centre has grown up to the extent of launching indigenous Mangalyan satellite. Progress of both organizations is remarkable, he said.

So far Isro has launched 75 Indian and 53 of foreign satellites into space for the services of broadcasting, education, communication, metrological services etc. Disaster management is the major service of satellites. Digging bore wells turned 95%-96% successful in these days with the help of satellite services compared to earlier success rate of 40% to 50%. India has around 7,000 kms coastal line and satellites help fishermen to find out fish quantity in particular areas, which is saving around Rs 20,000 crore money from wasting.

Proud thing is India is the first country found water contents on moon and in a first attempt itself the country became successful in sending complete indigenous Mars Orbitory Mission (MOM) of around 400 million kms distance. "Our BSLV rocket is most reliable satellite vehicle in the world", he said.

Isro chairman said organization will be launching five satellites of Singapore on 16th December. Besides, for effective GPS service, it has been launching group of seven satellites into space. Already four have been launched they are functioning well. Rest three will be launched between January to March 2016.

Prabhakar Kore, KLES chairman and Rajya Sabha member remembered all those people wholeheartedly who have given donations to the society through cash or land or many other ways including Infosys co-founder Sudha Murthy and Gururaj Deshpande who have donated in crores. Meanwhile, Kore announces conducting 1 lakh free operations throughout the year as a part of centenary year of the society besides treating dental disorders of 50,000 school children. He announced of establishing 200 bedded hospital in Pune and hospital in Bengaluru in the area of 5 acres shortly.

Meanwhile students of different KLE institutions excelled in academic, co-curricular and sports activities in state, national and international levels were felicitated. As many as 70 gold, 80 silver medals and three trophies conferred to the achievers besides 222 awarding certificates of merit.

Siddeshwar Swami of Jnanayogashram of Vijayapur graced the occasion. KLES president Shivanand Koujalagi, vice-chairman Ashok Bagewadi were present.
 
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The sun shines on India's Aditya - The Hindu

India's solar mission will study the Sun's outermost layers — the corona and the chromosphere — and collect data about coronal mass ejection

After a seven year long wait, Aditya, India’s first dedicated scientific mission to study the sun is likely to get a go-ahead from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) this week. The ambitious solar mission will study the sun’s outer most layers, the corona and the chromosphere, collect data about coronal mass ejection and more, which will also yield information for space weather prediction.

The project costs approximately Rs 400 crores and is a joint venture between ISRO and physicists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru; Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune; Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and other institutes.

Though the project was conceptualised in 2008 itself, it has since morphed and grown and is now awaiting clearance with the government. It now aims to put a heavy satellite into what is called a halo orbit around the L1 point between the Sun and the Earth. This point is at a distance of about 1.5 million km from the earth. With the excitement about the Mars Orbiter Mission yet to settle down, this could be the next most complicated feat that ISRO has carried out till date.

In a three-body problem such as this – with the earth and sun engaged in an elliptical orbit and a relatively very light, call it massless in comparison, satellite being placed in between – there are five so-called lagrangian points in space where the light, third body — in our case, the satellite — may be placed so that it can maintain its position with respect to the two others. One of these is the L1 point, which is about 1.5 million km from the earth.

A halo orbit would be a circular orbit around the L1 point. The satellite will have to use its own power (spend energy) to remain in position within in this orbit without losing its way. Such orbits have not been attempted too often.


Studying the corona

Among the suite of instruments in the payload would be a solar coronagraph. “A combination of imaging and spectroscopy in multi-wavelength will enhance our understanding of the solar atmosphere. It will provide high time cadence sharp images of the solar chromosphere and the corona in the emission lines. These images will be used to study the highly dynamic nature of the solar corona including the small-scale coronal loops and large-scale Coronal Mass Ejections,” said Dipankar Banerjee, physicist from IIA, who is part of this project. The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun and the chromosphere is the second inner layer. Data such as this can help us understand the corona and solar wind, which is a spewing of charged particles into space, at speeds as high as 900 km/s and at about 1 million degrees Celsius temperature, affecting the environment there.

Just like on earth, environment in space changes due to happenings in the sun, such as solar storms (flares). This is known as space weather. Dibyendu Nandi, Head of Center of Excellence in Space Sciences, IISER, Kolkata, describes it so: “Solar storms and space weather affect satellite operations. They may interfere with electronic circuitry of satellites and also, through enhanced drag (friction effects), impact satellite mission lifetimes. They also impact the positional accuracy of satellites and thus impact GPS navigational networks. Space weather also impacts telecommunications, satellite TV broadcasts which are dependent on satellite-based transmission.”

Dr Nandi works in building models that can predict space weather. Hopeful about Aditya’s contribution to this, he remarks “The data from Aditya mission will be immensely helpful in discriminating between different models for the origin of solar storms and also for constraining how the storms evolve and what path they take through the interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth. The forecasting models we are building will therefore be complemented by the Aditya observations.”

At the moment, there are models and calculations made by NASA which Indian scientists use to maintain their satellites. Now, there is a possibility of Indians developing their own space weather prediction models.
 
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Aditya-L1 :: India's expedition to the SUN
Thursday, November 19, 2015
By: Defence News Network

  • images_articles
  • 4_img1191115085041.jpg
  • Aditya-L1--Indias-expedition-to-the-SUN-687
  • Aditya-L1--Indias-expedition-to-the-SUN-687
  • Aditya-L1--Indias-expedition-to-the-SUN-687
  • images_articles
  • 4_img1191115085041.jpg

Introduction ::

After the successful launch of Chandrayan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, India is now gearing up for it’s expedition to the Sun.

Aditya-I (Sanskit: Sun) is India’s first dedicated scientific mission to study the Sun. This is a low-earth orbit (LEO) mission at an altitude of 800 Km. The spacecraft’s mission will be to study fundamental problems of coronal heating, and other phenomena that take place in Earth’s magnetosphere.

Recently ISRO is planning to position this satellite at Lagrangian point L1 i.e. at a point 1.5 million kilometres away from the Earth by which we can observe the Sun constantly. Hence the upgraded mission is called Aditya-L1 which is rescheduled for launch on 2017-18 at an estimated cost of 20 million US$.


Objectives ::

1. To study the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
CME is a massive burst of gas and magnetic field arising from the solar corona and being released into the solar wind.

2. To study the crucial physical parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc.


Payloads ::
Similar to MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) it will carry multiple payloads for better solar data collection. Expected payloads in Aditya-L1 mission:



1. Solar Ultraviolet Image Telescope (SUIT):
To observe the whole solar disc for solar storms which impact atmosphere on the earth.

2. Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC):
To study the diagnostic parameters of solar corona dynamics and origin of CMEs.

3. Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS):
To monitor the X-ray flares for studying the heating mechanism of the solar corona.

4. High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS):
To study explosive energy release, acceleration and transport of electrons using fast timing measurements and high resolution spectral studies.

5. Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX):
To study the variation of solar wind properties as well as its distribution and spectral characteristics.

6. Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA)
To understand the composition of solar wind and its energy distribution.


Importance ::

The sun, which is highly turbulent and dynamic, sends out large chunks of charged particles and emits highly energetic electromagnetic radiation in all directions. These radiations, on reaching Earth, causes severe near-Earth-space disturbances called Geomagnetic storms, which affect communication links, disturb power lines in high altitudes, causes aurora in polar regions and affect satellite systems directly and also indirectly through changes brought about in the near Earth atmosphere. Therefore basic understanding of the physical processes and continuous monitoring would help in taking necessary steps towards protecting ISRO's satellites either by switching them off or putting them on a stand-by mode as warranted by the background conditions.

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Conclusion ::

'Aditya' would be the first attempt by the Indian scientific community to unravel the mysteries associated with coronal heating, coronal mass ejections and the associated space weather processes and study of these would provide important information on the solar activity. Another noteworthy feature would be the positioning of spacecraft. Earlier it was planned to be launched into a polar orbit but now they plan to place it L1 point where no Indian spacecraft has gone before.
 
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Aditya-L1 :: India's expedition to the SUN
Thursday, November 19, 2015
By: Defence News Network

  • images_articles
  • 4_img1191115085041.jpg
  • Aditya-L1--Indias-expedition-to-the-SUN-687
  • Aditya-L1--Indias-expedition-to-the-SUN-687
  • Aditya-L1--Indias-expedition-to-the-SUN-687
  • images_articles
  • 4_img1191115085041.jpg

Introduction ::

After the successful launch of Chandrayan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, India is now gearing up for it’s expedition to the Sun.

Aditya-I (Sanskit: Sun) is India’s first dedicated scientific mission to study the Sun. This is a low-earth orbit (LEO) mission at an altitude of 800 Km. The spacecraft’s mission will be to study fundamental problems of coronal heating, and other phenomena that take place in Earth’s magnetosphere.

Recently ISRO is planning to position this satellite at Lagrangian point L1 i.e. at a point 1.5 million kilometres away from the Earth by which we can observe the Sun constantly. Hence the upgraded mission is called Aditya-L1 which is rescheduled for launch on 2017-18 at an estimated cost of 20 million US$.


Objectives ::

1. To study the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
CME is a massive burst of gas and magnetic field arising from the solar corona and being released into the solar wind.

2. To study the crucial physical parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc.


Payloads ::
Similar to MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) it will carry multiple payloads for better solar data collection. Expected payloads in Aditya-L1 mission:



1. Solar Ultraviolet Image Telescope (SUIT):
To observe the whole solar disc for solar storms which impact atmosphere on the earth.

2. Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC):
To study the diagnostic parameters of solar corona dynamics and origin of CMEs.

3. Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS):
To monitor the X-ray flares for studying the heating mechanism of the solar corona.

4. High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS):
To study explosive energy release, acceleration and transport of electrons using fast timing measurements and high resolution spectral studies.

5. Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX):
To study the variation of solar wind properties as well as its distribution and spectral characteristics.

6. Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA)
To understand the composition of solar wind and its energy distribution.


Importance ::

The sun, which is highly turbulent and dynamic, sends out large chunks of charged particles and emits highly energetic electromagnetic radiation in all directions. These radiations, on reaching Earth, causes severe near-Earth-space disturbances called Geomagnetic storms, which affect communication links, disturb power lines in high altitudes, causes aurora in polar regions and affect satellite systems directly and also indirectly through changes brought about in the near Earth atmosphere. Therefore basic understanding of the physical processes and continuous monitoring would help in taking necessary steps towards protecting ISRO's satellites either by switching them off or putting them on a stand-by mode as warranted by the background conditions.

.
Conclusion ::

'Aditya' would be the first attempt by the Indian scientific community to unravel the mysteries associated with coronal heating, coronal mass ejections and the associated space weather processes and study of these would provide important information on the solar activity. Another noteworthy feature would be the positioning of spacecraft. Earlier it was planned to be launched into a polar orbit but now they plan to place it L1 point where no Indian spacecraft has gone before.
Hey, is the image of spacecraft is real I mean same as that real will be.
Because I've seen many images of Aditya before that and in that there was only one very long solar plate.
 
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Typical apptard!! Lol
Contributing to humanity? Lol
I'm surgeon 3 yrsgovt sevice on 100s of medical camps later ....I've given back to the society a lot more than you or apptards like you can in a life time...
I've seen birth I've seen death
I've interacted with the rich the poor the middle class....
Upper caste,lower caste...
Hindu Muslim Christian...
You name it....I've seen what India is on ground rather like you sitting in a ac room typing on expensive laptop...bitching about problems of the farmers?
Tone down your ego...don't let your hate for particular religion blind your conscience!!
Now you have that tea and think!!!

Do not refer to the false flagger as an AAP member.
 
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NISAR biggest outcome of ISRO-NASA partnership, says NASA scientist

The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission that involves building of a 2600 kilogram satellite that will “effectively make a time-lapse movie of the earth” while keeping a close eye for ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapses and natural hazards, will be first mission where collaboration between NASA and ISRO will be biggest ever, says a senior scientist from NASA on Monday.

“In 2011 we started talking to ISRO and prior to that NASA was thinking of doing it (the mission) all by itself or with collaboration from Germany or Canada… It is a much bigger collaborative effort than undertaken ever before by the two agencies,” said Alok K Chatterjee, Mission Interface Manager and Launch System Engineer of NISAR project, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA.

Chatterjee who was in Gujarat Science City for an “outreach event” with other US-based scientists associated with the project — including NISAR project scientist Paul A Rosen, Mark Simons, Ian Joughin, Scott Hensley, Paul Siqueira and Piyush Agram — pointed out that ISRO will be providing the “spacecraft bus”, S-band SAR payload and the launch vehicle, while NASA will be providing the L-band SAR and the engineering payload for the mission that will have a total cost of over USD one billion and is expected to be launched in 2020.

According to Chatterjee, the recent collaboration between NASA and ISRO began in 2005 with the Chandrayaan-I mission where an eight kilogram Moon Mineralogy mapper from NASA accompanied the mission helped in “joint-discovery” of water on moon. “JPL also provided shadow navigation support to ISRO for Chandrayaan-I because ISRO was doing it for the first time and they had do some trajectory and navigation analysis all the way to the moon. JPL provided expertise in validating and verifying all the solutions so that they can reach the moon correctly,” he added.

Similar support was for provided to Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) where JPL’s navigational expertise in deep space trajectory and maneuverability aided the mission, the NASA scientist pointed out.

According to the NISAR project scientist Paul A Rosen, the mission was “in a formulation phase” which according to him was “just one step from building the actual hardware. “This mission aims to create the world’s largest freely available remove sensing data set. It will create one petabyte of raw data every year,” said Rosen adding that the satellite is being designed to a mission duration of 5-10 years.

“Using this data, scientists can create models that will help predict future changes in Earth’s topography,” he said adding that NISAR will also address a range of applications relevant to India, including monitoring the country’s agricultural biomass, snow and glacier studies in the Himalayas, Indian coastal and near-shore ocean studies and disaster monitoring and assessment.

This team of scientists from NASA will also be participating in a workshop scheduled to be held at Space Applications Center (an important arm of ISRO) in the next couple of days in connection with this mission.

Future NASA-ISRO Partnerships

Both NASA and ISRO are planning to fly a bigger version of the Moon Mineralogy mapper or M-cube on an aircraft for earth applications. “Now we have a situation where NASA and ISRO are going to conduct an airborne experiment with NASA instrument called AVIRIS-NG (Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer – Next Generation). This is going to happen this month or next. It has tremendous application in terms of agriculture, forestry, coastal changes and so India has selected targets all over the country to fly this airborne experiment using JPL instrument. This will form the basis for a much more global space-based collaboration,” Chatterjee said that the instrument has already been integrated with an aircraft provided by India.

NASA and ISRO will be collaborating to make IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) and GPS more accurate and NASA will also be providing navigation and trajectory support to Chandrayaan-2, he added.

- See more at: NISAR biggest outcome of ISRO-NASA partnership, says NASA scientist | The Indian Express
 
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Why did India take the cryogenic route instead of semicryogenic one....or its the natural evolution?
Semicryogenic engine seem less complicated than cryogenic ones...
Somebody shed some light!!
 
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