Indian Space Capabilities

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
20-July, 2017 15:45 IST
Indian Satellites in Outer Space

At present, there are 42 Indian satellites operational in orbit.

Out of these 42 satellites, 15 satellites are used for communication, 4 for meteorological observations, 14 for earth observations, 7 for navigation and 2 for space science purposes. During FY 2016-17, the total revenue accrued from communication satellites through leasing of INSAT/ GSAT transponders is Rs. 746.68 crore.

With respect to earth observation satellites, the annual income from sale of remote sensing satellite data is Rs. 25.17 crores. The data and value added services derived from earth observation, meteorological, communication & navigation satellites are used to support various applications viz. resource monitoring, weather forecasting, disaster management, location based services, including societal applications.

The expenses to realize and launching of these satellites are less than those of other countries.

This information was provided by 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 in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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[Hindustani78]

President's Secretariat
24-July, 2017 20:26 IST
President of India condoles the passing away of Prof. U.R. Rao

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the passing away of Prof. U.R. Rao.

In a message to his wife Smt. Yashoda Rao, the President has said, “I am sad to learn about the passing away of your husband, Prof. U.R. Rao.

An internationally-renowned space scientist, Prof. U.R. Rao will be long remembered for his services to the nation in various capacities including Chairman of ISRO, Secretary, Department of Space and Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Science and Technology at Thiruvananthapuram. For his exemplary services to the nation, Prof. Rao was honored with numerous prestigious awards including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. His demise is a great loss for our country and the scientific community.

Please accept my heartfelt condolences and convey the same to the rest of your family members. I pray to the Almighty to give you and other members of the family strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss”.

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Prime Minister's Office
24-July, 2017 10:07 IST
PM condoles the demise of Professor U R Rao


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has condoled the demise of renowned scientist, Professor U. R. Rao.

“Saddened by demise of renowned scientist, Professor UR Rao. His remarkable contribution to India's space programme will never be forgotten.” the Prime Minister said.

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[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
27-July, 2017 18:33 IST
New Satellite Launch Pads

The Indian satellite launching station located at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota has two launch pads - the First Launch Pad (FLP) and the Second Launch Pad (SLP). A Second Vehicle Assembly Building (SVAB) is being established at the Second Launch Pad to overcome the limitation in the number of vehicles that can be assembled and integrated in a year, which is expected to be ready by the beginning of next year. In addition to enabling a significant increase in the launch frequency from the existing two launch pads, the SVAB can also cater to the requirements of a third launch pad at Sriharikota in future.

This information was provided by 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 in a reply to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha today.

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Department of Space
27-July, 2017 18:32 IST
Updates on Mars Orbiter Spacecraft

Mars Orbiter Mission has successfully completed 1000 days in its orbit on June 19, 2017, surviving well beyond its designed mission life of six months. All Scientific payloads continue to provide valuable data of Mars surface and its atmosphere.

Mars Colour Camera on-board MOM has acquired more than 700 images of Martian surface. MOM atlas is published and updates on MOM images are regularly provided in ISRO website. The observations drawn by scientists have been published in 20 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals. The archived scientific data has been released to public for free download and scientific research. About 1380 registered users have downloaded more than 370 GB of data.

This information was provided by 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 in a reply to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha today.

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[Hindustani78]

The Vice President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari looking at the ‘Exhibition on Science & Technology Innovations’, organised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests and Rajya Sabha, in New Delhi on July 28, 2017. The Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, the Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and other dignitaries are also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
31-July, 2017 18:49 IST
FICCI delegation meets Dr Jitendra Singh, discusses possibilities of industrial collaboration in Space projects

A delegation of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), led by its President Shri Pankaj Patel met the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today and discussed with him the possibilities of industrial collaboration in Space projects.

The FICCI President briefed Dr Jitendra Singh about his meeting with ISRO Chairman Shri Shri A S Kiran Kumar and said that the entire Indian industry is elated at the successful launch of the first - ever "South Asia Satellite", as well as other landmark achievements in recent years, particularly in the last three months.

Shri Pankaj Patel informed Dr Jitendra Singh that, inspired by these recent milestones of India’s Space Programme, the companies operating in aerospace domain are keen to expand their business in Space segment. In addition, he said, the enabling policies of the Central Government have also encouraged them to explore the possibilities of engaging in the commercial Space segment.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that India’s Space achievements are a vindication of the struggle by founding fathers like Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan. As we move forward and extend our Space Technology applications in every field, ranging from housing to road construction, tele-education to tele-medicine, etc., it is but obvious that the range of our collaboration will also expand, he said. It is in such a scenario where the role of industrial bodies like FICCI becomes crucial, he observed.

Dr Jitendra Singh noted with pride that India today stands as world’s frontline nation in Space Technology. This, he said, is evident from the fact that several of our inputs and scientific conclusions including the pictures of Mars taken by the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) are being procured by NASA and other leading Space Centers of the World.

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[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
02-August, 2017 18:20 IST
Operational Satellites

The currently operational 42 satellites are being utilised to meet the requirements of resources monitoring, infrastructure planning, enabling weather forecasting, disaster management support, location based services, host of societal applications, including the demands of satellite communication. To ensure continuity of services and to meet further requirements in these areas, a plan is in place to suitably augment the space infrastructure.

Satellite based data and services are being used by various Ministries/Departments in planning, monitoring and evaluation of developmental activities in various sectors, which include agriculture, forestry & environment, water resources, urban & rural planning, asset mapping, mineral prospecting, ocean resources, meteorology, satellite communication, location based services, tele-education, tele-medicine and disaster management support.

At present, there are 42 operational satellites in orbit comprising of 18 Earth observation (including meteorological), 15 communication, 7 navigational and 2 Space Science satellites. 26 satellites are currently under various stages of realisation.

In order to step up the building of satellites, ISRO is involving a consortium of industries for Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) of satellites, wherein the sub-systems and infrastructure is being provided by ISRO. The AIT of a navigation satellite is in progress and the satellite is getting ready for launch in second half of this year.

In order to accelerate the use of satellites and its services, an outreach facility has been established in Hyderabad to cater to the requirements of capacity building in space-based applications. This facility caters to several activities like training, information kiosks, content generation, outsourcing and mass communication. The facility comprises of large number of thin client systems providing access to satellite data and various software tools for building applications for various developmental activities.

This information was provided by 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 in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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[gslv mk3]

Thanks to Ohsin on r/isro subreddit

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
03-August, 2017 17:57 IST
Joint Project between NASA and ISRO

ISRO and NASA are working towards realisation of NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission by 2021.

In NISAR mission, NASA is responsible for development of L-band SAR and ISRO is responsible for development of S-band SAR. The L & S band SAR will be integrated with ISRO’s spacecraft and launched on-board India’s GSLV. The total cost of the project includes ISRO’s work share cost of about Rs. 788.00 Cr and the cost of JPL’s work share of about USD 808 million. After the launch in 2021, the plan of action includes (i) calibration of instruments & validation of data products; (ii) development of science acquisition plan; (iii) development of data processing procedures & applications; and (iv) conduct of outreach activities in research institutes & academia.

NISAR employs a futuristic SweepSAR technique, which enables very wide swath of more than 200 km and very high resolution of the order of 5-10m. The L & S band microwave data obtained from this satellite will be useful for variety of application, which include estimating agricultural biomass over full duration of crop cycle; assessing soil moisture; monitoring of floods & oil slicks; coastal erosion, coastline changes; assessment of mangroves; surface deformation studies, ice sheet dynamics etc.

ISRO and NASA have a framework agreement for cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes signed in 2008. Under this framework agreement, ISRO and NASA have executed an implementing arrangement for cooperation in NISAR mission, which is valid until 2034 and provides scope for joint activities on science & applications of NISAR data after the launch.

This information was provided by 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 in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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Department of Space
03-August, 2017 17:53 IST
Desi Global Positioning System

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has deployed an indigenous regional positioning system named as “Navigation with Indian Constellation” (NavIC). It consists of seven satellites in a constellation to provide Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services in Indian mainland and surrounding region up to 1500 Km. It provides two types of services viz. Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Restricted Service (RS).

A budget of Rs.1420 Crore has been approved by the Government for the realisation of the system including 7 in-orbit satellites, 2 satellites as ground spare and associated ground segment.

ISRO has established the required space segment of the NavIC system for providing signal in space enabling position, navigation and timing information and it can support commercial civil applications. Indian entrepreneurs are being enabled for providing services through NavIC receiver system and requisite information has been made available in public domain. The demonstrations for vessel tracking, vehicle tracking, messaging services for fishermen, timing applications have been conducted. Mobile-Apps for navigational alerts across maritime jurisdictions is developed and tested for the Fishermen community using first generation NavIC receivers. Various types of user receivers are being developed indigenously involving Indian industry and discussions amongst government departments, user-receiver manufacturers, system integrators and service providers are taking place for the usage of NavIC system.

While the space and ground segment of the NavIC system has been established and demonstrations of various applications/ services have been conducted, the time required for it to become fully operational depends on the service providers making the services available in the market. It may take couple of years to become fully operational in the market

This information was provided by 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 in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
04-August, 2017 17:06 IST
ISRO and CSIR-NPL sign MoU for time and frequency traceability services

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Ministry of Science and Technology, in New Delhi today.


The MoU was signed by Shri V. V. Srinivasan, Director, ISTRAC on behalf of ISRO and Dr D K Aswal Director, NPL, on behalf of CSIR. The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh witnessed the signing of MoU. The DG, CSIR, Dr Girish Sahni, and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.


The MoU provides for time and frequency traceability services to ISRO by CSIR-NPL.


The scope of this MoU is the rendering by CSIR-NPL, of all the necessary actions, necessary to support the following:

· Time and Frequency Traceability services from National Time Scale of CSIR-NPL to IRNWT-I and IRNWT-II of ISTRAC/ISRO through Two-way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer (TWSTFT).

· Time and Frequency Traceability services from National Time Scale of CSIR-NPL to IRNWT-I and IRNWT-II of ISTRAC/ISRO through GNSS CV.

· Annual audit of IRNWT-I and IRNWT-II as per ISO/IEC 17025 for ensuring correctness and accuracy of the time traceability.


The MoU came into force from date of signing of the agreement (today) and shall remain valid for a period of 5 years thereafter. Subsequently, the MoU will be renewed on mutual agreement between CSIR-NPL and ISTRAC/ISRO.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that scientists of two premier scientific institutions, NPL and ISRO, have made great efforts in this direction and he applauded them for their contribution. He further said that this is very important landmark and an occasion to acknowledge the great contribution of our scientists. Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself encourages scientists to achieve these landmarks. He elaborated that NPL has one of the five Atomic Clocks in India and the people should be encouraged to visit the laboratories and understand science and its contribution to the development of the country.


Dr Jitendra Singh said that this agreement is very important for ISRO. He said that time is very important and synchronization is essential for ISRO projects. Highlighting the achievements of ISRO, he said that one of the main achievements of the Department of Space is that we have successfully and consistently widened the space technology use to various fields. He said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi takes keen interest in the scientific developments and does personal monitoring of these developments. He said that ISRO has achieved many milestones in the recent past e.g. successful launching of highest number of satellites, completion of 1,000 days of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), launch of South Asia Satellite etc. He said that ISRO has already signed MoUs with various ministries and departments which is contributing to the social applications of space technology. The ISRO has signed MoU with Ministry of Agriculture for Geo-MNREGA, with Ministry of Railways for guarding the railway crossings. ISRO is also contributing to the Smart City Programme and other initiatives, he added.


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[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh witnessing the signing ceremony of an MoU between CSIR-NPL and ISRO for time and frequency traceability services, in New Delhi on August 04, 2017. The DG, CSIR, Dr. Girish Sahni is also seen.

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressing at the signing ceremony of an MoU between CSIR-NPL and ISRO for time and frequency traceability services, in New Delhi on August 04, 2017. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the DG, CSIR, Dr. Girish Sahni and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh addressing at the signing ceremony of an MoU between CSIR-NPL and ISRO for time and frequency traceability services, in New Delhi on August 04, 2017. The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the DG, CSIR, Dr. Girish Sahni and other dignitaries are also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/sc...n-satellite/article19458651.ece?homepage=true

‘Hyspex’ imaging will enable distinct identification of objects from space

A new set of future satellites called hyperspectral imaging satellites is set to add teeth to the way India is gleaned from about 600 km in space.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says it plans to launch a full-fledged niche Earth observation (EO) satellite — called the Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite or HySIS — using a critical chip it has developed.

There is no specific time-frame yet for its launch, an ISRO spokesman said, adding that meanwhile, the new chip, technically called an “optical imaging detector array,” that they have created for it would be tested and perfected.

"ISRO is endeavouring to enter the domain of operational hyperspectral imaging from earth orbit" with a satellite that can see in 55 spectral or colour bands from 630 km above ground,” the space organisation has said. It said it decided to develop the chip that suited Indian requirements.

Hyperspectral or hyspex imaging is said to be an EO trend that is being experimented globally. Adding a new dimension to plain-vanilla optical imagers, it can be used for a range of activities from monitoring the environment, crops, looking for oil and minerals all the way up to military surveillance — all of which need images that show a high level of differentiation of the object or scene.

About a decade ago, ISRO added another EO niche with microwave or radar imaging satellites RISAT-1 and 2 that could ‘see’ through clouds and the dark — an important feature useful for the military and security agencies.

‘Hyspex’ imaging is said to enable distinct identification of objects, materials or processes on Earth by reading the spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space.

Another official described it as “another important development by ISRO in its quest for better and diverse Earth observation technologies.”

ISRO first tried it out in an 83-kg IMS-1 experimental satellite in May 2008. The same year, a hyperspectral camera was put on Chandrayaan-1 and used to map lunar mineral resources. Very few space agencies have such a satellite; a German environmental satellite called EnMAP is due to be launched on an Indian booster in 2018.

The payloads development centre, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, designed the architecture of the chip which was made at ISRO’s electronics arm, the Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Chandigarh. The result was a detector array that could read 1000 x 66 pixels.

According to an EO expert who called it the ‘CATSCAN’ equivalent of Earth from space, hyspex technology was still an evolving science. It came with many challenges and, as such, space agencies were still ironing out its issues after many years.

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
10-August, 2017 15:39 IST
Venus Mission of ISRO

The study team has submitted its inputs addressing various options and opportunities for Venus mission. The study team’s inputs will be reviewed by Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS) for further considerations. Meanwhile, the call for scientific proposals, through an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) to conduct space based experiments has been made to Indian scientists. After completion of selection process of proposals, definition of mission including budget will be worked out. Ten lakh rupees has been sanctioned for the project.

This information was provided by 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 in a reply to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha today.



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[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/629160/isro-looking-consortium-pslvs-chief.html

Known for its low-cost satellite launches, India's space agency ISRO is looking at a consortium for building launch vehicles to enhance its capacity and capture a larger slice of the global space industry, its chief A S Kiran Kumar said today.

Kumar emphasised on the building capacity within the organisation as well in the domestic industry.

"We are trying to increase the number of launches. We are trying to look at a consortium, a joint venture entity, to build launch vehicles," Kumar said.

Earlier this year, ISRO launched 104 satellites in one go, using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), its most trusted launcher.

With the consortium, ISRO plans to increase the number of PSLVs so that the frequency of launches can match the number of launch vehicles, he said.

"It is a question of capacity building to capture a portion of the global market," Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

Through its PLSV, the Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched foreign satellites at a lower cost.

Kumar said ISRO was also seeking to increase its annual launches to 24, apart from boosting its existing constellation of 42 satellites.

"We are trying to increase the frequency of launches so that we can put sufficient infrastructure in place to meet our communication, remotes-sensing, earth observation and navigation requirements. Though we have 42 satellites in the orbit, we need more (satellites)," Kumar said.

He said ISRO was also gearing up for its Moon mission - Chandrayaan 2. This would involve releasing a lander on the surface of the Moon.

He said the space agency has asked for proposals from the scientific community on the possible programmes that could be launched for its inter-planetary missions for Venus, Mars and some asteroids.

According to the government, the average annual revenue of the international satellite market over the last three years is approximately USD 200 billion.

In 2015-16, Antrix, ISRO's commercial arm, earned approximately Rs 230 crore through commercial launch services, which is about 0.6 per cent of the global launch service market, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for the Department of Space, said in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/sc...d-on-aug-31/article19546134.ece?homepage=true
BENGALURU:, August 23, 2017 17:21 IST
Updated: August 23, 2017 17:22 IST

ISRO has announced its next mission on August 31. The back-up navigation satellite, IRNSS-1H, will be launched from the Sriharikota launch centre just before 7 p.m. next week.

The spacecraft weighing over 1400 kg is similar to the other seven that are already in orbit. It will be put in a geostationary orbit in space over 55 degrees East longitude on ISRO's light-lifting PSLV rocket.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System — since renamed Navigation with Indian Constellation or NavIC — has been put up to give near-exact ground positions and time of objects or people, similar to what the American GPS does on a global scale. NavIC gives these details for land, sea or in air, as required by various Indian user agencies or individuals.

ISRO for the first time involved a consortium of six small and medium industries while building 1H and testing it; the next back-up 1I will also be assembled with greater role given to industry.

The upcoming 1H became necessary after all three rubidium atomic clocks on the first satellite, 1A, failed in orbit. 1A, now providing messaging services, was launched in July 2013.

 

[Dark Lord Forever]

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/sc...d-on-aug-31/article19546134.ece?homepage=true
BENGALURU:, August 23, 2017 17:21 IST
Updated: August 23, 2017 17:22 IST

ISRO has announced its next mission on August 31. The back-up navigation satellite, IRNSS-1H, will be launched from the Sriharikota launch centre just before 7 p.m. next week.

The spacecraft weighing over 1400 kg is similar to the other seven that are already in orbit. It will be put in a geostationary orbit in space over 55 degrees East longitude on ISRO's light-lifting PSLV rocket.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System — since renamed Navigation with Indian Constellation or NavIC — has been put up to give near-exact ground positions and time of objects or people, similar to what the American GPS does on a global scale. NavIC gives these details for land, sea or in air, as required by various Indian user agencies or individuals.

ISRO for the first time involved a consortium of six small and medium industries while building 1H and testing it; the next back-up 1I will also be assembled with greater role given to industry.

The upcoming 1H became necessary after all three rubidium atomic clocks on the first satellite, 1A, failed in orbit. 1A, now providing messaging services, was launched in July 2013.

bheekhari not eating but flying in space. why not build toilet with space money?