Indian Space Capabilities

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space25-February, 2015 15:53 IST
11 Indian and 13 foreign satellites launched during January 2012-February, 2015
During the last three years (January 2012-Februrary, 2015), India has successfully launched 24 satellites consisting of 11 Indian satellites and 13 foreign satellites. The details of the satellites are as follows:

a) 11 Indian satellites: RISAT-1, Satellite for Argos and Altika (SARAL), IRNSS-1A, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1C, INSAT-3D, Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft, GSAT-14, GSAT-10, GSAT-7 and GSAT-16;


b) 13 foreign satellites: SPOT-6 (France), PROITERES (Japan), SAPPHIRE (Canada), NEOSSat (Canada), NLS 8.1 (Austria), NLS 8.2 (Austria), NLS 8.3 (Denmark), STRaND-1 (UK), SPOT-7 (France), NLS 7.1 (Canada), NLS 7.2 (Canada), AISat (Germany) & VELOX-1 (Singapore).

The expenditure incurred on the launching of each of these eleven Indian satellites into the space is given below:

(` in crores)


1 . RISAT-1 PSLV-C19 90.00

2 SARAL PSLV-C20 85.00

3 GSAT-10 Procured Launch 406.82

4 IRNSS-1A PSLV-C22 90.00

5 Mars Orbiter Spacecraft PSLV-C25 108.34

6 GSAT-14 GSLV-D5 173.00

7 GSAT-7 Procured Launch 485.29

8 INSAT-3D Procured Launch 485.15

9 IRNSS-1B PSLV-C24 90.00

10 IRNSS-1C PSLV-C26 90.00

11 GSAT-16 Procured launch 581.00


There was no satellite failure in the process of launching during the above mentioned period.

This information was provided by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to Lok Sabha today.

****

Department of Space
25-February, 2015 15:51 IST

27 satellites operational in the country and action has been taken towards developing 26 indigenous satellites

There are 27 satellites that are operational in the country currently. This information was provided by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to Lok Sabha today.

These are as follows:

(i) 11 Communication Satellites namely, INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-7, GSAT-8, GSAT-10, GSAT-12, GSAT-14 and GSAT-16.

(ii) 12 Earth Observation Satellites namely, Resourcesat-2, RISAT-1, RISAT-2, Cartosat-1, Cartosat-2, Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, Oceansat-2, SARAL, Kalpana-1, Megha-Tropiques and INSAT-3D.

(iii) 3 Navigational Satellites namely, IRNSS-1A, IRNSS-1B and IRNSS-1C

(iv) 1 Mars Orbiter Mission

(a) As part of XII Five Year Plan (2012-17), action has been taken towards developing 26 indigenous satellites, which includes (i) 6 Communication satellites namely GSAT-15, GSAT-9, GSAT-6, GSAT-6A, GSAT-7A and GSAT-11 (ii) 13 Earth observation satellites namely, Resourcesat-2A, Cartosat-2C, Cartosat-2D, Cartosat-2E, GISAT-1, GISAT-2, INSAT-3DR, INSAT-3DS, Cartosat-3A, Cartosat-3B, Technology Demonstrator Micro Satellite (TD-MS), Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite and RISAT-2A; (iii) 4 Navigation satellites namely IRNSS-1D, IRNSS-1E, IRNSS-1F and IRNSS-1G; (iv) 3 Space science satellites namely Astrosat, Chandrayaan-2 and Aditya.

95 Ku-band (a part of K band) transponders onboard indigenous communication satellites are being utilized for various communication applications. Replying to the discussion, the minister said that the government is also working on resolving the connectivity issues in the hilly areas.

****

 

[Water Car Engineer]

India Chandrayaan -2 , indigenous Orbiter, Lander and Rover shown at Aero India 2015 by ISRO

Chandrayaan -2 Orbiter & Lander

Chandrayaan -2 Rover

 

[A$HU]

India Chandrayaan -2 , indigenous Orbiter, Lander and Rover shown at Aero India 2015 by ISRO

Chandrayaan -2 Orbiter & Lander

Chandrayaan -2 Rover

The rover looks quite primitive.

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
26-February, 2015 15:28 IST

Agreement in space technology for peaceful uses of outer space

Government of India and its national space body, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) of Department of Space (DOS) has signed agreement with other developing/ developed countries and their space bodies for peaceful uses of outer space including Research and Development (R&D) in space science, technology and applications.

Currently, such cooperative arrangements are in place with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, The Netherlands, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America and Venezuela.

This information was provided by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to Rajya Sabha today.

 

[lasttry]

The rover looks quite primitive.

CNC cut aircraft grade billet aluminium wheels. Yeah, looks quite primitive Mr scientist!!

 

[A$HU]

CNC cut aircraft grade billet aluminium wheels. Yeah, looks quite primitive Mr scientist!!

Arre i meant the design not the components.

 

[Vaishnu]

Does India have any plan for ASAT missile/weapon?

 

[Gessler]

Does India have any plan for ASAT missile/weapon?

Yes. Working on it as we speak.

 

[ashok321]

Arre i meant the design not the components.

Talking about design?
its CAD; Computer aided design, not CNC machines.

 

[Dillinger]

Yes. Working on it as we speak.

ASAT weapons, much like a nuclear deterrent, require a clear demonstration to announce to the world at large, and our potential opponents in particular, that we can cause severe damage to their space-based assets. For us this is not a matter of technology but of political will and considerations. Will our government consent to a proper test where an old sat will be targeted and destroyed? If yes, then we need to prepare for the international reactions and play our cards right.

 

[TejasMk3]

PSLV-C25/Mars Orbiter Mission - ISRO
New pics from Mangalyaan!

Spectacular 3D view of Arsia Mons, a huge volcano on Mars

Close-up view of a portion of the gigantic Valles Marineris Canyon of Mars.

Eos Chaos area, part of the gigantic Valles Marineris Canyon of Mars

Phobos, one of the two natural satellites of Mars silhouetted against the Martian surface

 

[Aamna Ali]

ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation




ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission payload views the albedo of Mars

Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) payload onboard MOM intends to detect the presence of Methane and measure the column density of the same. One of the secondary objectives of this payload is to measure the reflectance of Martian surface in 1.65 micron. MSM has two channels, Methane and reference to measure the radiance from the surface of Mars.
All planets in the Solar system receive Sun’s radiation to varying degrees depending on their distance from the Sun. Observing the surface of the planet depends on how this radiation is reflected back. Reflected solar radiation from Mars is a diagnostic signal of the planet which provides lot of information about the planet’s surface as well as its atmosphere. When we measure the radiance in a specific wavelength of light (in this case, 1.65 micron), then we can generate a reflectance map.
The map presented here shows the surface reflectance of Mars as viewed at 1.65 micron from the reference channel of MSM till December 16, 2014. In the map, the blue colour indicates low albedo features and the red shows high albedo features on the Martian surface.
The map resolution is 0.5°x0.5° in Latitude-Longitude. By correcting the data for CO2 absorption, a major part of atmospheric effects is taken care of. This data along with the reflectance measured by Mars Colour Camera will be useful to study the surface properties of Mars.
(Image credit: SAC, ISRO)

 

[Aamna Ali]

India's maiden Sun mission gets a boost
Srinivas Laxman
Indian Space Correspondent

">Srinivas Laxman, Indian Space Correspondent
03 March 2015, 19:19 UTC

Sen—India’s first mission to study the Sun designated as 'Aditya-1' received a major boost in the national budget for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) presented on Feb. 28, 2015.

Budget papers show that the allocation for the solar project has gone up from a mere U.S. $1.1 million to U.S. $3.2 million. The total cost of the project is about U.S. $16.2 million.

ISRO officials who spoke to Sen said that the hike only showed that India had accorded high priority to this project, and if it is successful then India will join the elite club of space-faring nations like the U.S., Japan and members of the European Space Agency which have launched missions to the Sun.

Slated for launch in 2018 with the highly-proven four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the mission will study the highly dynamic nature of the solar corona including the small scale coronal loops and large coronal mass ejections. Officials explained that these studies will enhance knowledge of the solar corona which in turn will help in providing data relating to space weather.

With a launch mass of 400 kg, the spacecraft will be placed in earth orbit at an altitude of nearly 800 kms positioned at Lagrangian point L1 which will be 1.5 million kms away from the earth. The advantage of locating it at this point is that it will allow the spacecraft to observe the Sun continuously and relay data.

The main payload will be the advanced solar coronagraph. The others are: Ultraviolet imager telescope, a high energy x-ray spectrometer, a wind particle detector, a soft ray spectrometer and a variable emission coronagraph.

The earlier plan envisaged it being launched in 2015-2016. But it got rescheduled to 2018 when it was decided to put additional payloads and place the satellite at the Lagrangian point L1.

According to Isro officials, it is is an extremely challenging mission because the spacecraft will be positioned at a point where the gravity of the Sun and that of the earth will play a role to keep the satellite in its place.

The project was conceptualised in January 2008 and was announced on Nov. 10, 2008—just four days before India landed on the moon on Nov.14, 2008.

The other important feature of the budget is that for the first time it has allotted a sum of Rs two crores for a Saarc satellite which was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he addressed the space scientists at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Jun. 30, 2014, after the successful launch of the PSLV-C23 mission.

The satellite will be designed and developed by ISRO and will cater to the needs of the seven-member Saarc countries.

Illustration of Aditya-1. Image credit: ISRO

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Space
12-March, 2015 14:40 IST

ISRO proposes to set up a new launch pad, referred as Third Launch Pad, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) proposes to set up a new launch pad, referred as Third Launch Pad, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

The Third Launch Pad is intended to support increased launch frequency, launching requirements of future advanced launch vehicles and also serve as a redundant launch pad for the GSLV MIII class of vehicles. Detailed studies on possible concepts /options and preliminary configuration have been carried out.

The possible site for the Third Launch Pad has been identified in Sriharikota taking into account the safety distances and maximal utilisation of existing launch pad facilities. However, further work on design of the launch pad will be taken up at an appropriate time after finalising the configuration of the advanced launch vehicle, operationalisation of GSLV MIII, programmatic requirements and resource availability.

This information was provided by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha today.

 

[CONNAN]

Hot Test of Cryogenic Engine Successful, Says ISRO

TIRUNELVELI:GSLV MK-3, high power integrated cryogenic engine, was hot tested successfully at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tirunelveli district on Saturday.

IPRC Director D. Karthikesan said as part of an important milestone in developing a heavy lift launch vehicle, GSLV MK-3, for the next generation, a major milestone was achieved when the cryogenic CE-20 engine was hot tested.

It was successfully tested for 20 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex(IPRC), Mahendragiri on Saturday.

“It is yet another milestone achievement on the road map of developing a bigger and more powerful indigenously built high thrust cryogenic upper stage for GSLV MK3 rocket for the Indian Space Programme,” said Karthikesan.

The Cryogenic CE-20 engine was a fully indigenous engine of ISRO and delivered a thrust of 20 tonnes. All the major parameters of CE-20 engine were normal and further tests were planned in the coming months, he added.

IPRC scientists said it was tested at around 3-45pm.

Various subsystems of CE-20, such as injector, thrust chamber, gas generator, LOX and LH2 turbo pumps were tested earlier at IPRC, Mahendragiri.

Hot Test of Cryogenic Engine Successful, Says ISRO -The New Indian Express