Indigenous navigation system in space soon
S.K. Shivakumar, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, speaks at the inaugural function of the SEDS international conference, 2015 at the VIT University in Vellore on Friday. G.V. Selvam, VIT Vice-President, and Alan Gadian of the University of Leeds are in the picture.
Plan to land a rover on moon by 2017, says Director, Satellite Centre, ISRO
India will soon have an indigenous space-based navigation system with a total of seven satellites in place with the launch of four more satellites under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) on March 28, according to S.K. Shivakumar, Director, Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Speaking at the inaugural function of the SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) International Conference 2015 at the VIT University here on Friday, Dr. Shivakumar said that the development of the indigenous space-based navigation system will be one of the major achievements within a short time since that will enable India to have a navigation system in place to provide information on par with the GPS (global positioning system) in the U.S.
“After the success of Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission, we have a plan to land a rover on moon by 2017. This project, Chandrayaan-2 will ensure that we can safely and smoothly land on other planets.”
ISRO is also planning to have satellites for weather monitoring, ocean applications, meteorology and monitoring of global warming which require many technologies to be developed, he said.
On the human space programme, the ISRO official said that ISRO is planning to have its own human space programme provided it has the budgetary support of the government since it requires 5-digit-crore rupees. Being a developing country, India should be very judicious in planning capital intensive space projects with regard to economic growth.
“While other nations are talking of space tourism, we have to analyse whether it really fits in our country’s priority. National priority is one of our major goals. With respect to our national priority, we have our vision and mission strategies.”
PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles) and GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles) are operational for launching remote sensing and communication satellites.
In future, we are targeting GSLV Mark-III which will be capable of launching 4-tonne to 5-tonne satellites in the GTO (geostationary transfer orbit), he said. G.V. Selvam, vice-president (Administration), VIT presided. Alan Gadian of the University of Leeds, U.K. and S.K. Sekar, Dean, School of Mechanical and Building Sciences, VIT participated. Geetha Manivasagam, Conference Chair, gave an introduction to SEDSIC’15. Ankur Jain, conference secretary proposed a vote of thanks.
“While other nations are talking of space tourism, we have to analyse whether it really fits in our country’s priority’’
Indigenous navigation system in space soon - The Hindu