Indian Space Program Discussion

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arun
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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SSridhar wrote:SARAL satellite launch postponed to February - The Hindu
Glitches in SARAL, a satellite meant for studying the ocean currents and sea surface heights, has led to the postponement of its launch from December to the second week of February 2013 from the Sriharikota spaceport.

A core-alone version of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was to carry SARAL, an Indo-French joint venture, and five other satellites.

But problems that surfaced during the thermo-vacuum testing of SARAL at the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, have led to the postponement.

“We had technical problems in the satellite. Some problems were encountered during the thermo-vacuum testing… They have been solved,” said a top ISRO official. “The satellite has new payloads and new systems. When new payloads are used, technical issues will be there. We are resolving them,” said another ISRO engineer.

The 400-kg SARAL (Satellite for Argos-3 and Altika) has two payloads: Argos-3 for data collection and Altikameter for measuring the height of the sea surface. These payloads from French space agency CNES have been integrated into a satellite bus from India. The entire satellite is built in the ISRO Satellite Centre.

ISRO officials said the SARAL payloads would basically study the circulation of currents in the oceans and measure the sea surface heights, phenomena that played a complementary role in studying the state of the oceans and understanding them.

“They circulate heat and they play an important role in the development of weather in the short term and climate in the long term. If you want to understand the environment, the study of ocean surfaces and the variability of sea levels is important. They also impact on the coastal areas,” the officials said.

The five satellites to accompany SARAL are the 148-kg Sapphire and the 82-kg NEOSSAT, both from Canada; two nano-satellites for astrophysics, BRITE and UniBRITE, from Austria; and AAUSAT from Denmark.

AAUSAT, built by students of the Department of Electronic Systems at Aalborg University, will test some of the technologies developed by them.

Sapphire will look at other satellites and space debris, circling between 6,000 km and 40,000 km above the earth.

According to Canadian Space Agency, NEOSSAT (Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite) is “the world’s first space telescope dedicated to detecting and tracking asteroids and satellites.”

“It will circle the globe every 100 minutes, scanning the space near the Sun to pinpoint asteroids that may some day pass near our planet. NEOSSAT will also sweep the skies in search of satellites and… debris as part of Canada’s commitment to keeping orbital space safe for everyone,” it said.
The launch of SARAL has been scheduled for February 14:

ISRO lines up SARAL for February, restored GSLV for April
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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Chandrayaan-2: India to go it alone, The Hindu
India has decided to go it alone in its second lunar mission, the Chandrayaan-2, which was originally proposed as an Indo-Russian venture.

This was disclosed here on Monday by S.V.S. Murty of the Planetary Exploration Group of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), an institution under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) here.

Dr. Murty was speaking on India’s lunar and Mars missions at the ongoing workshop on exoplanets at the laboratory.

According to an agreement signed on November 12, 2007 between ISRO and Roskosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, ISRO had the primary responsibility to provide both the orbiter and the rover, while Roskosmos was to design and build the lander for this combined orbiter-rover-lander mission.

However, following the failure in December 2011 of Roskosmos’ Phobos-Grunt mission, there was a delay in the construction of the Russian lander.

The mission had a lander to return soil sample from the Martian satellite Phobos. This resulted in a complete review of technical aspects connected with the Phobos-Grunt mission, which were also used in the lunar projects such as the lander for Chandrayaan-2.

Due to this, as well as financial problems, the Russian agency apparently expressed its inability provide the lander to meet even the revised time frame of 2015 for the Chandrayaan-2 launch.

Dr. Murty stated that the cancellation of the Russian lander also meant that mission profile had to be marginally changed.

The design of the indigenous lander and the preliminary configuration study was completed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, he said.

Chandrayaan-2 will have five primary payloads on the orbiter, two of which will be improvements on instruments that were onboard Chandrayaan-1.

In addition, the rover too will carry two additional instruments. Chandrayaan-2 will be launched by a GSLV powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine.

However, PRL director Jitendra Goswami clarified that this did not mean that the Indo-Russian collaboration on planetary exploration had ended. Since Chandrayaan-2 was intended to be Roskosmos’ Luna-Glob moon exploration programme, the Russian agency may join hands with ISRO in any of its lunar missions, Dr. Murty said.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by pentaiah »

The radio telescope in Ooty is operating since 1965. IIRC
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Post by member_23694 »

Would really appreciate if someone could share the latest update on the following for ISRO.
1. SRE 2 launch
2. Semi-cryogenic engine
3. test flight of GSLV Mk.3 without C-25.

Can't find anything in net for 2013 for the above.

TIA
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

dhiraj wrote:Would really appreciate if someone could share the latest update on the following for ISRO.
1. SRE 2 launch
2. Semi-cryogenic engine
3. test flight of GSLV Mk.3 without C-25.

Can't find anything in net for 2013 for the above.

TIA
From the launch schedule announced a few days ago( reported in the Hindu) it looks like there won't be any SRE-2 or Astrosat this year. The missions are PSLV-Saral, GSLV mark 2, an Indian IRNSS launch aboard a PSLV, one GSAT and one INSAT( both by Ariane), and then the Mars mission. For a total of 6 missions, 4 by an Indian launcher. Unless an SRE-2 or Astrosat goes up with the IRNSS, probably not doable for Astrosat.

Nothing on GSLV mark 3 or the semi-cryo.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by member_23694 »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the info, but why no plans for this year :(( :(( :(( :(( :(( :((
ab to IRAN bhi antriksh mein bandar bhej diya jaisa ki sun ne mein aaya hai .... :((
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by srin »

dhiraj wrote:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the info, but why no plans for this year :(( :(( :(( :(( :(( :((
ab to IRAN bhi antriksh mein bandar bhej diya jaisa ki sun ne mein aaya hai .... :((
There was/is a lot depending upon a tested and reliable GSLV. As long as we don't have that, we'll have to make do with foreign launches (incase of comm sats), PSLV XL (but with lower payload) or just put on backburner (man-in-space).
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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Indo-French satellite set for launch

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/i ... 400150.ece
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by ashthor »

Any idea on how to view the asteroid passing by earth today? Timings and directions?
TSJones
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by TSJones »

Uh, unless you've got just a real nice telescope best to catch NASA TV at

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Their asteroid coverage starts at 11:00am PST today 02/15/2013. That's in about 35 minutes.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by TSJones »

So we were looking at the big guy as it passed by and then got smacked by the little guy. I think in the future it would behoove us not to declare that we're safe from a near flyby when it could have some splinters tagging along with it. Not that we can do anything about it. Sort of like China and NoKo or China and Pakistan or the US and Israel. Grin.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by member_24808 »

Some pics of the PSLV C-20 and payloads

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c20/Imagegalle ... e/sat2.jpg

SARAL mounted on top of the Dual launch adapter

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c20/Imagegalle ... e/sat3.jpg

PSLV C-20 with heat shield closed

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c20/Imagegalle ... e/sat5.jpg
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by member_24808 »

Some more pics

SARAL

Image

PS4 integration

Image

PS2 integration

Image
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by member_24808 »

More pics

PSLV C-20 first stage roll control modules integration

Image

Vika's ground test???

Image
TSJones
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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Great pics! Thanks.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by member_24808 »

I hear that ISRO has begun design work on the CE-60 cryogenic engine can anyone confirm this?? Also does anyone know when the CE-7.5 (for GSLV MK-2) will be ground tested. The engine still needs to go through high altitude testing and endurance testing before the may launch of the GSLV.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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Mangalyaan in Oct, GSLV D5 in May

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 621944.cms
It'll be launched using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's (PSLV) XLor extended model rocket from Sriharikota. On reaching the red planet, it'll be inserted into its electrical :roll: orbit.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Most exciting for me would be the GSLV launch
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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Amol.D wrote:Mangalyaan in Oct, GSLV D5 in May

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 621944.cms
It'll be launched using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's (PSLV) XLor extended model rocket from Sriharikota. On reaching the red planet, it'll be inserted into its electrical :roll: orbit.
Could be typo for elliptical or could be one where it always has line of sight to Sun for solar panels. They might not be confident if they'll be able recover after being off. Bigger/heavier batteries will be needed which has its own penalty.
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In this month's March issue of Astronomy is an article "China's Race to Study the Cosmos" by Eric Peng a professor of astronomy at Peking University. It has some nice pics of installations, a map of China showing where the installations are and a good discussion of their latest programs. Nothing much on historical perspective however.

Gentlemen, where is India's, I must rhetorically ask?
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^^^^^^^^^
Sir, China sent a manned mission in 2003 and so an article on its space mission in 2013, going by this rate such an article on India would at best case be in 2033 with the current speed of our space program :wink:
ISRO can make a lot of big claims about MARS and other missions but the truth is it seriously lacks some critical technology to be a true blue space power. INSAT, IRS, PSLV programs are been there done that programs.
It is the next step in rocket technology , serious lack of aggressive approach and putting the resources on right priorities that seems to be affecting ISRO's future growth.
TSJones wrote: Nothing much on historical perspective however.
This is the best part. I have read/heard a lot of interviews from ISRO leadership that ISRO was established to serve the social needs of the country. Perfect . But that was in 1969 and by 1992 we had our own INSAT, IRS satellite meeting the social needs of the country. Most of the objectives met within the first 25 years from scratch for India of that time.
However after another 21 years the aspirations of India has moved ahead but for ISRO, it is at the same level trying to move to the next level :(

Though i would still like to end by wishing ISRO success for 25th feb mission and desperately wish that it succeeds in the cryo test and surprise me with semi-cryo and Mk.3 test this year :)
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Post by Gagan »

GSLV MK 3 this year seems to be not possible. :(
Semi cryo too..

Unless there are news reports of basic testing being done.

ISRO has multiple centers spread across southern Tamil Nadu, Karnatka, AP, Kerela, Northern India where they do all sorts of jet propulsion, satellite related work, It is possible to identify them on a map, but not a good idea considering the times that we live in.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by chetak »

symontk wrote:{quote="SSridhar"}India, Russia ink military deals
India and Russia also agreed to take the first steps towards operating a “ranging station” that will help accurately fix the location of satellites.
{/quote}

That was not needed, it will create unwanted attention from other powers. The question being what and whose satellities are being looked at. If I correctly remember Gorbechev requested Rajiv gandhi in 80's for such a station and also a launch station which India politely refused
Ranging usually has a targeting function. :wink:
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by Bade »

dhiraj wrote: I have read/heard a lot of interviews from ISRO leadership that ISRO was established to serve the social needs of the country. Perfect . But that was in 1969 and by 1992 we had our own INSAT, IRS satellite meeting the social needs of the country. Most of the objectives met within the first 25 years from scratch for India of that time.
However after another 21 years the aspirations of India has moved ahead
but for ISRO, it is at the same level trying to move to the next level :(
If you look at US space setup, it also began with NASA and slowly by the 1960's it created a new organization within NOAA to take care of the earth sciences using space based assets. But NASA has continued to do work on areas overlapping with NOAA. The NOAA and NASA budgets are quite comparable.

In the area of applications (taking out rocket science part) ISRO is more like a NOAA in its current form, the moon and mars missions are the outliers and more like a NASA project.
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Image

Image

Image

Image
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by dinesha »

Live Telecast from Doordarshan and Webcast of Launch will be available on Feb 25, 2013 from 17:30 hours (IST) onwards

Image
A view of PSLV-C20 second stage liquid engine during vehicle assembly
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by vsunder »

I am not sure why a question posed about Astronomy and facilities for observing the Cosmos
have to relate to ISRO and its perceived inadequacies and vision etc. India has some outstanding
observatories and has produced outstanding leadership in Astronomy.
Astronomy is not all space based. Currently India has a telescope at one of the highest locations in the world at 15,000 feet at Hanle near Leh, Ladakh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ast ... bservatory

It has one of the largest telescopes in Asia , the Vainu Bappu observatory,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vainu_Bappu_Observatory

Vainnu Bapu himself was a distinguished astronomer and President
of the International Astronomical Union. He made many outstanding
contributions to Solar Physics and was an important figure
in setting up many Observatories in India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vainu_Bappu

http://aastro.org/2010/08/commemorating ... -in-india/


Another outstanding figure in Observational Astronomy in India is Govind Swarup of TIFR. He is a radio astronomer. In the 1960's Bhabha made a push for Radio Astronomy. Scouting for sites,
a site was found in Ooty on a 11 degree natural slope. This 11 degrees corresponds to
the latitude of the place. The Radio telescope array was built there and thus fortituously
has an Equatorial mount as if the telescope is located at the Equator. This was the vision
and foresight of Bhabha and Govind Swarup. In some other thread Spinrao/Pentaiah
has commented on when this Radio telescope was built.

http://www.iiap.res.in/Swarup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govind_Swarup



You may find this story of how the Ooty telescope came to be built in the book Bhabha and his Magnificent Obsessions.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Bha ... BBimcMVpgC

Here is a write up on the Ooty radio telescope:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooty_Radio_Telescope

As far as theoretical studies go, of course the most important contribution is the so-called
Raychaudhuri equation apres Amal Raychaudhuri. The forum moderator Brigadier RayC is related to him. Unfortunately all write ups about this equation I fear are totally disgusting and obscure
the elegant, simple idea behind this equation. I have a one page write up which very clearly
gives a proof of the equation. The inequality that follows from this equation is central to the work
on Black holes and singularities of Hawking and Penrose. A proof of the Raychaudhuri equation is given in the fundamental textbook The Large Scale Structure of Space Time by Hawking and Ellis.
However I will NOT recommend that exposition, it is NOT clear. Another shabby exposition meant for lay people is in the magazine Resonance issued by the Indian Academy of Sciences, here is the link:

http://www.ias.ac.in/resonance/April2008/p319-333.pdf

I still maintain my one page exposition is clean and neat.

From the early days even ISRO was not about Social service. It was all about Observational astronomy. It had figures like Chitnis and Pisharody who were very distinguished metereologists
interested in Geomagnetism. In fact ISRO decided first to build its rocket launching station in Kollam( Quilon) since the Magnetic Equator passed directly overhead. But Pisharody told Sarabhai that the place where the rocket station was going to be built was called "sandbar of the white elephants"
at which point Sarabhai got upset and said " do you realize what would happen if we have a rocket station at a place with a name associated to white elephants, find another place". So Thumba was found by Chitnis. Here is a link to that story:

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/1 ... 050200.htm

There is also the newer GMRT, Giant Meter Wave Radio Telescope near Pune,
one of the largest arrays in the world:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Metr ... _Telescope
Further projects are on the anvil, one that comes to mind:

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/scienc ... 112390.ece

Mega Science is not necessarily good science and the history of science
is replete with small, clever experiments that have far reaching and important
consequences. India has good positional advantage spanning 26 degrees of
latitude and it has wisely taken advantage of this fact to construct good observatories.
Last edited by vsunder on 25 Feb 2013 02:49, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by saip »

OT. But is Thumba still operational? Last year my flight from Trivandrum was delayed because of a NOTAM. So I assume some launches are still taking place.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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"I am not sure why a question posed about Astronomy and facilities for observing the Cosmos
have to relate to ISRO and its perceived inadequacies and vision etc. India has some outstanding
observatories and has produced outstanding leadership in Astronomy."
Varoon Shekhar wrote:"ISRO has a university and then there is the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (one of the best Astrophysics programs in Asia), even IISc has an excellent Astrophysics and Space Sciences department. This is nothing new."

India was the first country in Asia to set up modern optical and radio astronomy facilities. And it still possesses some of the finest telescopes in Asia. How many people in North America and Europe would think that India was the pioneer in Asia in modern telescopy? The vast majority, if asked, would first name Japan, then China, S.Korea or Singapore. Any country except India. The ignorance of India's achievements is mind boggling.
Because of the above quote by Varoon. Nothing against Varoon, but someone should feature India's projects in this area. That was my point.
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Post by Bade »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGeh35kPik8
Hanle facility

21-m facility MACE at same site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGxfqvy7HoE

Gamma ray telescope getting ready at Hanle article from 2011.

Electronics Corporation of India builds world's largest telescope
The main purpose of the telescope is to study the gamma rays that are emitted in the universe. Through the telescope, scientists will study the deep space, stars and the galaxies. BARC is conducting what is known as the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (Mace) and for that purpose had asked the ECIL to build the telescope, costing Rs 50 crore. "The fabrication of the telescope has been completed. The telescope will be transported to the site next summer. It will not be possible to take the telescope before due to blockage of roads owing to snow in the Ladakh region" ECIL executive director ( Aerospace Systems Group) Ch V R S Gopalakrishna told TOI.

The High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) project in Namibia is also engaged in high-energy gamma -ray astronomy. The Magic Telescope, a European experiment on the Canary Island of La Palma in Spain, is also involved in the study of the galaxy. The diameter of the ECIL-built telescope is much larger than what the telescopes in these two places have.

According to O V L N Murthy, head, Antennae products and Satcom division, the telescope that the ECIL has built will be installed at Hanle where the Indian Astronomical Observatory is located. The building of the telescope, which weighs 180 tonnes, is itself an engineering marvel, Murthy said. With the fabrication of the telescope having just been completed, the team of engineers at ECIL has begun the proof assembly. Already 18 meters of the telescope has been erected.

BARC decided on getting the 21-metre telescope fabricated for the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (Mace), which would be set up at a high altitude of 4,200 metre. The telescope, when set up, at Hanle, will be operated with solar power.
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Post by Bade »

ISRO video on SARAL mission goals.
http://www.isro.org/video-pslv-c20.aspx
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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NEOSSat to be launched by PSLV will search for asteroids heading towards earth - N.Gopal Raj, The Hindu
A space telescope that will watch for asteroids heading in Earth’s direction and a pair of tiny astronomical satellites are among the six spacecraft that the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C20 will carry into orbit on Monday alongside its primary payload, the Indo-French ‘Satellite with ARgos and ALtika’ (SARAL).

Canada’s Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite (NEOSSat) will join global efforts to discover and track asteroids that might pose a threat to our planet. Just recently, the world got a sharp reminder of the dangers posed by such cosmic wanderers, with an asteroid hurtling past at an uncomfortably close distance while a meteor exploded in the skies over Russia with the force of several Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs.

In a mission funded by the Defence Research Development, Canada, and the Canadian Space Agency, the spacecraft, the size of a large suitcase and weighing 74 kg at launch, will also be used to track satellites and orbital debris.

NEOSSat will be the only space telescope dedicated to searching for asteroids, remarked Alan Hildebrand of University of Calgary in Canada, who heads the science team for the satellite. “What you can uniquely do from space is to search the sky near the sun,” he told this correspondent. The satellite’s telescope was designed to allow it to look at a narrow arc close to the Sun.

Also travelling on the PSLV are two BRIght Target Explorer (BRITE) nano-satellites. Their designer, the Space Flight Laboratory of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) in Canada, says these are the smallest astronomical satellites ever built. Each cuboidal spacecraft weighs less than 7 kg at launch.

A small telescope inside the spacecraft will be used to observe the brightest stars in the sky. The pair that are going on the PSLV will be operated by two Austrian universities. Four more BRITE satellites are to be launched in the coming years.

BRITE is expected to demonstrate that nano-satellites are now capable of performance that was once thought impossible for such small spacecraft,” according to Cordell Grant, Manager of Satellite Systems for the Space Flight Laboratory at UTIAS, in a statement on a university web page about the spacecraft. These high-performance spacecraft could be developed quickly and at low cost.

The PSLV will also launch small satellites, one each from Australia, the U.K. and Denmark.
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

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Sharper Eye on Earth's Waters - N.Gopal Raj, The Hindu
In October 2011, an Indo-French scientific satellite, Megha-Tropiques, designed to measure rainfall over the tropical regions of the world, took to the skies. A continuation of that collaborative effort has now produced another scientific mission, this time to monitor the oceans. The ‘Satellite for ARgos and ALtiKa’ (Saral) is to be launched by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle later this month.

Ties between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its French counterpart, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), go back five decades to the early years of India’s space programme.

“We started to think about increasing and reinforcing the long-term cooperation in the late 1990s by developing together … a scientific satellite,” according to Sylvie Callari, head of International Relations at CNES. Finding that they were pursuing similar scientific objectives in terms of earth observation, the two space agencies joined hands to develop the Megha-Tropiques satellite. “Very quickly we started to think about doing another one … and we ended up with this altimetry programme for the study of oceans,” she told this correspondent.

A satellite altimeter works on the principle of the radar, emitting microwave pulses and picking up signals that bounce back. The time taken for the signal to return provides a measure of the distance between the satellite and the surface of an ocean. By establishing the satellite’s position in orbit very precisely, the sea surface height can then be determined. The returning signals can also be used to estimate wave heights and winds over the ocean.

France flew its first altimeter on the Topex/Poseidon, a spacecraft built jointly with the U.S, which was launched in 1992 and worked till 2006. French altimeters also went on Jason-1 and Jason-2 spacecraft that the two countries sent up in 2001 and 2008 respectively.

Advanced instrument

The French ‘AltiKa’ altimeter on the Saral will operate in a higher frequency band (known as Ka) than previous satellite altimeters. Use of a higher frequency, along with correction for atmospheric delays, will allow this altimeter to determine sea surface height with greater precision. In addition, its higher spatial resolution confers the ability to gather data closer to the seashore than before, and also supply more accurate information about inland water bodies, like rivers and lakes.

The suggestion for an altimeter-carrying satellite came up at a meeting of the Indo-French Joint Working Group about a decade back, according to persons who occupied senior positions in Indian space programme at the time. For ISRO, which has not made an altimeter, the collaboration offered a way to gain experience in operating and using such a satellite.

Moreover, the proposal also fitted in with the space agency’s own ideas for creating a small satellite weighing about 400 kg at launch. Typically, instruments are embedded in various parts of a satellite during its assembly. But a modular approach was evolved for the Saral. Its instruments came from France as a single module. The Indian side developed the basic satellite structure, known as the ‘bus’, which provides basic housekeeping functions. The instrument module was attached to the bus with a few bolts and an electrical connector.

The same bus could be used again in future, reducing the time needed to put together satellites carrying other instrument modules, observed a retired ISRO scientist.

Saral’s altimeter will help scientists watch the world’s oceans and its shrinking ice sheets. As the climate has warmed, global sea levels have risen. “A significant fraction of the world population is settled along coastlines, often in large cities with extensive infrastructure, making sea-level rise potentially one of the most severe long-term impacts of climate change,” pointed out a World-Bank-sponsored study last year.

National security perspective

“It is good for India, which has long coastline, to get into sea-level monitoring,” remarked Raghu Murtugudde, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Maryland in the U.S. From a national security perspective, India also needed to worry about countries in its neighbourhood that might get swamped by rising seas, like Bangladesh or the Maldives.

“Sea surface height is actually a very good indicator of how much heat there is in the underlying ocean,” said Krishna AchutaRao of IIT Delhi, one of the principal investigators on the Saral/AltiKa science team. Nearly 90 per cent of the additional heat trapped by greenhouse gases ended up in the oceans. Data from Saral’s altimeter, along with other information, would be useful for understanding how the long-term heat content of the oceans has been changing, especially that of the Indian Ocean.

“On a global scale, how the ocean takes up and distributes heat affects the atmospheric temperature change we experience under warming,” he pointed out. “Regionally, the availability of heat affects many weather and climate phenomena, including the monsoon.”

At the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (Incois) based in Hyderabad, Saral’s altimeter data would go into high-resolution ocean state forecasting models that are being set up for the Indian coast. Such predictions of sea conditions would help fishermen, the shipping industry, oil and gas companies as well as the Coast Guard and Navy, according to its director, Satheesh Shenoi.

Saral will also carry an Argos payload for relaying data from transmitters that provide worldwide environmental monitoring and tracking. Thousands of such transmitters have been deployed on ocean buoys as well as various other platforms on land and sea. They have even been attached to birds and animals to track migration over long distances.
nits
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by nits »

From ISRO website

Live Telecast from Doordarshan and Webcast of Launch will be available on Feb 25, 2013 from 17:30 hours (IST) onwards

Latest Update
All Propellant filling operations are completed.
Mobile Service Tower (MST) withdrawal to parking end (160 m) is completed.
kvraghavaiah
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by kvraghavaiah »

Wish you all the best ISRO. Prayers of millions of Indians with you.
member_23694
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by member_23694 »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
what Sir , for a 400Kg satellite PSLV mission so much prayer....
what will happen for a manned mission :P :wink:
kvraghavaiah
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by kvraghavaiah »

dhiraj wrote:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
what Sir , for a 400Kg satellite PSLV mission so much prayer....
what will happen for a manned mission :P :wink:

May be sacrifices... :) (of goats and chickens)
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by juvva »

Count down timer and a quick one glance summary here:

http://www.space.aau.dk/aausat3/index.p ... nformation

sat.s release sequence is interesting.
Varoon Shekhar
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Re: Indian Space Program Discussion

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

Bade wrote:ISRO video on SARAL mission goals.
http://www.isro.org/video-pslv-c20.aspx
Really nice presentation, a layperson can understand and appreciate it.

T.S Jones, India's achievements are not recognised in the North American( and probably European media). And that's why the vast majority of people in these regions would not name India as an Asian pioneer in modern optical/radio astronomy. The only time an Indian achievement is acknowledged is when it is something controversial like nuclear tests. Then, a whole lot of finger-wagging goes on, together with the 'acknowledgement'. Most of the time, the international media is on the lookout for the strange, quirky(eunuch gathering, girl betrothed to a dog), brutal( rapes) and the calamitous( train,bus accidents, floods et al).
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