Indian Space Programme Discussion

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 29 Sep 2015 19:45

First observatory, congrats ISRO.

disha · Post by **disha** » 29 Sep 2015 20:46

SSSalvi wrote:Iinternational tribunal has asked the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to pay Bengaluru-based space technology firm Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd $672 million in damages for cancelling a contract four years ago on grounds of national security.

The Cabinet Committee on Security scrapped the deal in 2011 on the grounds that it was not in the security interests of the country

Nothing is going to come out of it.

1. International tribunal has no jurisdiction here. Note the word tribunal.

To feel self important., you and me can form a tribunal and invite some "eminent" folks from all over the world it will be an "international" tribunal.

Note the members of the "international" tribunal:

The Tribunal comprising Michael Pryles, V V Veeder Q.C, and Justice A S Anand gave the order in an unanimous decision.

Now do some simple google search:

1. Michael Pryles is based off Australia http://michaelpryles.com/
2. V. V. Veeder Q.C - another pompous firm operating out of Essex, London
3. Justice A. S. Anand - he was also euphemistically called the "chief injustice of India" during his tenure. However again a retd. judge.

2. Devas Multimedia is a private company., formed by Indians (former employees of ISRO) and "venture capitalists")

3. After the deal was signed., shares of the private company went from Rs. 10 to Rs. 1.25 lakhs. Some shares were sold to Deutsche Telekom.

4. Since the deal was flawed., it was scraped. Note that an exclusive deal was signed for a non-exclusive spectrum sale without due process. That itself is a basis to annul the deal.

5. Devas sued Antrix for $2B and Deutsche Telekom for $1B. Now the tribunal has awarded @672 million with 18% interest per year accrual if not paid in time. (the interest itself is usury).

It is interesting., if Devas mis-represented the deal to Deutsche Telekom., then Devas is responsible for any damages to DT. Now if DT did not do its due diligence., it is not Antrix's fault.

Second, "security" clause is a force majeure. GOI/ISRO can anytime invoke it. It need not be even stated. However, the very fact that the deal smacks of corruption through and through (an exclusive deal with Devas when a non-exclusive spectrum could be auctioned itself points to corruption) it can be revoked.

Third., what damages? When the deal itself was not operationalized? Can DT prove that it has built physical capacity in India which are now unutilized based on this deal?

So what is the scam? The scam here is reverse. Get GOI into a deal, force it to break it and bring in damages. Even if GOI/Antrix end up paying $100 million to Devas/DT., they are richer by $100 million!!

SSSalvi · Post by **SSSalvi** » 29 Sep 2015 21:25

A usual post of orbit of satellites launched by PSLV C30.

Top figure shows the satellites as they are launched on 28th. Note how all are together in one bunch.

Next part shows the position of the satellites a day after launch and the same view is zoomed in the lowest portion of image showing how the satellites have started spreading .. but still in the launch orbit .

In a few days individual sat operators will start own maneuvers to push the satellites in their final designated polar orbits with 97 deg inclination. A heavy price one has to pay for piggybacking.

Current parameters for objects a to h are as follows:
Object Period ( min ) Inclination Apogee Perigee
Sat A 97.55 5.99 650 633
Sat B 97.54 6.00 650 632
Sat C 97.52 6.01 650 630
Sat D 97.51 6.00 650 630
Sat E 97.56 6.01 650 634
Sat F 97.57 6.00 650 635
Sat G 97.58 6.00 650 635
Sat Housing 97.28 5.96 649 608

Exact satellites have still to be identified officially.

kit · Post by **kit** » 29 Sep 2015 23:26

how much would a manned mars mission cost india ..are there any figures /

disha · Post by **disha** » 30 Sep 2015 00:03

kit wrote:how much would a manned mars mission cost india ..are there any figures /

What is the need? Other than space race and prestige and derivative tech gains - honestly., what is the need?

Added later: When I mentioned derivative tech gains., they are indeed derivative tech gains. There is some primary tech we need to get at before we think of going to Mars.

Here is what we need to get at first:

1. A permanent moon base., so that moon can be mined for He3 and other metals.

2. Mining asteroids.

3. Move towards a sustainable India., that is zero-import of energy (fission/fusion). zero-import of metals. zero-pollution (I would say we can move towards negative pollution!).

And then we will be freeing up Indians to explore., not just Mars but entire solar system. And we will free up humans as well from their current un-sustainable bondage.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 30 Sep 2015 00:26

Manned missions have not provided any significant science breakthroughs, it is a big waste when there are other pressing priorities both at home as well as in good science missions. If one is looking for prestige type missions, ones like recent launch of an astromomy payload brings that and in addition also fundamental science breakthroughs. It even supports students and researchers in the universities pursue their dream and eventually creates a skilled manpower pool for other innovations.

Skanda · Post by **Skanda** » 30 Sep 2015 03:21

ISRO Crosses 50 International Customer Satellite Launch Mark

With the successful launch of PSLV-C30 carrying six foreign customer satellites (one each from Indonesia and Canada and four nano satellites from the USA) along with India’s Multi Wavelength Astronomical Observatory ASTROSAT, ISRO crossed the 50 international customer satellite launch mark. All the 51 satellites from abroad launched by India so far have been placed in orbit by India’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 30 Sep 2015 12:15

TSJones wrote:
rsingh wrote:To justify the budget NASA just informed the world that there was water on Mars. Astronomers in burkino-Faso concluded this long time ago
we knew there was water at the polar ice caps. we did not know if there was water else where. we could not find any evidence of this until recently.

http://science.nasa.gov/missions/phoenix/

We are talking about same planet. it has ice/water at polar cap. We see those pictures of gullies made by liquid flow. Logic: There is water. When NASA created hulla gulla about important news on Monday I was expecting some paradigm shifting discovery in Astronomy.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Sep 2015 12:40

In a few days individual sat operators will start own maneuvers to push the satellites in their final designated polar orbits with 97 deg inclination. A heavy price one has to pay for piggybacking.

^^ is it the fallout of piggbacking on astrosat which is going into 5' EW inclined orbit vs the more usual 90' NS orbit?

SSSalvi · Post by **SSSalvi** » 30 Sep 2015 16:10

^^^

Had this launch been only for the foreign sats then it would have taken the conventional polar orbit launch curving around Sri-lanka, because all these 6 satellites have to be placed in 97 deg inclination orbit by the launcher itself and they would not have to spend additional fuel that they have to now spend to go from 6 deg inclination to 97 deg inclination.

Secondly these sats would have been available for testing in the planned orbit right from day1.

Now they have to spend additional fuel and also wait till the desired orbit is achieved.. this may be a week or a month depending on the strategy that each operator follows.

And why this penalty? Because the launch was designed for big man to be placed in 6 deg inclination.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 30 Sep 2015 17:33

The other sats got a deeply subsidized ride most likely. It is all cost optimization. I am sure fuel carried was budgeted for this right at design stage itself.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Sep 2015 18:06

International tribunal ruling on Devas deal shocking: Antrix Corp - PTI

Describing as "shocking" an international tribunal ruling asking it to pay damages worth $672 million (Rs 4,432 crore) to Devas Multimedia for scrapping a deal four years ago, ISRO's commercial arm - Antrix Corporation today said it was preparing to file in court its application for "remedy".

"The ICC award against Antrix in the Devas case is shocking. Antrix, with the support of Department of Space, is preparing to file in court its application for remedy," Antrix Corporation said in a brief statement here {Bangalore}.

Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)'s arbitration body International Court of Arbitration in its ruling had asked Antrix to pay damages worth $672 million to city-based Devas Multimedia for "unlawfully" terminating the deal, citing national security.

According to Devas, the Tribunal, in a unanimous decision, has awarded damages and pre-award interest totalling $672 million to it with post-award interest accruing at 18 per cent per annum on that sum until the award is fully paid.

In its findings, the tribunal had noted that Antrix had no legal justification for terminating the agreement and that Dr K R Radhakrishnan, who at the time of annulment, was Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO, Antrix and the Space Commission, could have prevented the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) from approving the annulment.

The CCS had annulled the deal on the ground that it was not in the security interests of the country.

The UPA government's action had come months after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India came out with a report on 2G scam that had estimated a "presumptive loss" of Rs 1.76 lakh crore due to flawed spectrum allocation process.

Under the deal signed in 2005, Antrix was to provide 70 MHz of the scarce S-Band wavelength to Devas for its digital multimedia services by leasing 90 per cent of the transponders in ISRO's GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites. Devas, in turn, was to pay Antrix a total of $300 million over 12 years.

The award will come up for hearing in the Delhi High Court, which has to enforce it.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Sep 2015 18:56

UAE space agency seeks cooperation with ISRO - PTI

A delegation from the UAE Space Agency has undertaken a visit to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to discuss possibilities of cooperation between the two space organisations.

The delegation was led by Khalifa Al Rumaithi, Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, and Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, its Director-General, according to statement released by official WAM news agency.

This is part of the agency's efforts to build strategic partnerships and achieve goals of regional and international cooperation within the industry, it said.

The UAE delegation learnt about the Indian space sector and the different programmes that ISRO has led within space exploration, it said.

They also looked at satellite launching capabilities which have positioned India as a leading nation within the industry, as it provides a number of services across the space sector.

The visit also involved a tour of the Satellite Assembly and Testing Center for ISRO, where the final tests are made on satellites before they are launched.

"The UAE and India have deep bonds and connections that span across political, economic, commercial and cultural historic roots. Working together within the space sector will only strengthen these connections and bring benefits to the UAE that include knowledge transfer and human capital development," Al Rumaithi said.

Al Ahbabi said India is one of the most advanced nations within the space sector and has a strong foundation and fascinating programmes.

"We therefore look at ways of working together to build partnership and transfer knowledge within this exciting industry," he said.

The UAE Space Agency provided a detailed presentation on the space sector strategy in the UAE, focusing on its objectives, initiatives and programmes.

The agency also provided information on the Mars Probe mission that will be launched by the UAE in time for 2021.

juvva · Post by **juvva** » 01 Oct 2015 10:30

rsingh wrote:
TSJones wrote:
we knew there was water at the polar ice caps. we did not know if there was water else where. we could not find any evidence of this until recently.

http://science.nasa.gov/missions/phoenix/
We are talking about same planet. it has ice/water at polar cap. We see those pictures of gullies made by liquid flow. Logic: There is water. When NASA created hulla gulla about important news on Monday I was expecting some paradigm shifting discovery in Astronomy.

Similar thoughts expressed here: http://spacekate.com/2015/liquid-water- ... -the-fuss/

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 01 Oct 2015 19:47

Finding water has further implications.

Wun. We knew there was water at the poles. Rather evident.

Too. Was there water elsewhere? Yes, our rover was finding 2% per cent in it soil samples. Nothing much to write home about however.

Tree. Was there heavier concentrations? We were seeing steep ravines and ruts in slopes indicative of water. But how old and when?

Fower. Mars Reconn showed that after years of observations, the ravines and ruts on the slopes changed by the "seasons" on Mars.

Fife. Deduction: if the slopes' ravines and ruts were changing seasonally then there had to be greater concentrations of water.

Sex. Eureaka!

Mars human expeditions now have a chance of using water not limited to the poles for various purposes such as habitat maintenance and fuel creation.

This is a big deal and provides optimism for further planning human exploration of Mars.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 01 Oct 2015 20:44

TS Jones Sir, ju are contradicting yourself. There is ice on polar regions>there is a place where ice cover stops because it is too hot (at least in day time. Where does water goes? (sublimation can not account for the volume of disappearing)>it means liquid water there>This is called logic. Now if this was not detected by your rovers (because it landed somewhere else)it does not mean there is no water. NASA landed on moon so many times but could not find water(in any form). It took a nit-bit third world country to find water on first attempt. And please do not go on overdrive with useless words. I can guide you,to your rightful place easily ( if not the Admins). It seems you are the endangered species on BRF which need over protection.

juvva · Post by **juvva** » 01 Oct 2015 21:42

Bade wrote:The other sats got a deeply subsidized ride most likely. It is all cost optimization. I am sure fuel carried was budgeted for this right at design stage itself.

Enough fuel to carry out a 90 degree orbital inclination change?? This sounds very unlikely. I am guessing that satellites will work from the launched orbit or a slightly modified one only.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 01 Oct 2015 22:57

^ I have not followed the other sat's mission closely to know their final orbit config. Salvi has said they need the usual polar orbit inclination. He can clarify. It sure is an inefficient initial orbit to be in if that is the final orbit required.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 01 Oct 2015 23:17

rsingh wrote: NASA landed on moon so many times but could not find water(in any form). It took a nit-bit third world country to find water on first attempt.

Not entirely correct to state that..M3 payload was a JPL one on Chandrayaan and CHACE the Indian one in the mission. The Indian one found evidence in the atmosphere, the other locked in the lunar surface.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_water

On 18 November 2008, the Moon Impact probe was released from India's Chandrayaan-1 at a height of 100 kilometers. During its 25-minute descent, the impact probe's Chandra's Altitudinal Composition (CHACE) recorded evidence of water in 650 mass spectra gathered in the thin atmosphere above the Moon's surface.[7]

On 24 September 2009 Science magazine reported that the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) on the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 had detected water on the Moon.[16] M3 detected absorption features near 2.8-3.0 µm on the surface of the Moon.

SSSalvi · Post by **SSSalvi** » 02 Oct 2015 07:53

First LAPAN launched by PSLV C7 went with 'my

' carto 2 .. had 98 deg inclination

LAPAN-TUBSAT
1 29709U 07001A 15274.91051927 .00000224 00000-0 34657-4 0 9995
2 29709 97.6364 264.8939 0012745 343.8934 16.1878 14.81819177471525

NLS series has various orbits from eq to pol

LEMUR-1
1 40044U 14033AL 15274.65516312 .00000527 00000-0 87039-4 0 9996
2 40044 97.9283 164.6334 0060786 140.5984 219.9669 14.73227979 68857

( Bold letters indicate the inclination in these TLEs .. unless you really are interested , you can simply ignore what are TLEs )

I do not know the Physics part of these sats .. equatorial orbit may be ok for these sats. ( and then I will eat my words

.. ). We have to wait and watch.

Anyway even if orbit has to be changed then with a slow drifting inclination orbit the satellites can be moved to desired orbit over a longer period with a conservative quantity of onboard fuel usage.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 02 Oct 2015 10:10

LAPAN A2 profile states that it is supposed to be launched and occupy a 650 Kms altitude at 8 Deg. Exactview 9 is the equatorial component of the exactview system so it seems that all of these satellites were planned to be launched into a near equatorial orbit

member_23694 · Post by **member_23694** » 03 Oct 2015 22:42

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 208700.cms

GSLV Mark III rocket modified, ground tests done: ISRO

SaraLax · Post by **SaraLax** » 03 Oct 2015 23:23

SSSalvi wrote:First LAPAN launched by PSLV C7 went with 'my ' carto 2 .. had 98 deg inclination

LAPAN-TUBSAT
1 29709U 07001A 15274.91051927 .00000224 00000-0 34657-4 0 9995
2 29709 97.6364 264.8939 0012745 343.8934 16.1878 14.81819177471525

NLS series has various orbits from eq to pol

LEMUR-1
1 40044U 14033AL 15274.65516312 .00000527 00000-0 87039-4 0 9996
2 40044 97.9283 164.6334 0060786 140.5984 219.9669 14.73227979 68857

( Bold letters indicate the inclination in these TLEs .. unless you really are interested , you can simply ignore what are TLEs )

I do not know the Physics part of these sats .. equatorial orbit may be ok for these sats. ( and then I will eat my words .. ). We have to wait and watch.

Anyway even if orbit has to be changed then with a slow drifting inclination orbit the satellites can be moved to desired orbit over a longer period with a conservative quantity of onboard fuel usage.

Sir .. pardon my basic level of querying & requesting for clarification ... but looking at the weights of these small Sats ( Lapan A2 is 76Kg, Exactview is 14 Kg & the Lemur ones are each 7 Kg) - Would they be carrying any on-board fuel or even nano-thrust (if such a thing even exists) systems for orbit changes to take place ?.

sivab · Post by **sivab** » 04 Oct 2015 00:16

SaraLax wrote: Sir .. pardon my basic level of querying & requesting for clarification ... but looking at the weights of these small Sats ( Lapan A2 is 76Kg, Exactview is 14 Kg & the Lemur ones are each 7 Kg) - Would they be carrying any on-board fuel or even nano-thrust (if such a thing even exists) systems for orbit changes to take place ?.

No, most micro and nano sats don't carry any on board fuel/gas. LAPAN A2 uses reaction wheels and magnetic coils to change attitude/drift. See the following presentation for details.

http://media.dlr.de:8080/erez4/erez?cmd ... 9-1202.pdf

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Oct 2015 12:31

GSLV Mark III's Cryogenic Stage to be Ground Tested in 6 Months - Jonathan Ananda, New Indian Express

ISRO’s next big project under development, the GSLV Mark III, will have one of its most problematic components ground tested within March next year. A senior source at the ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu told Express that the various systems for the Mark III cryogenic stage are being integrated and the first test of the entire stage will be completed within six months.

The IPRC, which has been entrusted with building the entire cryogenic stage, has made a lot of headway with the Mark III, according to the official who did not want to be named. “We are progressing steadily. The engine was tested successfully in July. The next stage of the development is the integration of all the systems that make up the whole cryogenic stage. The fully integrated stage will be ground tested within six months,” he said.

ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar, who was in Chennai for Hindustan University’s convocation on Saturday, confirmed that tests are going well and that the space agency would test the first GSLV Mk-III by the end of 2016.

But first, IPRC will test the stage as a whole on the ground for up to 25 times the duration for which a mission will require it fired. The next step will see the stage tested at Sriharikota with complete autonomy of systems. “Once that is done, the project can be taken forward. We actually hope to have the Mark III developed by next year. However, that is only a target, not a prediction,” said the official. The initial version of the GSLV Mk III, however, is likely to have a payload capability of 3,500 kg, with the systems being optimised in a staggered manner.

The GSLV Mark III is planned to be the Indian space agency’s upgraded version of the GSLV launch vehicle. The space agency heaved a big sigh of relief on August 27, when the indigenously built GSLV Mk II had its second successful launch. But the GSLV Mark II, while a lot more capable at lifting payloads than ISRO’s established workhorse, the PSLV, is still only capable of delivering payloads of 2.5 tons.

ISRO’s rapidly growing ambitions require vehicles that can deliver much higher payloads and the GSLV Mark III is the agency’s answer to that. The specifications spell out a payload delivery capability of 5 tons, which will be an absolute requirement for any manned mission that the agency plans to carry out.

ISRO’s problems with the GSLV, even the Mk II, have revolved largely around the cryogenic stage of the rocket. While it took the space agency two failures before its first successful launch, ISRO’s scientists stated that August’s launch had given them enough understanding of the technology to finally be able to brand the vehicle reliable. That was the Mk II, which while indigenously built, was still based on foreign design. The Mark III is being designed ground up in India.

The ground test of the stage, if successful, will be a significant step forward for the induction of the Mark III among ISRO’s fleet.

Currently, the cryogenic stage’s systems other than the engine are being built - including the hi-tech fuel tanks and umbilical systems, which have to work at extremely low temperatures. “These systems are coming along quite well and are being integrated. We do not foresee the same problems we did with the Mk II, primarily because we are the ones who designed it this time and trial and error will no longer be how we learn about it,” he said.

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 04 Oct 2015 15:06

Good to see Mk-III development is going on along several tracks.

Can any knowledgeable folks explain the changes to S-200 motors (Link)?

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 04 Oct 2015 19:47

RLV-TD Mission to be delayed at least till year end.

The Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) mission, India’s first step towards building a space shuttle, will be delayed at least till the year end.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) originally planned to have the mission in October. But tests are still progressing on the prototype here at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). “Some more work is pending on the technology demonstrator. We have a few tests to complete and we will have the mission either towards December end or by the beginning of next year,” said VSSC director Dr K Sivan. VSSC is in charge of constructing the prototype.

Initial plans were to have the mission in mid-2015. But continuing works and an extremely hectic launch schedule had forced the ISRO to put off the mission. The space agency also plans to have a commercial Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) mission, possibly in November. The PSLV-CA 29 mission is scheduled to place a bouquet of Singapore satellites in the orbit.

RLV-TD, which will be unmanned, comprises a space plane-like part riding atop a booster rocket. It will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The RLV-TD weighs 1.5 tonnes and it will glide back to earth from a height of 70 kilometres. ISRO, which has twice successfully demonstrated the re-entry technology, plans to recover the RLV-TD from the Bay of Bengal.

The RLV-TD will be the first of a series of flight-tests before ISRO can design and build a real vehicle.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 04 Oct 2015 20:26

I am shocked and surprised.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Oct 2015 12:20

India’s space program looks outwards - Ajay Lele, The Space Review

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Oct 2015 12:54

well I think its time to complete the IRNSS pending 3 more sats using this hiatus and start testing seriously our own GPS guided munitions going upto a 2400kg fat airburst/impact HE bomb that Su30s can cart on the centerline.

its time to put some meat on the grill and no two words about that. none take wishy washy TDs and "few 100 imported PGM" seriously and all want to sell a cheap printer but retain tech of making cartridge (munitions)...so we got to make our own munitions on a 'web scale' and have mountains of it to throw at any issue big or small.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 06 Oct 2015 15:59

http://www.isro.gov.in/charge-particle- ... rational-0

Charge Particle Monitor (CPM) of ASTROSAT Gets Operational
Hindi Version

India's first Multi-wavelength Space Observatory ASTROSAT was successfully launched by ISRO's workhorse launch vehicle PSLV into a 650km orbit on September 28, 2015. ASTROSAT has an onboard Charged Particle Monitor (CPM) to detect high-energy particles in the satellite orbital path and to provide alerts to the other payloads, for necessary action. CPM is designed to measure the count of charge particles at the satellite location. It is sensitive to protons above 1 MeV (Mega-electron volts). On September 29, 2015, a day after the launch of ASTROSAT, CPM was `Switched ON’ and its performance is normal.

Satellites in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) pass through the trapped radiation belts of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region, which has high fluxes of protons and electrons. Due to the high density of energetic particles (mostly protons), there could be adverse effects like glitches in the data, aging of the instruments and even permanent damage to some of the detectors. Hence, this region should be monitored for a particular orbit and precautions should be taken to protect the scientific instruments during the satellite’s passage through the SAA region.

At the orbit of ASTROSAT (650 km), the particle rates are usually low, but, as the satellite enters SAA, the particle rates can go very high and can damage the sensitive X-ray detectors onboard ASTROSAT. CPM will sense the SAA by measuring the total number of protons, above a 1MeV. The CPM expects roughly 1 detection per second at usual times outside SAA. However, this could rise to many 100 detections per second while passing through the SAA. When the satellite is entering the SAA, CPM will provide a signal to the other instruments which can then lower their operating voltage or even shut off temporarily.

CPM started providing data once it was switched on. The observed particle rates are shown in the Figure 1: they are a benign 0.8 counts per second most of the time and go up whenever the satellite enters the dreaded SAA region. The same data is shown pictorially in the adjoining Figure 2. ASTROSAT orbit has an inclination of 6 degrees (specifically selected to minimise the time in the SAA region) and the figure shows data for 12 orbits. The low particle rates are shown in Cyan and the Magenta patch indicates the location of the high background SAA region.

When the particle rate goes up, the CPM will automatically alert other instruments. For example, CZT-Imager, the hard X-ray payload, `switched ON’ on Oct 2, uses this information to stop operation and protect itself during the passage of ASTROSAT through the SAA region.

CPM instrument is developed by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 Oct 2015 09:08

ISRO eyes a global role in satellite navigation - Madhumitha D.S., The Hindu

The Indian Space Research Organisation has unveiled plans to gradually make its regional satellite navigation system global — akin to powerful position-telling systems such as the U.S.’ GPS and the Russian GLONASS.

ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said four of the seven Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellites are in orbit and the last three spacecraft would be added in orbit by March 2016. The IRNSS would provide self-reliance in the strategically important area of position-related information, he said at a users’ conference on global navigation satellite systems on Thursday.

The focus now was on completing the regional constellation and extending it to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries. “After that we will look at taking it gradually over the entire globe, may be in less than a decade. It could be done by adding a set of regional satellites over adjoining countries. We are working towards this with other countries – [South] Korea and the Gulf nations, to name a few,” Mr. Kiran Kumar said.

The signals from the regional system were already available 1,500 km beyond the borders.

In April this year, ISRO and the Airports Authority of India also completed GAGAN, focussed on airlines, airports and the civil aviation sector but applicable to land and sea-based services. GAGAN enhances the GPS-derived details of location and time of objects or persons.

Both IRNSS and GAGAN, he said, would drive an unlimited set of personal, public and industrial users, from transportation, railways, forestry, farming, agriculture and security. Around 200 navigation receiver sets built by industry and using ISRO design would be out soon.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 09 Oct 2015 19:39

Putting this instrument in a[ll] polar orbiting satellite can be a good monitor for solar flare activity on the cheap to take preventive action on the ground as well as for other orbiting satellites.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 11 Oct 2015 03:43

that is a sweet news..
gagan ji going global!

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 11 Oct 2015 03:53

If GAGAN goes global it will mean that our strategic weapons will be blink proof.

This will have to piggy back our foreign policy thrust. We need GAGAN stations to make this happen.

member_29172 · Post by **member_29172** » 11 Oct 2015 07:07

^^ probably not a good idea to make noise before the work is completed. Even non-militarily, it'd be quite useful for search and rescue, mineral/forest/resource mapping and coordination. Ofcourse, there are plenty of military uses too.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 11 Oct 2015 16:33

ISRO NOTICE
Oct 08, 2015
ASTROSAT-Spacecraft health is normal.

rgosain · Post by **rgosain** » 11 Oct 2015 16:44

I am not sure whether I should post this here but if anyone on the forum have seen the recent film The Martian you will know what I am talking about. Spoiler alert ahead. Is it me or has anyone noticed the film being a vehicle for PRC's soft power projection. In the movie china is seen as the heroic savior of the mission whilst NASA is portrayed as being cynical and unimaginative. Alas SDREs are nowhere to be seen. The recent Mission Impossible movie, which was funded by AliBaba also casts the Chinese Intelligence services in a positive light

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 11 Oct 2015 16:56

^ Its after all science fiction

rgosain · Post by **rgosain** » 11 Oct 2015 17:01

That is true but people tend to base their beliefs and ideas on what Hollywood pumps out, never mind the fact that the PRC has yet to launch an X-ra telescope or a Mars mission.