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ISRO receives NISAR’s payload from US

Indo-US satellite NISAR's payload arrives in Bengaluru from the US

The satellite was carried by US Airforce plane C-17 from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California…reports Asian Lite News

The India-US earth observation satellite NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) project has moved further ahead with the payload reaching Bengaluru from the US on Wednesday, the US Consulate General in Chennai said.

The NISAR is an earth observation satellite jointly built by the US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The satellite was carried by US Airforce plane C-17 from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

“Touchdown in Bengaluru! @ISRO receives NISAR (@NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) on a @USAirforce C-17 from @NASAJPLAin California, setting the stage for final integration of the Earth observation satellite, a true symbol of #USIndia civil space collaboration. #USIndiaTogether,” the US Consulate General Chennai tweeted.

The NISAR payload will be fitted on a spacecraft bus and tested at the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. The satellite will be launched from Sriharikota in 2024 by the Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket.

NISAR will gather radar data with a drum-shaped reflector antenna almost 40 feet (12 metres) in diameter. It will use a signal-processing technique called interferometric synthetic aperture radar, or InSAR, to observe changes in Earth’s land and ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch.

Since early 2021, engineers and technicians at JPL have been integrating and testing NISAR’s two radar systems – the L-band SAR provided by JPL and the S-band SAR built by ISRO.

The observations NISAR makes will help researchers measure the ways in which Earth is constantly changing by detecting both subtle and dramatic movements.

Slow-moving variations of a land surface can precede earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions, and data about such movement could help communities prepare for natural hazards.

Measurements of melting sea ice and ice sheets will improve understanding of the pace and impacts of climate change, including sea level rise. And observations of the planet’s forest and agricultural regions will improve our knowledge of carbon exchange between the atmosphere and plant communities, reducing uncertainties in models used to project future climate.

Over the course of its three-year prime mission, the satellite will observe nearly the entire planet every 12 days, making observations day and night, in all weather conditions.

NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and ISRO. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the US component of the project and is providing the mission’s L-band SAR. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem.

ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations, JPL said.

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ISRO seizes opportunity amid Ukraine war

War provides thrust to India's space sector, opens up new opportunities

However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict had impacted ISRO’s semi-cryogenic engine project, reports Venkatachari Jagannathan

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has opened up new opportunities for the Indian space agency, but also delayed the development of the semi-cryogenic rocket engine.

While it is said that a war between nations anywhere in the world would benefit the American defence industry, perhaps for a change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has benefited India to some extent.

For instance, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) got more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of satellite launch contract from the UK-based Network Access Associated Ltd (OneWeb).

Originally, the OneWeb satellites were slated to be launched by a Russian rocket. Russia, however, refused to launch OneWeb satellites as the latter did not comply with the former’s condition.

ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) signed a contract with OneWeb to launch 72 satellites in two phases for a launch fee of over Rs 1,000 crore, OneWeb Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal had said last October.

The first batch of 36 satellites was launched on October 23, 2022 from Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh with the LVM3 rocket formerly known as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII (GSLV MkIII).

The second lot of 36-satellites are expected to be orbited next month by ISRO’s rocket.

Ukraine war.(photo:Instagram)



OneWeb officials had said that their association with ISRO is expected to continue as they will be launching the next generation satellites and replacement satellites that are orbiting.

“The successful launch of OneWeb satellites has made other satellite players look at ISRO,” S.Somanath, Chairman, ISRO had earlier told IANS.

However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict had impacted ISRO’s semi-cryogenic engine project. The semi-cryogenic engine payload was to be improved with Ukraine’s assistance, a senior ISRO official told IANS preferring anonymity.

Meanwhile ISRO decided to develop the semi-cryogenic engine on its own. The engine is expected to be tested in a month or so.

According to an ISRO official, as regards India’s human space mission, Russia was expected to supply the environment life systems. However, the systems had to be redesigned for ISRO’s human space mission rocket as Russia was flying only Soyuz spacecraft.

“We have made a prototype and its testing process is on,” the ISRO official said.

India and Russia had also signed an agreement for sourcing crew seats and crew suits for the human space mission.

According to the ISRO official, those items have come and the issue is making the payment to Russia due to the sanctions by the Western nations.

India’s space programmes were affected due to Covid induced global lockdown which in turn affected production and delayed the imports of electronics/semiconductor chips from the US and Europe.

The Covid pandemic was soon followed by the Russia-Ukraine war impacting production and supply chain, the ISRO official said.

The electronics imported from the US and Europe are used in making rockets and satellites. For making space grade items, it needs a lead time of two years.

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ISRO conducts its 200th consecutive successful launch  

ISRO is launching this satellite to provide continuity to the services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as in application areas…reports Asian Lite News

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday completed the 200th consecutive successful launch of the versatile RH200 sounding rocket from Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram. ISRO termed it a “historic moment”. It was witnessed by former President Ram Nath Kovind and ISRO chairman S Somanath, among others.

The successful flight of RH200 took off from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS). “Indian sounding rockets are used as privileged tools for the scientific community for carrying out experiments on meteorology, astronomy and similar branches of space physics,” an ISRO statement said.

Campaigns such as Equatorial ElectroJet (EEJ), Leonid Meteor Shower (LMS), Indian Middle Atmosphere Programme (IMAP), Monsoon Experiment (MONEX), Middle Atmosphere Dynamics (MIDAS), and Sooryagrahan-2010 have been conducted using the sounding rocket platform for scientific exploration of the Earth’s atmosphere, it said.

The Rohini Sounding Rocket (RSR) series have been the forerunners for ISRO’s heavier and more complex launch vehicles, with a continued usage even today for atmospheric and meteorological studies, the national space agency headquartered here said. “The 200th consecutive successful flight stands testimony to the commitment of Indian rocket scientists towards unmatched reliability demonstrated over the years,” it was stated.

ISRO to launch Oceansat-3, 8 nano satellites tomorrow

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Earth Observation Satellite – 06 (EOS-06) and eight nano satellites on November 26.

According to the space agency, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C54) will launch the satellites at 11.56 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The EOS-6 is a third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series of satellites.

ISRO is launching this satellite to provide continuity to the services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as in application areas.

The eight nano satellites include: ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satellites), and two Thybolt satellites. The INS-2B spacecraft will have two payloads namely NanoMx and APRS-Digipeater.

While the NanoMx is a multi-spectral optical imaging payload developed by Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, the APRS-Digipeater payload has been jointly developed by the Department of Information Technology and Telecom-Bhutan and the UR Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru.

The Anand nano satellite developed by Bengaluru-based space start-up, Pixxel, is a technology demonstrator to demonstrate the capabilities and commercial applications of miniaturised Earth-observation cameras for Earth observation using a microsatellite in Low Earth Orbit.

Astrocast, developed by Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, is a 3U spacecraft. It is a technology demonstrator satellite for the Internet of Things (IoT).

The US-based Spaceflight has developed Thybolt which is a 0.5U spacecraft bus that includes a communication payload to enable rapid technology demonstration and constellation development for multiple users.

ISRO said that the PSLV-C54 will launch EOS-06 and the eight nano satellites into two different Sun-synchronous polar orbits .

“The primary satellite (EOS-06) will be separated in Orbit-1. Subsequently, a orbit change has been planned by using two orbit change thrusters introduced in the propulsion bay ring of the PSLV-C54. The passenger payloads will be separated in Orbit-2,” ISRO said.

ALSO READ-ISRO increases carrying capacity of LVM3 rocket

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ISRO all set to launch first-ever private rocket

It will carry a total of three payloads in space, including one from the foreign customers…reports Asian Lite News

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to make history on Friday when it will launch the first-ever private rocket on Friday, setting a new milestone in the 75 years journey of independent India.

Union Science & Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that this will be a major milestone in the journey of ISRO, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unlocked the space sector in India two years ago for private participation.

He said that the non-government entity, startup Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd (SAPL) has developed the Vikram-suborbital (VKS) rocket, which is a single stage spin stabilised solid propellant rocket with mass of approx 550 kg. He said, the rocket goes to the max altitude of 101 km and splashes into the sea and the overall duration of launch is 300 seconds only.

Skyroot was the first startup to sign a MoU with ISRO for launching its rockets. Apart from being the nation’s first private launch, it will also be the maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, named “Prarambh”. It will carry a total of three payloads in space, including one from the foreign customers.

The Minister said this it will provide a level playing field for cost-efficient satellite launch services by disrupting the entry barriers and will also help the startups to make spaceflights affordable and reliable.

Space reforms have unleashed innovative potentials of startups and within a short span of time, from a couple of space startups three-four years back, today the country has 102 star-ups working in cutting-edge areas of space debris management, nano-satellite, launch vehicle, ground systems, research etc, he said, adding that with the integration of R&D, academia and industry, it is safe to say that a ‘Space Revolution’ led by the ISRO along with the private sector and startups is on the horizon.

‘ISRO’s rocket launch and tracking fee is nominal’

The fee charged by the Indian space agency for the rocket launch and tracking services is nominal, said a top official of private rocket startup Skyroot Aerospace.

“The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) provides integration facility, launchpad, range communications and tracking support before and during our rocket launch,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, CEO and Co-Founder said.

“The fee is reasonable. However, we won’t be able to share contractual details as we are bound by a non-disclosure agreement with ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre — the regulator for private sector space industry),” Chandana added.

Skyroot Aerospace’s rocket Vikram-S with three small satellites is scheduled for launch on November 18 at 11.30 a.m.

“Launch is likely on 18th as the weather is predicted to be ideal. Due to inclement weather, we got an updated launch window of November 15-19, 2022,” Chandana said.

According to him, the Vikram-S rocket is a scaled down version of Vikram-1 rocket. The former is a single stage rocket whereas the latter is a multi-stage vehicle.

“Almost all our systems flying in Vikram-S were designed in-house, except for few sensors which were imported,” Chandana said.

The rocket will be powered by a single stage to help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of rockets.

The company plans to have three rocket variants: Vikram I – payload or carrying capacity 480 kg to 500 km low inclination orbit (LIO); 290 kg to 500 km sun synchronous and polar orbit (SSPO); Vikram II – 595 kg to 500 km LIO, 400 kg to 500 km SSPO and Vikram III – 815 kg to 500 km LIO, 560 kg to 500 km SSPO.

Skyroot Aerospace’s rockets are named ‘Vikram’ as a tribute to the founder of the Indian Space programme and renowned scientist Dr Vikram Sarabhai.

Chandana said Vikram-1 is expected to fly during the third quarter of calendar year 2023.

ALSO READ-ISRO increases carrying capacity of LVM3 rocket

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India News Science

ISRO places 36 ‘OneWeb’ satellites into orbit

OneWeb Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: “It is a historic day for the Indian space sector. It is a new chapter for India in the space sector.”…reports Venkatachari Jagannathan

In a historic maiden commercial flight, an Indian heavy-lift rocket GSLV MkIII – renamed for this mission as LVM3 M2, successfully placed 36 satellites of UK-based OneWeb into orbit.

With this, India has put one more rocket to compete in the global commercial satellite launch market.

The 43.5 metre tall and weighing 644 ton LVM3 M2 rocket, carrying 36 satellites weighing totally 5,796 kg or about 5.7 ton, blasted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 12.07 a.m.

With the thick orange flame at its tail, the rocket lit up the clear midnight sky, and growling it went up.

About 20 minutes into its flight, the LVM3 began slinging the satellites of Network Access Associated Ltd (OneWeb) into low earth orbit (LEO).

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S.Somanath told reporters: “The satellite separation is a slow process. All the satellites got separated successfully. The rocket’s cryogenic engine was at its best.”

OneWeb Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: “It is a historic day for the Indian space sector. It is a new chapter for India in the space sector.”

Mittal said OneWeb had put a request to ISRO for the launch of its satellites a few months back and the space agency accepted the challenge to carry out two launches of 36 satellites each.

Referring to OneWeb’s planned launch of its Gen2 satellites, Mittal said the company may need about 12-16 launches and ISRO will have a major role to play.

“There is a shortage of launch vehicles and ISRO now has a great opportunity,” Mittal added.

According to D.Radhakrishnan, CMD of NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, the GSLV MkIII has made a remarkable entry into the commercial satellite launch market.

He also said that this is the beginning of many more business associations with OneWeb.

With the latest successful mission, ISRO has put into orbit a total of 381 foreign satellites.

Another set of 36 satellites from OneWeb is planned to be put into orbit in January 2023. The UK company has contracted with NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) to pay over Rs 1,000 crore for both launches.

OneWeb is a joint venture between India Bharti Global and the UK government.

The satellite company plans to have a constellation of about 650 satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) to offer communication services.

According to ISRO, the OneWeb Constellation operates in an LEO Polar Orbit.

The LVM3 is a three-stage rocket with the first stage fired with liquid fuel, the two strap-on motors powered by solid fuel, the second by liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine.

The ISRO’s heavy-lift rocket GSLV MkIII has a carrying capacity of 10 ton to the LEO and four-ton to the Geo Transfer Orbit (GTO).

Normally the GSLV rocket is used for launching India’s geostationary communication satellites. And hence it was named as GeoSynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The GSLV MkIII refers to the third-generation rocket.

As the rocket that flew on Sunday morning was for orbiting the satellites in LEO, the ISRO has renamed GSLV MkIII as LVM3 (Launch Vehicle MkIII).

The rocket mission has several firsts for the Indian space sector. It is the first commercial launch of GSLV MkIII and for the first time, an Indian rocket will be ferrying a payload of about six tonnes.

Similarly, OneWeb is using an Indian rocket to put its satellites into orbit for the first time. Also, it is the first commercial launch of GSLV MkIII contracted by NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO, and for the first time, a renamed GSLV MkIII is being used for launching satellites in LEO.

OneWeb pays over Rs 1,000 cr

The UK-based Network Access Associated Ltd (OneWeb) will be paying over Rs 1,000 crore to the Indian space agency to launch its 72 satellites, said a top group official.

He also said OneWeb’s merger with French satellite company Eutelsat Communications is likely to be completed around April-May of 2023. OneWeb will be a 100 per cent subsidiary of Eutelsat Communications.

Speaking to reporters here, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, OneWeb, said the company will be paying Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)/NewSpace India Ltd over Rs 1,000 crore for launching 72 satellites.

The first batch of 36 satellites will fly on ISRO’s rocket LVM3 at 12.07 a.m. on Sunday. OneWeb will also use ISRO’s another LVM3 rocket in January to launch 36 satellites.

OneWeb plans to have a constellation of 648 satellites in LEO to offer its broadband services across the world.

“Nearly 10 per cent of OneWeb’s satellites will be launched by ISRO,” said Shravin Mittal, Managing Director, Bharti Global.

Queried about the prospects of sourcing its Gen2 satellites from ISRO, Sunil Mittal said the discussions are on. OneWeb will look at India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to orbit some of its satellites as replacements in space.

Queried about any changes in constellation configuration following the decision to merge OneWeb with Eutelsat Communications, Massimiliano Ladovaz, Chief Technology Officer, OneWeb, said there is no change in respect of Gen1 satellite constellation.

Ladovaz also said the request for quote (RFQ) for manufacturing of Gen2 satellites will be issued by the end of this year.

Officials of OneWeb and ISRO on Saturday held a meeting where the possibility of ISRO participating was also discussed.

According to Sunil Mittal, by the middle of next year, OneWeb will start offering its broadband service mainly focused on the business-to-business segment.

When asked about the competition, he said the market is big enough to have three or four satellite constellations.

Asked if three or four constellations with several hundreds of satellites orbiting in the space will increase the space debris, Ladovaz said OneWeb satellites are designed in such a manner that it would not become a debris.

ALSO READ-36 OneWeb satellites reach India for ISRO launch

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ISRO to increase launch numbers, satellite manufacturing

Most of the launches get bunched in the second half of the year and ISRO is looking at expanding it…reports Asian Lite News

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is chalking out the crucial tasks to be done in 2022 and the steps to be taken to increase the number of satellite launches and its manufacturing, said a top official.

He also said the regulator for private space sector players Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe) having Ahmedabad as the headquarters has started hiring people for the top posts from ISRO.

“ISRO is looking at the important tasks that can be done this year and the steps to be taken to increase the number of launches and also to increase satellite manufacturing,” S.Somanath, Chairman ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space told.

According to him, the space agency will look at increasing the space missions with its rockets – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), upcoming Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

Most of the launches get bunched in the second half of the year and ISRO is looking at expanding it.

The Indian space agency has to launch OCEANSAT-3, INS-2B, ANAND- by PSLV-C53 and Micro SAT by the newly developed small rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in May.

Further, the launch of four ton communication satellite GSAT-24 is also scheduled during the first quarter of this year using Ariane 5 rocket owned by Arianespace.

The space agency is also looking at the government policy to increase the manufacturing of satellites.

It is said the government has put ISRO on hold from manufacturing satellites without signing up the users upfront.

According to Somanath, the industry feedback on the various draft policies issued for the private and public sector players has been received and the final policies will be announced.

Questioned about the Space Activities Bill, he said the Bill is being drafted incorporating INSPACe as the earlier Bill was drafted before the announcement of space sector reforms and the regulator for the private players.

The Space Activities Bill is being drafted incorporating INSPACe. The earlier Bill did not have INSPACe.

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ISRO plans to launch 75 student satellites

Three student-built satellites known as UNITYSat were launched by ISRO’s rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in 2021 and now the students are building the 75 satellites based on the learnings from that project…reports Asian Lite News

As part of celebrating 75 years of India’s Independence, a constellation of 75 student satellites is planned to be launched in a year’s time, said M. Annadurai, a former Director of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Annadurai said: “The Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA) has initiated the ambitious 75 student satellites constellation programme with various Indian educational institutions.”

The satellites will be built by the students and launched by ISRO rockets in phases.

“We are planning to launch three or four satellites sometime this year. The balance satellites are expected to be launched before 2023,” Annadurai, who is also a Mentor-Advisor to ITCA, said.

In order to ready the 75 satellites, an Indian space startup will be supplying the satellite kit so that the students at various universities can assemble the same and cutting short the development time, Annadurai added.

Three student-built satellites known as UNITYSat were launched by ISRO’s rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in 2021 and now the students are building the 75 satellites based on the learnings from that project.

According to ITCA, the UNITYSat’s resounding success opened the door for a plethora of satellite developmental possibilities that leveraged the domain knowledge garnered in small satellite platforms.

With this accomplishment, ITCA mentored and promoted two spin-off companies, TSC Technologies in India and TMISAT in Israel, in 2020, to apply its SpaceTech team’s research and consultancy breakthroughs to the development of SmallSats, ITCA said.

Annadurai said the project will give the students hands-on experience in building and managing the ground stations.

“We are also aiming for inter-satellite communication. The satellites will also take pictures during its lifetime estimated to be between six months to one year,” he added.

Each educational institution involved in the project will be spending about Rs.80 lakh towards satellite and ground station network. All the educational institutions part of the project will have access to all the satellites in the constellation, Annadurai said.

According to ITCA, with the initial backing of organisations/agencies from Israel, Russia, Serbia, and Japan, the mission has expanded with over 50 countries contributing to build strong capabilities in academic institutions for the design and development of student-built SmallSats.

Annadurai said foreign institutions that are part of the project can have access to the satellite data when the satellites pass over their nation.

ALSO READ-Jitendra Singh: ISRO plans to develop space telescope

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ISRO ready to launch PSLV-C52 

The rocket that would fly on Monday is the XL-variant of PSLV also having six booster motors but with an increased fuel capacity of 12 ton…reports Asian Lite News

The Indian space agency on early Sunday morning began the countdown for the Monday morning launch of its PSLV-C52 rocket carrying the country’s radar imaging satellite RISAT-1A renamed as Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-04).

Piggybacking on EOS-04 in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) are two small satellites – INSPIREsat-1 and INS-2TD.

The 44.4 metre tall and weighing 321 ton PSLV rocket is scheduled to blast off from the first launch pad at India’s rocket port in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 5.59 a.m. on Monday.

The PSLV is a four stage/engine rocket powered by solid (first and third stages) and liquid (second and fourth stages) fuels alternatively. The rocket also has six booster motors with nine ton fuel hugging the first stage.

The rocket that would fly on Monday is the XL-variant of PSLV also having six booster motors but with an increased fuel capacity of 12 ton.

During the countdown the rocket will be filled with liquid fuel and all its systems will be checked.

On Monday just over 17 minutes into its flight the PSLV-C52 will sling the 1,710 kg EOS-04 into sun synchronous polar orbit of 529 km and it will be followed by INSPIREsat-1 (17.5 kg) and INS-2TD (8.1 kg) satellites.

The whole satellite launch mission will be over in about 18.78 minutes.

India’s radar imaging satellite EOS-04 is designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as agriculture, forestry & plantations, soil moisture & hydrology and flood mapping.

The EOS-04 with a mission Alife of 10 years is a repeat microwave remote sensing satellite of Risat-1 and is configured to ensure continuity of SAR in C-Band providing microwave data to the user community for operational services.

The satellite will play a strategic role in the nation’s defence with its capability to operate in day, night and all weather conditions with a mission life of five years.

The satellite has high data handling systems and high storage devices among other things.

The INSPIREsat-1 is a student satellite from Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology (11ST) in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at University of Colorado, USA. The other contributors are NTU, Singapore and NCU, Taiwan.

The satellite carries two scientific payloads to improve the understanding of ionosphere dynamics and the sun’s coronal heating process.

The technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, which is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B) carries a thermal imaging camera to assess land/water surface temperature of wetlands/lakes, delineation of vegetation (crops/forests) and day/night thermal inertia.

The RISAT-1A flight will be followed by the launch of three satellites – OCEANSAT-3, INS-2B, ANAND- by PSLV-C53 in March and Micro SAT by the newly developed small rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in April.

Further, the launch of four-ton communication satellite GSAT-24 is also scheduled during the first quarter of this year using Ariane 5 rocket owned by Arianespace.

ALSO READ-Jitendra Singh: ISRO plans to develop space telescope

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Jitendra Singh: ISRO plans to develop space telescope

He said that the ISRO has already realized X-ray and Visible/ Ultra Violet telescope, a number of initiatives are being taken to make India the global leader in space science and technology…reports Asian Lite News

Union Minister for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has informed that ISRO has plans to develop space telescope dedicated for UV and visible/IR astronomy. The planned UV telescope will be made up of a 1-meter mirror and will provide the deepest images in UV.

He said that the ISRO has already realized X-ray and Visible/ Ultra Violet telescope, a number of initiatives are being taken to make India the global leader in space science and technology.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Jitendra Singh said technology development projects are going on at ISRO centres spanning the areas of scientific instrumentation, communication, navigation, remote sensing etc. Moreover, Disruptive technologies based on quantum mechanical principle which includes satellite based quantum communication, quantum radar have been initiated.

The Minister said, initiatives have been taken for the exploration of space weather, the sun, the moon and the other planets as well as astronomical sources. He said, a decadal plan is under preparation covering scientific and technological development for future space missions.

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ISRO prepares to boost space economy with structural reforms

My mission is to continue this work and to follow the footsteps of my seniors who have made yeoman contributions in the development of space science in the country and ISRO has played a stellar role in it… ISRO’s new Chairman S. Somanath speaks with Arun Lakshman

With space sector reforms and growth of India’s space economy his topmost priorities, ISRO’s new Chairman

says that ‘Gaganyaan’, the ambitious project to put a human crew in space, is another key objective and the space agency expects that the mission would help lay the robust foundation for a sustainable human flight programme in the long run.

As the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is undertaking in-depth research and new projects and programmes to take space technology and space to a higher level and for benefits to the common man, it is also for promoting new entrepreneurs and for more and more programmes that would be useful to explore space and for bringing in benefits to mankind, Somanath in an exclusive interview. Following are excerpts:
What are the major programmes in pipeline for ISRO?

The Indian Space Research Organisation is in the process of adapting and adopting to new challenges and opportunities. India will be launching two major space missions in the 75th year of Independence and the ISRO is in an advanced stage of developing the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). We are also in the process of the first launch of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

While Covid has put our plans on the backburner or delayed our launches, we are hopeful of completing the landing trial or testing the landing gear mechanism of RLV soon. RLV is a priority and it will bring down the cost of launch drastically as also we need launch vehicles that need to be used even up to 15 times. The scaling down of costs would reflect on more launches and eventually the benefit is transferred to a large number of people.

The design and development of SSLV are almost done and we will be launching it within months.

Gaganyaan will be a top priority and with the Covid pandemic on, it has been delayed a bit but the ambitious push to put a human crew in space is on and we, at the ISRO, hope that the mission would help lay the foundation for a sustainable human space flight programme in the long run. Chandrayan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions are some of the projects awaiting immediate attention.

Can you explain the proportionate impact that a fleet of satellites will have on communication technology?

We aim to have the capability of transmitting directly to handheld devices without any time lapse. This will revolutionalise the information and the infotainment industry. In a similar manner, the low-cost launch will also help improve space application using remote sensing satellites or other low orbit satellites. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, we hope to bring out more services that bring benefit to more people and more lives. Other than this more eyes in the sky would help fine-tune the existing meteorological models along with other observation needs.

There are reports on emerging commercial opportunities in the Space sector. Your comments

There are a lot of emerging opportunities in the space sector and there is a huge enthusiasm among the country’s young entrepreneurs to explore the emerging commercial opportunities in the space sector. We have opened our doors to these game changers and they can explore the envelope of possibilities in this sunrise sector instead of confining their skills and imagination to a particular area of space science.

I can say that there are many skilled and qualified youngsters who are in discussions with the ISRO for their startups that are entering the field. However, there are risks involved in rocket manufacture and developing other launch vehicles and risk is a great factor in the manufacturing and assembling of satellites.

The maximum interest being envisaged in the commercial side is on the low-risk area of application development based on space-based data and becoming providers of space-based services opens a vista of opportunities to these youngsters who have the entrepreneurial bug and ISRO is fully supporting them.

How are the strides in Indian space research beneficial to common man?

While most of the nations were used space for projecting another dimension of their defence power, we, in India, used it for reaching the scientific benefits to the common man of the country. The giant strides the country has made in telemedicine, weather forecast, agriculture, and distance education are a few examples that we can showcase on the contribution we have made in space research that is directly transferred as benefits to common man.

My mission is to continue this work and to follow the footsteps of my seniors who have made yeoman contributions in the development of space science in the country and ISRO has played a stellar role in it.

We know that there are several departments in the country that need the support of space technology and we will improve interactions with them to develop user-based initiatives in these areas. At present we are in direct contact with some government institutions and we will expand it to a larger number and spread our wings with indirect contact with some government bodies. The idea is to bring them all under one umbrella and develop products that uplift the lives of common people in the country.

There are a lot of discussions on graveyard orbits being in use by major players in space. Please explain

Graveyard orbit is used when the change in velocity required to perform a de-orbit maneuver is too large. For satellites in geostationary orbit and geosynchronous orbits, the graveyard orbit is a few hundred kilometers beyond the operational orbit. The transfer to a graveyard orbit beyond geostationary orbit requires the same amount of fuel as a satellite needs for about three months of stationkeeping.

We are planning to put an old satellite into graveyard orbit in the near future. This is done when a satellite is nearing its life and the remaining life is less than a few months and when the controls are still active.

Could you tell us about your journey to ISRO?

I did my schooling at St. Augustine High School, Aroor which is a government-aided school, and those days the pass percentage in the school was very low – around 30 per cent of those who write the Class 10 board exam. I was the topper in Kerala for physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology in school and it was a great achievement those days that gave me a morale booster. My father was a Hindi teacher but he was scientifically oriented and he was the one who inculcated or rather kindled the interest in science in me.

Those days we did assemble our own radio and my father was keen that I read good science publications during my school days. I did my pre-university at the prestigious Maharajas College in Ernakulam and did my BTech in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam. I did my Master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with a specialisation in Dynamics and Control and I joined the ISRO in 1985.

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