Indian Space News thread.

[Indianfighter]

India building satellite for mobile television
Bangalore, Feb 25: Indian space scientists are designing a new generation satellite with unfurlable antenna for mobile television services -- the proposed spacecraft would have multi-media applications as well.

"Satellite design is going on. It requires a huge antenna to be deployed in space and also high power. So, it's in the process", Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation G Madhavan Nair told news agencies here.

"That (unfurlable antenna) is one of the major elements in that,” added Nair, also secretary in the department of space. He said it would take two years before the satellite gets ready for launch.

Director of ISRO Satellite Centre here, Dr K N Shankara said the proposed spacecraft is a "multi-media" one.

Making of unfurlable antenna needs new technology which ISRO is developing, Shankara told reporters on the sidelines of an international conference on electromagnetic interference and compatibility here today.

"In any (present generation) satellite....Because of envelop, you cannot put more than 2.5 metre height antenna", he explained. "We need much more than that. You have to unfurl it when it's launched in space. So, that's a technology we are developing".

Bureau Report

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[Indianfighter]

US backs India’s space mission to the moon

Friday March 03, 2006, NEW DELHI: The United States on Thursday offered its support to India’s unmanned mission to the moon which New Delhi has scheduled for next year or early 2008, a joint statement said.
The endorsement came after delegation-level talks on the sidelines of a summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush. The statement pledged American support for plans for an unmanned lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

“President Bush and Prime Minister Singh welcomed the inclusion of two US instruments in the Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1” (Moon Vehicle), it said, referring to the Indian orbiter which is under development. “They noted that a memorandum of understanding to be signed by ISRO and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) would be significant steps forward in this area,” said the statement at the end of landmark talks in New Delhi. ISRO has said that its maiden lunar programme is on schedule and could be launched as early as 2007 and followed by a manned mission within seven years.

The 590-kilogramme orbiter is to map the lunar terrain for minerals, conduct experiments and land a probe weighing about 20 kilogrammes on the surface for closer scientific examination.

A ground station is also being built near the southern city of Bangalore where ISRO is headquartered, to track an indigenously-built polar satellite launch vehicle which will carry the orbiter.

The mission is budgeted to cost the state-run agency $83 million. India sent its first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, aboard Soviet spacecraft Salyut 7 in April 1984. Another astronaut, Kalpana Chawla, was killed along with six others in the Columbia shuttle disaster in February 2003. afp

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[Indianfighter]

Our rockets will now launch United States satellites

K Raghu
Friday, March 03, 2006 00:22 IST


BANGALORE: India could emerge as a global satellite launch hub with President Bush giving the nod to allow satellites with American components to be launched by Indian rockets.

A joint statement by Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said they had committed to permit US satellites to be launched in India opening up new opportunities for commercial space cooperation between the two countries. In 2004, American satellite firm Boeing had explored with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to jointly build and market two tonne satellites that would be launched from the Satish Dhawan spaceport in Sriharikota. But, Boeing backed off citing lack of market opportunities and tight US control norms that hindered the deal.

"This would allow India to gain a bigger share in global satellite market at competitive terms," former Space Commission chief Prof U R Rao told DNA.

"It is a step forward and a win-win situation for both the nations. The Boeing contract did not work out due to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) act. Now, they can come back and also other American satellite firms," Space commission member Prof Roddam Narasimha said.

Boosted by the low-cost high quality space programme, ISRO is aiming to capture about 10% of the global satellite launch market over the next five years.

Bush and Singh welcomed the U.S. Department of Commerce's plan to exempt items that would require an export license to end-users in India engaged solely in civilian activities. Among the beneficiaries would be ISRO, which can source components for satellites from the US freely.

"Our meteorological satellites are the only ones in the region to track climatic conditions in the Indian Ocean. If the US wants to do some calculations on weather pattern, they need our inputs," Narasimha said of other benefits of the new pact. The Bush visit will also see the signing of the pact to carry two American scientific instruments in India's moon mission Chandrayan-1.

The US plans to put a synthetic aperture radar that can map the moon's terrain despite hostile atmosphere and a hyper spectral imaging camera for high resolution pictures of specific areas, aboard India's moon craft.

Chandrayan-1 involves sending a satellite weighing 525 kg on a polar orbit 100 kms above the moon with a lifespan of 2 years. The mission to be launched by 2007 is intended to develop a chemical map of the moon, with three-dimensional atlas of specific regions of high interest.

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[Indianfighter]

India, Russia sign pact on satellite navigation system

Josy Joseph
Saturday, March 18, 2006 01:49 IST

NEW DELHI: Providing India with a great leap in its military capabilities, New Delhi and Moscow firmed up an agreement for Indian participation in Russia's Glonass satellite navigation system.
The Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the world's second dedicated satellite navigation system available for military applications but is not in a great shape.

Military scientists are euphoric about the agreement saying Glonass would place India in a unique position globally, given the fact that the only other satellite navigation system in the world, America's Global Position System, is available only for civilian applications.

And the third satellite navigation system under development, European Union's Galileo in which India is investing, would also be available only for civilian purposes.

Formal agreements were signed on Friday between the Indian Space Research Organisation and Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) for launching of Glonass-M satellites by a variant of India's Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). ISRO and ROSCOSMOS also agreed to jointly develop Glonass-K navigation satellites.
Authoritative sources in the military scientific community told DNA that Glonass agreement would result in India registering a massive leap in military sphere especially in launching weapon system like missiles. Glonass would provide accuracy that is not available to systems like Brahmos.
The agreement would make the Indian Space Research Organisation a partner in the Glonass (Global'naya Navigatsionnay Sputnikovaya Sistema) system which was one of the last ambitious military projects of Soviet Union before communism collapsed.

The Glonass negotiations took a formal shape in December 2004 when President Vladimir Putin visited New Delhi. In November 2005 when defence minister Pranab Mukherjee visited Moscow the two sides signed an agreement to protect intellectual property rights and satellite technology used in Glonass system.

And the Russian defence ministry also gave consent for using Glonass for Indian military.
Glonass, owned by the Russian Federal Ministry of Defence, now has just eight satellites in the space, which is clearly inadequate.

For a robust satellite navigation system with an accuracy that could be used by military 24 satellites are required in the orbit. Three of them would be available to provide details of any one position when 24 satellites are in orbit.

The Russian authorities had started revival of Glonass even before India's entry into the project. Late last year Russia had announced plans to launch three satellites to beef up the system.

Now with ISRO joining the system, some of the Glonass satellites would be launched from India. By 2008, sources say some 17 satellites would be in place to put it into military application.

Meanwhile, India and Russia on Friday decided to expand cooperation in strategic areas of civil nuclear energy and space as Moscow agreed to supply 60 tonnes of uranium to fuel-starved Tarapur reactors.

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[Indianfighter]

ISRO developing unique RLV

Sunday, March 19, 2006 (New Delhi):

Opening new frontiers, ISRO is developing a unique Reusable Launch Vehicle to put satellites into orbit.

Built at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, ISRO has completed the structural design and fabrication process studies for a technology demonstrator flight which is likely to take place in a couple of years.

"Conceptual design of the auxiliary power system for reusable launch vehicle and initiation of studies for the development of 2,000 kN thrust semi-cryogenic engine have been undertaken as part of developments related to technologies for reusable launch vehicles," according to the Annual Report (2005-06) of the Department of Space (DoS).

Orbital velocity

The aerodynamic and baseline characterisation, reference trajectory for the mission, avionics configuration, structural design and fabrication process studies have also been completed.

The Performance Budget of the DoS stated that the Preliminary Design Review of mechanical integration, electrical integration and checkout system would be completed in the 2006-07 fiscal.

The first stage of the RLV is configured as a winged body system, which will attain an altitude of around 100 km and deliver nearly half the orbital velocity.

After burnout, the vehicle will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and will be made to land horizontally on a runway, like an aircraft.

In the second stage, after delivering the payload, the vehicle will be made to re-enter the atmosphere and will be recovered using airbags either in sea or land.

The RLV is at a conceptual stage and ISRO will have to develop a host of technologies related to advanced material and propulsion control before the dream is realised.

To prove the technology for RLV, a small-scale flight test bed vehicle for demonstration is being conceived.

As a precursor to the RLV, a recoverable satellite weighing about 500 kg will be launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) as a co-passenger of CARTOSAT-2 later this year.

Earth's atmosphere

Dubbed as the Space-capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), the launch would test reusable thermal protection system, navigation, guidance and control, hypersonic aerodynamics, management of communication blackout, deceleration and floatation system and recovery operations.

After its launch by the PSLV, SRE will remain in orbit for a few days after which it will be de-orbited and made to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

On re-entry, after initial aerodynamic braking, a parachute system will reduce the touch down velocity. The SRE will splashdown in the Bay of Bengal, about 140 km east of Sriharikota coast.

A floatation system will keep the SRE afloat and enable its recovery. (PTI)

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[Indianfighter]

RSI Announces CARTOSAT Certification for ENVI
March 24, 2006

Certification allows analysts using CARTOSAT-1 data to take advantage of ENVI's unique image processing capabilities.

Boulder, CO-- RSI, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT Industries, Inc (NYSE: ITT), announced that Sierra Atlantic Ltd., its sole Indian distributor, has received certification for ENVI to be used to process data from the Indian CARTOSAT-1 satellite. ENVI, the remote sensing exploitation platform of choice, is one of only two products to meet the specifications and receive certification by the government-contracted ANTRIX Corporation.

The CARTOSAT-1 satellite, which was launched by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 5th May 2005 provides stereo data suitable for advanced and large scale mapping applications with its two panchromatic cameras having spatial resolution of 2.5 meters. The data are also a source for generation of Digital Terrain Models (DTM)/Digital Elevation Models (DEM). The certification states that ENVI complies with three major processing steps:

* Product Import and Image Processing
* Single Image Triangulation
* Stereo Pair Triangulation

These processing capabilities are necessary to create Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), which provide spatially accurate 3D representations of entire images or features within a target area in an image. DEMs are practical in applications such as defense, where they are used in target authentication, field communication and data orthorectification. ENVI's powerful, wizard-based processing tools enable CARTOSAT users of any skill level to create DEMs easily and quickly.

"We are pleased to provide our customers with an out-of-the-box solution to processing imagery from CARTOSAT-1," said Srinivas Kumar Tadepalli, Head of the Imaging Solutions Division for Sierra Atlantic Software Services, "The ANTRIX certification allows CARTOSAT data analysts to take advantage of ENVI's image visualization, analysis and display capabilities."

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[Indianfighter]

As stated by Gollevainen that China vs India topics are not allowed,but threads related to India shall be watched, hence I have taken the liberty to post a recent news event regarding India's space sector.

NASA and ISRO sign historic pact for Chandrayan 1 mission​

Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Cape Canaveral-based National Aeronautic Space Agency (NASA) today signed a historic MoU that will see the activation of the Indian moon mission.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin signed the agreement with ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore.

The MoU will facilitate two US payloads to be flown on India's proposed Chandrayan 1 mission to the moon in 2008.

The first payload will look for polar ice on the moon and the other will study the moon's surface mineral composition.

The Chandrayan 1 mission will carry out a physical and chemical mapping of the moon and will be unmanned.

The Indian mission, Chandrayan 1, would also carry five Indian instruments and three developed by the European Space Agency and one from Bulgaria.

The non-Indian instruments were selected from 16 firm proposals received by ISRO.

The visit of the NASA chief is the first of its kind to India and the ISRO-NASA deal reflects improved Indo-US ties.

The Chandrayan-1 mission was announced by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on August 15, 2003 during his Independence Day address to the nation.

It represents India's foray into a planetary exploration era in the coming decades. The mission will provide a unique opportunity for frontier scientific research. Chandrayan-1 is expected to be the forerunner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar system.

The Chandrayan-1 mission envisages placing a 525-kg satellite in a polar orbit 100-km above the moon. The satellite will be launched using a modified version of India's indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The spacecraft will initially be launched into Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit, and subsequently manoeuvred into its final lunar orbit using its own propulsion system.

The main objectives of Chandrayan-1 include obtaining imagery of the moon's surface using high-resolution remote sensing instruments in the visible, near infrared, low and high-energy X-ray regions. Furthermore, considering the interest expressed by the international scientific community, a provision has also been made to accommodate instruments from other countries.

A team of NASA scientists came to Bangalore in January this year to review the preliminary design of the Chandrayan 1.

ISRO has already selected three European payloads along with the Indian ones and the US space agency wanted to put two payloads as well, Nair said, adding the move was aimed at maximising the international participation in Chandrayan and other space missions.

NASA plans to deploy mini-synthetic aperture radar (Msar) and spectrometer with 0.3 micron to 0.9-micron capabilities in the Indian spacecraft for the experiments.

The data collected through the US, European and the Indian payloads will be shared among each other.

The 89 million dollar project is India's first unmanned moon mission and the orbiter is expected to last for two years.

Preparations for the moon mission are already in full swing and ISRO had started building instruments. ISRO has already identified a place for deep tracking network at Tavekkere, about 45 km away from Bangalore.

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[Indianfighter]

Over the moon​

T.S. SUBRAMANIAN

NASA chief's visit opens a new chapter in India-U.S. space cooperation.


WHEN Michael Griffin, Administrator of the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), spent 10 minutes closely examining the intricacies of an Indian-made cyrogenic engine at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram on May 10, nobody there, especially the top brass of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), would have missed the irony. Thirteen years ago, in July 1993, the U.S. had forced Russia not to sell cryogenic technology to ISRO because, it said, cryogenic engines were used to power missiles.

Under an agreement India and Russia signed in January 1991, Russia was to supply not only cryogenic engines but cryogenic technology for ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLVs). But in May 1992 the George Bush Sr administration imposed sanctions on both ISRO and Glavkosmos, the Russian space agency which was to sell it the engines and technology. In early 1993, the U.S. virtually served an ultimatum on the Russian government to renege on the agreement. The Boris Yeltsin administration yielded.

ISRO went ahead and developed its own cryogenic engine at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu and tested it successfully on December 5, 2003. A few more engines were tested since then and it was one of these that held Griffin's attention. At lunch on that day, Griffin gave ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair his visiting card after writing his mobile phone number on it and told him that he could call him any time.

The NASA Administrator went round three key ISRO facilities: the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore, the VSSC, and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

In his speech before the MoU was signed, Griffin said:

"It is fitting for our purposes today to note that 35 years ago this summer, during the Apollo 15 mission to Hadley Rille beneath the moon's towering Apennine mountains, among the special items that our astronauts carried with them was the national flag of India... .

"Today, the Indian people deserve to be tremendously proud that the next time the Indian flag travels to the moon, it will be placed on a very impressive scientific spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1. The mission you will conduct some 40 years after humans saw the moon up close for the first time will greatly advance our understanding of our closest neighbour in space, and represents a very impressive technical achievement. NASA is honoured to be a participant on this mission."

A modified version of the PSLV called PSLV-XL will be launched from Sriharikota sometime in 2007-08 carrying Chandrayaan-1, a spacecraft weighing 1,050 kg. The PSLV will place the satellite in a geostationary orbit 36,000 km above the earth. Subsequently, Chandrayaan-1's own propulsion system will place it in a polar orbit 100 km above the moon. In its lunar orbit, Chandrayaan-1 will weigh 525 kg and have a life of two years. It will have instruments from India, the U.S., the European Space Agency (ESA) and Bulgaria.

According to Dr. J.N. Goswami, Director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad and principal scientist of Chandrayaan-1, the primary objectives are to investigate the presence of various minerals and chemical elements on the moon and conduct high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of the entire moon surface. The satellite will carry Indian payloads such as the Terrain Mapping Camera, a High Energy X-Ray Spectrometer, a Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer and a Lunar Ranging Instrument. Importantly, Chandrayaan-1 will carry an Indian-made Moon Impact Probe, which is conceived as a forerunner to future landing missions.

At a press conference after the signing ceremony, Griffin said he was sorry about the U.S. sanctions on some ISRO units and that he would use his good offices to lift the sanctions. "I am sorry about the past but I will certainly take back a good word about Indian space capabilities. I am very impressed." He said NASA and ISRO wanted to avoid duplication of work. "We are looking at what are the areas where we can increase cooperation between our countries so that we are both not spending on the same length," Griffin said.

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[Indianfighter]

Gagan: India's eye in the sky​

Archis Mohan

New Delhi, June 9, 2006

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) are at work to provide a modern navigation system over the Indian airspace.

The system, christened GAGAN or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation, will be a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS).

GAGAN will be operational by end 2007. For Delhi Airport it would mean less delays during the winter months when fog throws air traffic out of gear. GAGAN will operate like Category IIIA Instrument Landing System, helping flights land in near zero visibility conditions. Its accuracy will be within 1 metre. It will provide both lateral and vertical guidance.

Worldwide, ships and aircraft use two core constellations to determine their position - the GPS system of the US and a similar Russian system.

These set of satellites send a time-stamped message to the aircraft and ship, helping it fix its location and route. The position accuracy achievable with these core constellations (GPS and GLONASS) is 30 metres and not good enough for precision approach and landing requirements of civil aviation in India. These need to be augmented. GAGAN, with its satellites and ground-based transmitters will fill this gap over the Indian airspace.

There are three types of augmentation systems - Ground Based (GBAS), Aircraft Based (ABAS) Space/Satellite Based (SBAS). The ground and aircraft based systems have several handicaps - not available over the oceanic (Indian Ocean) airspace, unable to cover India's territorial airspace, performance dependent on terrain conditions, expensive to maintain and require periodic calibration.

GAGAN is being implemented in three stages:

Stage I: Technology Demonstration System — is complete.

Stage II: Initial Experimentation Phase — year-long, under process.

Stage III: Final Operational Phase — scheduled for 2007.

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[Indianfighter]

ISRO developing RLV to put satellites into orbit​

Press Trust of India

New Delhi, March 19, 2006


Opening new frontiers, ISRO is developing a unique Reusable Launch Vehicle to put satellites into orbit and substantially reduce costs.

Built at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, ISRO has completed the structural design and fabrication process studies for a technology demonstrator flight which is likely to take place in a couple of years.

"Conceptual design of the auxiliary power system for reusable launch vehicle and initiation of studies for the development of 2,000 kN thrust semi-cryogenic engine have been undertaken as part of developments related to technologies for reusable launch vehicles," according to the Annual Report (2005-06) of the Department of Space (DoS).

The aerodynamic and baseline characterisation, reference trajectory for the mission, avionics configuration, structural design and fabrication process studies have also been completed, the report said.

The Performance Budget of the DoS stated that the Preliminary Design Review of mechanical integration, electrical integration and checkout system would be completed in the 2006-07 fiscal.

The first stage of the RLV is configured as a winged body system, which will attain an altitude of around 100 km and deliver nearly half the orbital velocity.

After burnout, the vehicle will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and will be made to land horizontally on a runway, like an aircraft.

In the second stage, after delivering the payload, the vehicle will be made to re-enter the atmosphere and will be recovered using airbags either in sea or land.

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