Indian Space Capabilities

[rockstarIN]

China, India lack transparency in satellite capacity rules

WASHINGTON (PTI): US Trade Representative (USTR) has said that a lack of transparency in the rules governing the provision of satellite capacity of India and China is an issue of concern.

"China and India both generally require that foreign satellite capacity be sold through an intermediary ChinaDBSat or the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), respectively.

A lack of transparency in the rules governing the provision of satellite capacity in these countries is also a concern," USTR said in a report announcing the results of the 2011 annual review of operation and effectiveness of telecommunications trade agreements.

With respect to Mexico, commenters question the local presence requirement that Mexico imposes on foreign satellite service suppliers. They note that Mexico's GATS commitments include no such requirement for cross-border telecommunications services, the report said.

"Additionally, with respect to both India and Mexico, commenters express concern that these countries require mobile satellite operators to install a gateway in India or Mexico, respectively, as a condition for providing satellite services into their territories," it said.

Commenters consider these requirements burdensome and unnecessary from a technical standpoint to address the security concerns these countries have raised. USTR will continue to raise the commenters' concerns with China, India and Mexico regarding these issues, the report said.

The report also discusses issues relating to licensing of internet via satellite services and auctioning of mobile spectrum in Costa Rica, classification of value added services in China, and regulatory barriers to providing satellite services in China and India, as well as general problems with providing Voice over IP services in multiple jurisdictions.

"As evidenced by the innovative devices and services now helping drive US economic recovery, a vibrant telecom sector with access to global markets will contribute to our prosperity, and that of companies both big and small," US Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, said.

"To ensure that US service and equipment suppliers can excel and contribute to the competitiveness of the US economy, we must continue to focus our efforts on identifying all barriers and encouraging our trading partners to remove them," he said.

The report again highlights concern that US trading partners are seeking ways to increase the rates US telecommunications operators must pay in order to deliver long-distance calls into the foreign operators' countries (the termination rate), resulting in higher costs for US carriers and higher prices for US consumers.

This year's report focuses on problems in Tonga, Ghana and Jamaica.

 

[BlueDot_in_Space]

India’s agriculture sector is set to get a boost with the launch of Resouresat-2, a remote sensing satellite.

“This satellite will play a major role in rejuvenating the country’s farming operations,” a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, told DNA on Sunday.

Resourcesat-2 along with two other satellites would be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India’s gateway to the skies at Sriharikotta at 10 12 am on April 20, with Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16), ISRO’s main workhorse onboard.

“Resourcesat-2, weighing 1206 kg, has three electro optical cameras with high resolution. They will provide us information about agricultural crop discrimination, crop acreage and yield information,” he said.

Resourcesat-2, a sequel to Resourcesat-1, which was launched in 2003, will identify the entire arable land in the country. “The cameras on the satellite are capable of detecting pest attacks of any kind on the Indian sub continent,” the spokesperson said.

“For the first time, Indian agricultural scientists and policy makers will be able to monitor the crop in the entire country. The satellite will help them in estimating the annual crop yield, precision farming and water resources,” he said.

The uniqueness of the satellite is that policy makers will get a comprehensive idea about the crop yield well in advance. “Any shortfall in yield could be known much earlier so that they will have enough time to get ready with contingency plans,” he said.

Prof KC Bansal, senior scientist of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, said the data to be offered by Resourcesat-2 would be of revolutionary in nature. “We can plan our farming operations months ahead,” he said.

Source:Now, know pest threats in advance - India - DNA

Yeah!!! Go ISRO GO!!!

 

[rockstarIN]

ISRO to launch PSLV-C16 carrying three satellites on April 20

BANGALORE (PTI): Preparations for the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) carrying three satellites, including RESOURCESAT-2, are progressing well at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 120 km from Chennai.

Besides RESOURCESAT-2, PSLV-C16 will also launch YOUTHSAT and X-SAT satellites.

The Launch Authorisation Board scheduled to meet on April 16, will review the readiness of the launch vehicle, satellites and ground stations and authorise the launch of PSLV-C16/RESOURCESAT-2 Mission.

The countdown is expected to begin in the early hours of April 18 and the launch of PSLV-C16 is tentatively scheduled on April 20 at 1012 Hrs (IST), an ISRO release said.

RESOURCESAT-2 built by ISRO - the primary satellite is an advanced remote sensing satellite weighing 1206 kg for facilitating the study and management of natural resources, the release said.

YOUTHSAT, weighing 92 kg, is a joint Indo-Russian satellite for stellar and atmospheric studies.

X-SAT, weighing 105 kg, is a microsatellite for imaging applications built by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

Integration of all the three satellites to the launcher has been successfully accomplished. After successful completion of final phase of vehicle checkout operations, pre-launch and launch rehearsal procedures will be carried out.

---------- Post added at 01:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:55 PM ----------

Indian-American plans to mine the moon

BOSTON (PTI): A Silicon Valley start-up, founded by an Indian-American entrepreneur, plans to mine the moon and is in the process of building robotic rovers that will search the lunar surface for precious metals and rare metallic elements.

Moon Express Inc or MoonEx, co-founded by Naveen Jain, is building the robotic rovers alongside scientists at NASA's Ames Research Centre near San Jose, a report in the Los Angeles Times said.

While there is no guarantee that the moon is "flush" with these materials, MoonEx thinks it "may be a gold mine of so-called rare earth elements."

"From an entrepreneur's perspective, the moon has never truly been explored," the report quoted Jain, chairman and company co-founder, as saying.

"We think it could hold resources that benefit Earth and all humanity."

MoonEx's machines are designed to look for materials that are scarce on Earth but found in everything from a Toyota Prius car battery to guidance systems on cruise missiles, the report added.

"MoonEx should be ready to land on the lunar surface by 2013," Jain said.

"It's our goal to be the first company there and stay there." MoonEx comprises 25 employees, including former NASA engineers, and has received a NASA contract worth up to USD 10 million.

The company is among several others that hope to win the Google Lunar X Prize 30 million dollar competition that requires a privately-funded team to successfully land a robot on the moon's surface.

The robot must be capable of exploring at least a third of a mile and must also transmit high definition video and images to Earth before 2016.

Jain said the idea of exploiting the moon's resources for private gain is unlikely to be a concern.

"I also think that the moon will be treated no differently than the international water in our oceans," he said.

 

[Varad]

Acoustic test facility set up for ISRO satellites
The hi-tech facility will be used to perform qualification and acceptance tests of satellites built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)


Bangalore: The state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has set up a state-of-the-art acoustic test facility for satellites of the Indian space agency in this tech hub.

"The hi-tech facility will be used to perform qualification and acceptance tests of satellites built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for communications and remote sensing applications," NAL said in a statement.

Located in the space agency's satellite integration and test establishment campus, the nitrogen-based acoustic test facility consists of a reverberation chamber for conducting the tests before a satellite is integrated with the rocket for launch into polar or geo-synchronous orbits from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km northeast of Chennai.

As satellites are launched by powerful rockets with very high velocity, the acoustic field created during the launch and trans-atmospheric flight can damage their structure. Once the spacecraft crosses the atmospheric layer, the satellites do not again experience such noise fields during their lifespan.

"It is essential to test all payload packages prior to the launch for mechanical effects under simulated conditions on the ground. The acoustic tests are designed to induce dynamic responses in the test specimen similar to those experienced in flight to qualify them under flight conditions to ensure trouble-free operation," NAL Director AR Upadhya said.

Unveiled by ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishna, the facility can also test the acoustic shielding efficiency of heat shields that are built around the satellite to protect from atmospheric hazards.

Though NAL has hitherto been conducting such tests at its acoustic test facility, the new facility has been located in the ISRO campus to undertake large number of tests at one place.

"The facility, ninth of its kind the world over, has a control room, data room, ground checkout room air lock area and air handling units," the statement added.

Acoustic test facility set up for ISRO satellites | iGovernment.in

 

[SpArK]

India to launch five satellites by June

17 APR, 2011


CHENNAI: India will launch five satellites by June, including one for advanced remote sensing and two for communications, say officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The first launch, scheduled for April 20, will be of Resourcesat-2, intended for study and management of natural resources and sending back pictures and other data, and two other satellites.

India has the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites in the world providing imagery in a variety of spatial resolutions from better than a metre ranging up to 500 metres, and is a major player in vending such data in the global market.

ISRO will then launch two communication satellites - GSAT-8 from French Guyana and GSAT-12 from India - by June this year. These will serve the needs of the telecommunication and television sectors.

Speaking to IANS, an ISRO official, who did not want to be named, said GSAT-8 will augment the growing demand for communication transponders (automatic receivers and transmitters for communication and broadcast of signals).

With India in the process of developing a rocket that could carry a three-tonne satellite, GSAT-8 will be launched by Ariane rocket from French Guyana some time this May.

Following that will be the launch of GSAT-12 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from ISRO's rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 80 km from Chennai.

Weighing 1,425 kg, GSAT-12, with 12 extended C band transponders, is expected to be launched some time in June.

The satellite is expected to serve the Very Small Aperture Terminal ( VSAT )) sector, used to transmit data like point of sale transactions or to provide satellite internet access and others.

Though PSLV rockets are largely used by ISRO to launch remote sensing/earth observation satellites, it has also been used to put into orbit communication satellites in geo transfer orbit (GTO).

According to ISRO officials, the PSLV rocket that will carry GSAT-12 will weigh over 300 tonnes - heavier than the standard PSLV rocket that weigh around 290 tonnes at lift off.

The rocket will be powered with much longer strap-on motors containing more fuel.

ISRO is also mulling the launch of another remote sensing satellite, Megha-Tropiques in July, to study and understand the life cycle of convective systems and their role in the associated energy and moisture budget of the atmosphere in the tropical regions.

Pre-launch work is on at Sriharikota for the April 20 flight of the PSLV that will carry three satellites - the 1,200 kg Resourcesat-2 satellite, the 92 kg joint Indo-Russian nanosatellite Youthsat for stellar and atmospheric studies, and a 105 kg microsatellite X-sat for imaging applications, built by the Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University.

"Everything is progressing well and the launch will be at 10.12 a.m.," S. Satish, ISRO's director, Publications and Public Relations, told IANS.

Resourcesat-2 was originally scheduled for launch in January this year but got postponed to February and then to April.

Not wanting to risk a failure, the Indian space agency decided to test a gas motor fitted in the second stage/engine, powered by liquid fuel, for high temperature tolerance levels after dismantling the fully assembled rocket.

This was the second time within an year that ISRO has dismantled a fully-assembled PSLV rocket to check out a component in the rocket's second stage.

Last April, prior to the launch of Cartosat-2B satellite and a couple of other payloads, the rocket was dismantled to replace a faulty component.

The 44-metre tall PSLV is a four-stage (engine) rocket powered by solid and liquid propellants alternatively. The first and third stages are fired by solid propellant and the second and fourth stages are fired by liquid propellant.



India to launch five satellites by June - The Economic Times

 

[SpArK]

Countdown for PSLV C16 launch to begin on Monday - Brahmand.com

 

[bhagat]

Production of systems for satellites to be increased


The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit here will step up production of systems for satellites and launch vehicles because of ISRO's plan to increase the frequency of satellite launches to meet the rising demand.

The fabrication of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles is mostly done in Thiruvananthapuram, and various units under ISRO here are gearing up to meet the demand for components.

G. Ravindranath, who recently assumed charge as Director of the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, said that besides the production of inertial systems, the fabrication of solar arrays and instruments for satellites was being stepped up.

The unit, which boasts facilities for precision fabrication, assembly and integration of systems and testing, is capable of making and delivering inertial systems for the country's entire space programme.
The Hindu : Cities / Thiruvananthapuram : Production of systems for satellites to be increased

 

[Varad]

PSLV launch successful, satellites injected into orbit

India’s PSLV—C16 rocket today successfully launched into orbit the latest remote sensing satellite Resourcesat—2 that would study and help manage natural resources along with two nano satellites.

ISRO’s homegrown workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle placed in a ‘Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit’ Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat about 18 minutes after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre launch pad here, 90 km from Chennai, at 10.12 am.

“PSLV-C16 Resourcesat-2 mission is successful,” a jubilant Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced shortly after all the three satellites were hurled into space one after another 822 km above earth in a text book launch.

The ISRO chief’s announcement was cheered by the battery of scientists at the mission control centre who heaved a sigh of relief as they were gripped by an added anxiety following two successive failures of GSLV missions last year.

The 1,206 kg Resourcesat-2 with a space life of five years replaces Resourcesat-1 launched in 2003 and would provide data with enhanced multispectral and spatial coverage on natural resources.

The GSLV mission in December last year failed when the homegrown GSLV F06 carrying communication satellite GSAT-5P exploded mid-air less than a minute after lift-off and fell into the Bay of Bengal.

GSAT-5P, carrying 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, plunged into the sea when the destruct command was issued as the rocket veered from its flight path.

Earlier, the GSLV-D3 mission carrying GSAT-4 had also failed in April 2010, dealing a blow to India’s space programme.

Today’s PSLV flight was its 17th successive mission after the failure of its maiden voyage in September 1993.

The Hindu : News / National : PSLV launch successful, satellites injected into orbit

 

[Abingdonboy]

^^^ great news, with NASA cutting back Asia can really fill the void and take the human race to the stars and beyond!!!

 

[SpArK]

India puts S'pore-built satellite in space
tabla!
Fri, Apr 22, 2011

WHILE many in Singapore were tucking into their lunch on April 20, a rocket carrying a small satellite built by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in collaboration with DSO National Laboratories blasted off into space from India.

The satellite, called X-Sat and weighing 106kg, will be used for imaging applications.

The successful launch of the satellite (seen below with two other satellites) from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota makes Singapore the first South-east Asian country to have its own locally-built satellite in space.

Following the launch, NTU president Su Guaning said in a statement: “We are delighted with the successful launch of Singapore’s first experimental micro-satellite into space. This represents a huge leap for our local research and development endeavours in space technology and building micro-satellites.”

The X-Sat, which was launched at 12.42pm Singapore time, will orbit the earth at a height of 800km. Work on it began in 2001. It carries a multi-spectral camera called IRIS which will take photographs to measure soil erosion and monitor environmental changes on earth. The satellite will relay information to a ground station at NTU and is expected to spend three years in space.

The launch of India’s PSLV C-16 rocket, which carried the X-Sat, was originally scheduled for a January 2011 lift-off. The dates were later moved to February, then March and finally to mid-April citing technical snags in the second stage motor. Over the past several months, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) staff have been working round-the-clock to ensure a picture-perfect mission for the PSLV C-16.

India’s space agency was under immense pressure owing to recent failures of the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle missions – on April 15, 2010, and on Dec 25, 2010.

In addition to the X-Sat, the PSLV C-16 rocket also put in space two other satellites – the Resourcesat-2 and the Youthsat.

The 1,200kg Resource Sat-2 is an advanced remote sensing satellite designed by ISRO for the study and management of natural resources. The Youthsat, which is smaller at 95kg, is designed jointly by India and Russia and will undertake stellar and atmospheric studies.


India puts S'pore-built satellite in space

 

[Burnz]

Update on GSLV MK3

(a) & (b) The first Static Test (ST-01) of the S-200 solid booster stage of GSLV-MkIII, was successfully conducted in January, 2010 at Satish Dhawan Space Centre,Sriharikota. Presently, preparations are progressing for conducting the second Static Test (ST-02) of S-200 solid booster stage. The test is planned during mid-2011.
So far, stage-level tests have been completed for the L110 liquid core stage twice, at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Mahendragiri. The first test was conducted in March 2010 for a duration of 150 seconds; and the second test was for its full flight duration of 200 seconds, in September, 2010.

(c) & (d) The work towards realization of C25 Cryogenic Engine for the GSLV-MkIII programme is progressing well. Major sub-systems of the C25 Cryogenic Engine such as Gas Generator, Turbo-pumps for the Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) have been realised and tested. Preparations for the testing of one of the major subsystem viz., Thrust Chamber are underway. The integrated test of the C25 Cryogenic Engine is planned for end 2011.


http://isro.gov.in/parliament/2011/Budget/LUSQ3347.pdf

 

[Burnz]

IS GSLV MK2 going to Fly this Year?

In a Speech by ISRO:

After a gap of 2 & ½ years, we flew GSLV, that too with our Indigenous
Cryogenic Stage on-board GSLV-D3 on April 15th. You may recall that
performance of the first two stages was excellent in GSLV-D3; but the
cryogenic stage did not sustain ignition beyond 0.9 sec. We learnt quite a
lot from it. Corrective actions are underway with a series of static tests and
a flight test planned during the year.

http://www.isro.gov.in/Ourchairman/present/_notes/Addr_Trends-in-Optics-and-Opto.pdf


Does the Flight test of a Cryogenic Engine mean an Actual Flight?

 

[sudhir007]

Three satellites in good health | idrw.org

The three satellites put in orbit on Wednesday by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) are “absolutely fine,” officials of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Thursday.The Resourcesat-2, the Youthsat and the X-Sat were in good health and working satisfactorily, they said.

The Resourcesat-2, an advanced remote-sensing satellite, will replace the Resourcesat-1, which was put in orbit in October 2003. The Resourcesat-2 has been fitted with three sophisticated cameras, and the first images of the earth are expected on April 28. Though the Resourcesat-1′s life was five years, it was still sending pictures of the earth.

The images from the Resourcesat-2 will be useful in estimating the acreage of crops and the stress they are under, keeping a surveillance on pests, locating groundwater, identifying schools of fish in the sea, predicting the advance of glaciers, monitoring water bodies and keeping a watch on deforestation or changes in the rural and urban landscape.

They can also be used for estimating the salinity or acidic conditions of the soil owing to the excessive use of fertilizer, and for disaster management, mapping wetlands and categorising wasteland.

The Resourcesat-2 also carries a payload from Canada, which receives signals from ships and provides information about their location and speed. The estimated life of the satellite is five years, and its images will be used by more than 15 countries.

The Youthsat has three payloads — one from Moscow University and two from ISRO. Together, they will help in investigating the relationship between activities in the sun and the thermosphere-ionosphere above the earth. The X-Sat of the Nangyang Technological University of Singapore is an earth-viewing satellite.

The Resourcesat-2 is India’s 18th remote-sensing satellite. A series of Indian Remote-sensing Satellites (IRS) have been put in orbit, beginning with IRS-1A in March 1988.

“The imaging systems in the IRS series have demonstrated India’s technological leadership at the global level in observing the entire earth,” an ISRO official said.

The nine IRS in service now are the Technology Experiment Satellite, the Resourcesat-2, the Cartosat-1, 2, 2A and 2B, the Indian Mini Satellite-1, the Radar Imaging Satellite-2 and the Oceansat-2.

They make the IRS system the largest civilian remote-sensing satellite constellation in the world.

 

[SpArK]

Resourcesat-2, Youthsat, X-Sat functioning satisfactorily: ISRO​

BANGALORE (PTI): The country's latest remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2 and two micro satellites launched by home grown PSLV-C16 rocket on April 20 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh "are functioning satisfactorily", ISRO said.

"All three satellites were placed in the targeted orbits with high precision," the Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement here.

In its 17th consecutive successful flight, PSLV-C16 injected Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-sat (of Nanyang Technical University, Singapore) into polar sun synchronous orbit on last Wednesday.

With the precise injection of Resourcesat-2, about 20 kg of fuel allocated for the probable dispersions in injection was saved which would help enhance the five year operational life of the satellite, it said.

Immediately after injection of Resourcesat 2, its two solar panels were deployed and three Imaging Cameras oriented towards Earth, it said.

Orbital trimming manoeuvre was conducted successfully on April 22 and Resourcesat-2 is now placed in the final orbital configuration in a sun-synchronous polar orbit.

Operation of the Imaging cameras is scheduled to commence on April 28, the statement said.

The first imaging pass on April 28 is expected to cover about 3000 km stretch of Indian land mass from Joshimut in Uttarakhand to Kannur in Kerala.

The statement said the health of Youthsat is normal.

Control and command operations for Resourcesat-2 and Youthsat satellites are being carried out from ISRO’s Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Centre (ISTRAC) at Bangalore, connected to a network of ground stations at Lucknow, Mauritius, Biak (Indonesia), Svalbard (North Pole) and Troll (South Pole).

The Earth Station of National Remote Sensing Centre at Shadnagar (near Hyderabad) has been geared up for Resourcesat-2 data reception on April 28.

Payload data from Youthsat is being processed at the Indian Space Science Data Centre at Bylalu, (near Bangalore).

A report by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore stated that the health of X Sat and performance of various on-board sub-systems are normal.

Resourcesat-2, Youthsat, X-Sat functioning satisfactorily: ISRO - Brahmand.com

 

[sudhir007]

Welcome To ISRO :: Press Release :: April 28, 2011

RESOURCESAT - 2 Sends High Quality Images

The Cameras of RESOURCESAT-2, were switched on today and Images of high quality were received at the Shadnagar Earth Station of ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre.

The three Multispectral Cameras onboard RESOURCESAT 2, namely (a) Advanced Wide-Field Sensor (AWiFS) with 56 meter spatial resolution, (b) the Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor (LISS-III) with 23.5 meter spatial resolution and (c) LISS-IV Camera with 5.8 meter spatial resolution were switched on, as planned, during its 115th orbit today (April 28th) at 10.45 hrs IST. The satellite pass covered a 3000 km stretch of Indian landmass from JOSHIMUT (in Uttarakhand) to KANNUR (in Kerala). Images received from the three Cameras were of high quality.

RESOURCESAT-2, launched by PSLV-C16 on April 20, 2011, will ensure continuity of remote sensing data currently being provided by RESOURCESAT-1 launched in 2003. This data will be used for a host of applications and services in the area of agricultural monitoring, natural resources management, disaster management support as well as infrastructure planning.

After due calibration and validation planned during the next few weeks, Resourcesat-2 data will be made available operationally to the user community.