Indian Space Capabilities

[indiatech]

Water on Moon is indeed one of the greatest discoveries of the 21st century.

ISRO press conference on finding water on the moon.

 

[indiatech]

ISRO, plan ahead

 

[Born In The USA]

ISRO set to shed civilian clothes

BANGALORE: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be providing technical support to the Indian Air force and ground forces in a major offensive against Naxalites in the jungles of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal, which the Union Home Ministry will launch after the upcoming Maharastra polls.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai told Express that the various anti-Naxal forces on the ground would be supported by the IAF and ISRO to fine-tune the attacks on Naxal hideouts, which are deep within the dense jungles.

This will be the first time that the space agency will be using its technology for nonpeaceful operations officially.

ISRO will provide muchneeded images of the ground using the radar-imaging satellite (RISAT-2), which the space agency launched in April this year.

The spy satellite carries the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, which can capture images roundthe- clock and in all weather conditions.

The space agency has always maintained that its satellites are only for peaceful applications and has in the past dismissed allegations that it has a spy satellite, claiming that the RISAT- 2 is only for disaster management, managing cyclones, floods, and agriculture- related activities.

The IAF has in a way already conveyed its willingness to take part in the anti- Naxal operations that will begin at the end of October, when it asked permission from the Defence Ministry to open re tal iat ory f ire against Naxals who target IAF planes. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik has made it clear that the IAF would require foolproof intelligence before using air power against the Naxals, because of the risk that civilians on the ground could be hit.

It is here that the ground forces and the IAF would need the services of RISAT-2, as it can provide images of even the thick jungles, enabling them to carry out surgical strikes on the ground.

The images provided by the satellites will be processed by the National Technology Research Organisation.

ISRO set to shed civilian clothes

 

[Ingis]

Isro seeks Russian spaceship for manned flight

What the hack....!!! I thought ISRO would develop it's own spaceship for manned flight....

Why should India spend valuable money and time on reinventing the wheel?

The Chinese have to because no one is willing to collaborate with them. India is lucky to have great, reliable friends.

 

[gogbot]

Isro seeks Russian spaceship for manned flight

What the hack....!!! I thought ISRO would develop it's own spaceship for manned flight....

Read the article
This is only for sending Space tourists into space on ISRO rockets.
India's space ship is very small and basic.

ISRO is interested in making money by sending people into space and using the Russian spaceship provides more space and features.

India will still use its own spaceship for the first manned flight.

But it intends to use the Russian built ship to send paying customers.

another brilliant move by ISRO taking foreign help, but still maintaining Indigenous nature of the agency.

 

[CrazyEagle9]

Read the article
This is only for sending Space tourists into space on ISRO rockets.
India's space ship is very small and basic.

ISRO is interested in making money by sending people into space and using the Russian spaceship provides more space and features.

India will still use its own spaceship for the first manned flight.

But it intends to use the Russian built ship to send paying customers.

another brilliant move by ISRO taking foreign help, but still maintaining Indigenous nature of the agency.

From that article,

“Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has applied for acquiring a spaceship for sending space tourists,” Russian space agency, Roscosmos’ spokesman Alexei Krasnov said. He said the deal would be commercial and two space travellers could fly in the non-reusable ‘Soyuz TMA’ ship to be piloted by a Russian cosmonaut.


It says the space ship is non-reusable, so for every flight ISRO will have to buy one from Russia. Why doesn't ISRO develop it's own low cost space ship for tourism ?? Isn't it be a better option while ISRO already developing it's own space capsule for manned mission ?

 

[brahmastra]

Indian Space journey

 

[RPK]

The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Tirupati News : ISRO to launch YOUTHSAT

TIRUPATI: In a bid to inculcate interest in space-related activities among the younger generation, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will soon launch a micro satellite named ‘YOUTHSAT’.

The satellite is being developed with the participation of youth from universities in India and abroad and hence will be more of a youth-oriented facility.

Addressing the 13th Convocation of Sri Padmavathi Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) here on Wednesday, Dr. Nair said that it would also provide opportunities for realisation of future payloads for scientific experiments. He also laid emphasis on the opportunities provided to Indian student community to develop, integrate, test and operate nano-satellites, many of which were currently being developed at various universities and institutes.

Dr. Nair also explained that EDUSAT, the exclusive satellite meant for providing connectivity to schools, colleges and higher levels of education and also to support non-formal education, was being effectively utilised by IGNOU, UGC, NCERT, IITs, IETE and State education departments and universities, forming over 35,000 virtual classrooms in the country. Besides, INSAT-based telemedicine network connected 57 super specialty hospitals in cities and 307 hospitals in rural areas, including the hitherto-inaccessible pockets of Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. He gave a clarion call to the students to make the most of every opportunity coming their way in scripting their own success stories.

Vice-Chancellor G. Sarojamma, in her capacity as the acting Chancellor, conferred honorary doctorates on Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar (in absentia), a Member of Legislative Council as well as the university’s former Vice-Chancellor Kola Rajyalakshmi and Chairperson of Infosys Foundation Sudha Murthy.

Ph.D. degrees were announced to 34 science and 39 social sciences/humanities candidates, while gold medals in sciences and humanities were presented to 34 and 40 candidates respectively.

Prof.Sarojamma later presented the annual report, while the Registrar E.Manju Vani proposed a vote of thanks.

 

[Screaming Skull]

Oceansat-2 payloads are providing good quality data: ISRO press release​

All the three payloads on-board the Oceansat-2, namely

* Ocean Colour Monitor,
* Scatterometer,
* Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies,

have been successfully turned on providing good quality data. It may be recalled that the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C14) launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota on September 23, 2009 placed India's Oceansat-2 and other six nano satellites for international customers in the desired orbit. All the instruments onboard Oceansat-2 are working satisfactorily.

The Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM), a multi-spectral imaging radiometer, provides information on chlorophyll concentration, and helps locating Potential Fisheries Zones. The Scatterometer, an active microwave sensor, facilitates retrieval of sea-surface wind speed and direction, and monitoring polar sea-ice. The Radio Occultation Sounder measures the parameters pertaining to lower atmosphere and ionosphere.

The data provided by the different sensors on-board Oceansat -2, will also facilitate monitoring of turbidity and suspended sediments, sea-state and sea-surface winds, and meteorological/climatological studies. The satellite collects data over the entire globe once in two days.

Chlorophyll_a Images of Oceansat-2

The variation in the ocean colour, of Gujarat cost, depicted in shades of blue to brown, are indicative of increasing chlorophyll concentrations of 0.01 to > 3.00 mg/cubic meter.

The higher chlorophyll concentrations indicate prospective zones for fishing. Such information forms vital inputs for assessing oceanic productivity.

First day image of Oceansat-2 (Northwest India)

First day image of Oceansat-2 - Mosaic of India

First day image of Oceansat-2 - Global Area Coverage

Oceansat-2 Scatterometer - Derived Winds

Oceansat-2 Scatterometer - Sigma-0 and Wind Velocity​

 

[adatta]

ISRO eyes more satellite launches from Europe, US
Wed, Oct 14 10:41 AM

Indian Space Research Organisation has reached an understanding with Arianespace under which the European space consortium would scout for small satellites in Europe to be launched by ISRO.

ISRO is a long-time customer of the European aerospace giant, which has launched 12 Indian satellites from 1988 to 2007. Another heavy Indian satellite in the present series is expected to be launched by Arianespace, but the date has not yet been finalised, ISRO Chairman, G Madhavan Nair said.

Asked if the association with Arianespace would come to an end after the next launch, he said, "No, actually, we are trying to develop it further. They are good for heavy-lift launches. Whenever we have payloads of more than four tonnes, we may have to depend on them".

At the same time, Nair said ISRO is trying to make use of Arianespace to get launch opportunities from Europe.

PTI

 

[Screaming Skull]

ISRO find gets European stamp​

16 October 2009,

MUMBAI: A European Space Agency atom reflecting analyser on board ISRO’s Moon Impact Probe has confirmed that the water molecules detected on the moon were generated from within and not from an external source.

The water molecules were first found by an indigenous instrument called the Hyper Spectral Imager and NASA’s Moon Minerology Mapper on the Moon Impact Probe released from Chandrayaan-1 on November 14 last year.

The announcement about the discovery of the water molecules was made by NASA and ISRO on September 24. It instantly triggered a debate on the source of the water molecules with most space scientists veering around to the view that it could perhaps be from an external source like cometary bodies. Now the confirmation has come from the European Space Agency’s payload, Sara (Sub-Kev Atom Reflecting Analyser) on Chandrayaan-1.

Exactly 48 hours later, Chandrayaan-1 project director Mylswamy Annadurai declared that the water molecules which had been detected on the moon’s polar regions came from the moon’s surface itself—-a major revelation made possible by the lunar mission which was launched on October 22, 2008. Chandrayaan-1 was terminated on August 30 following a communication breakdown.

‘‘The current thinking was that only other planetary bodies were the source of water molecules on the moon.
But, this mission has changed the thinking. The new theory is that the water molecules were not from an outside source, but are being generated then and there,’’ he said. A jubilant Annadurai told TOI on Thursday from Bangalore that the discovery by Sara only ‘‘confirmed the mechanisms we (Indian scientists) had been talking about’’.

Isro find gets European stamp - India - The Times of India

 

[Screaming Skull]

ISRO, IAF spar over seats on India's maiden space odyssey​

Monday , Oct 19, 2009

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are at loggerheads over who will be on board the spacecraft when the country’s first manned mission into space is launched in 2015.

Traditionally, countries that have sent men into space have chosen Air Force pilots as astronauts. Rakesh Sharma, the only Indian to have travelled to space so far, was also from the Air Force. He was a Squadron Leader—who retired as Wing Commander—when he went into space in 1984 aboard Soyuz T-11, the spacecraft of the then Soviet Union. So was his back up, Ravish Malhotra, who retired as Air Commodore.

But ISRO, which will plan and execute the mission, is challenging the conventional wisdom. It wants its own scientists on board the spacecraft. “It is not necessary that only men from the Services can be selected to become astronauts. Scientists from within ISRO can also be sent on the spacecraft,” says S. Satish, director of public relations at ISRO.

Satish says several scientists from NASA have travelled to space before and ISRO was not asking for anything unusual. He says even in 1984, a couple of ISRO scientists had trained alongside Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra and had been standbys for the mission. Besides, scientists are better suited for carrying out experiments in space, he claims. “Scientists enjoy a natural advantage in such complicated and highly challenging missions,” he says.

The Air Force obviously contests this. It is of the opinion that its officers who are experienced in handling flights are more suited for the job. Besides their aviation experience, Air Force pilots have a very high level of physical fitness and are better prepared to endure the physical demands of space travel, they say.

In fact, the Air Force had staked claim for seats on the spacecraft almost immediately after ISRO announced plans of its manned mission last year. Just before retiring earlier this year, Air Chief Marshal F H Major had said that the manned mission would obviously be led a pilot of the Air Force. “When the manned mission is launched into space, there is no doubt that it will be led by Air Force pilots,” he had said then.

His views are echoed by senior serving officers of the Air Force who are handling the project with ISRO. “We have not begun the selection process yet. It is likely to start sometime next year. However, the understanding is that IAF pilots would be trained as astronauts,” a senior officer says.

The tussle has not come a day too soon. If the 2015 schedule for the manned mission is to be adhered to, the selection and training for astronauts have to begin now, possibly in the next few months. It takes about three to four years for the selection and training process to be completed. The final selection has to be completed at least a year before the scheduled launch.

But perhaps there is a way out of this tug of war between ISRO and IAF. Satish says that according to present plans and design, there will be at least two seats on the spacecraft. The seats can even increase in case the design or the mission objectives are modified at a later stage.

Air Chief Marshal (retd) Major indicates that the seats can be split up between the two organisations. “The team can consist of scientists but that is not the issue. The issue is that there is a commander of a manned space flight and it has always been a pilot. All manned space missions around the world are commanded by a pilot,” he says.

ISRO, IAF spar over seats on India's maiden space odyssey

 

[applesauce]

send one of each then

 

[RPK]

(Lunar Libration With Phase

 

[EjazR]

The Hindu : Sci-Tech : India keen on space exploration, considering manned missions

After launching a moon mission, India is now looking at further options to explore the inner and outer space, including sending manned missions to space.

The Indian space programme is entering into exploration phase mainly to explore inner solar system and build such capabilities for exploring outer solar system, Member of Parliament, Anwar Ali Ansari, said here during a debate of a UN committee on ‘International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space’

“India also continues to discuss carrying out human spaceflight programmes,” Mr. Ansari said.

Mr. Ansari said India is getting ready to launch several satellites including Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT—1).

“Six small satellites built by Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, a YOUTHSAT with participation of Moscow State University, an X-SAT with participation of NTU of Singapore, NLS-6 of Canada and ALSAT-2 from Algeria are also scheduled to be launched as co-passengers in these flights,” he said.

To provide satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing service in the region, India is building Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN) as well as an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite system (IRNSS).

Welcoming the addition of “Space and Climate” to the General Assembly agenda, Mr. Ansari said India placed importance on international cooperation to minimise cost of access to space.

Mr. Ansari also said that the Oceansat-2, scheduled to be launched shortly, would carry a Radio Occultation Sounder from Italy.

“Currently, formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Agreements are in place with more than 30 countries and international organisations,” he said.

“Many of these understandings pave way for sharing our expertise in the use of space-derived geo spatial information for sustainable development,” he said.

He also said that India was playing a part in building capacities for other developing countries.

“So far 824 scholars from 31 countries from the Asia-Pacific region and 27 scholars from 17 countries outside the Asia-pacific region have benefited from the educational activities of this Centre,” he said referring to the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Asia and Pacific Region, affiliated to the U.N. and operating from India.