Revision as of 17:04, 28 March 2019

Countries with 10 or more operational satellites, India and the world; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Aryabhata: India’s first satellite into space

India Today.in , Once an astronomer, then a satellite “India Today” 15/12/2016

A 1976 stamp from the USSR featuring Aryabhata , India Today , December 15,2016

1975

Aryabhata

Once an astronomer, then a satellite

India launched its first satellite into space on April 19, 1975. Named after the ancient Indian astronomer, Aryabhata was constructed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and rode into space aboard a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle from Kapustin Yar, the then Soviet Union's rocket launch and development site. It was constructed with the aim of gaining experience in building and operating satellites, but was also equipped with a suite of instruments to conduct experiments in x-ray astronomy and solar physics, among others. Aryabhata was designed as a 26-sided polyhedron, with a diameter of just over four-and-a-half feet, and was powered by solar panels, which were laid over 24 of the 26 sides of the satellite. Unfortunately, Aryabhata's mission was shortlived-a power failure caused the mission to end after four days, after the satellite had completed just 60 orbits of the Earth.

A-SAT

2019: The highlights

Chethan Kumar & Rajat Pandit, INDIA SHOOTS INTO STAR WARS CLUB, March 28, 2019: The Times of India

RACING AHEAD: In Display Of ‘Shakti’, Is 4th Nation To Test Anti-Sat Weapon After Russia, America, China

Capability Existed Since At Least 2012, Modi Gave Nod 2 Years Ago

India successfully tested an anti-satellite missile to destroy an orbiting satellite at an altitude of almost 300km on Wednesday, jettisoning its long-standing reluctance to flex military muscle in space. It thus became the latest to conduct the test after China in 2007 and joined an exclusive club of the US, Russia and China.

India test-fired the threestage interceptor missile from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast at 11.10am. About 70 minutes later, PM Narendra Modi announced the success of ‘Mission Shakti’ in a televised address to the nation.

The 18-tonne missile, with two solid rocket boosters, tore into space to hit the 740-kg satellite, flying in a low earth orbit (LEO), bang in the middle, barely three minutes after its launch over the Bay of Bengal.

Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Satheesh Reddy told TOI that while work on the ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme was going on for years, “the project only got the official goahead about two years ago. And we got into mission mode only six months ago”.

Reddy also said all technologies for the A-Sat mission were developed indigenously. “In the A-Sat test, we achieved an accuracy of a few centimetres, meeting all technical parameters and objectives. We have the capability to do it at much higher altitudes but conducted the test in LEO or lower atmosphere to ensure the space debris decays and falls back to earth,” he said.

A top defence scientist added, “The mission was a direct-ascent kinetic kill. The relative velocity between the missile and the orbiting Microsat-R satellite, which was launched by Isro on January 24 for the test, was around 10km per second.”

The launch, about two weeks ahead of the first round of polling in Lok Sabha elections, was read by political circles as likely to reinforce the tough on national security image of BJP and Modi after the air strikes on a Jaish-e-Muhammed terror camp in Balakot.

Missile can go up to 1,000km if required, say scientists

PM Modi’s decision to address the nation almost immediately after the successful completion of Mission Shakti sparked a fresh political fight with some opposition parties claiming it was a violation of the model code of conduct and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi praising DRDO scientists but slamming the PM for “political theatre”.

Government sources said the significance and international ramifications of the missile launch required the PM’s “authority and credibility” to assure that India’s objectives were peaceful and defensive and did not violate international commitments. This task could not be left to an official and needed the PM to explain the test’s ramifications.

The strategic significance of the ‘satellite killer’ missile is considerable as it gives India the capacity to match China’s ability to strike down ‘enemy’ satellites. Though China achieved this capacity 12 years ago and has made big strides in the field, Wednesday’s test gives India the technological competence to target satellites, knocking out an adversary’s eyes and ears in space.

Though the A-Sat missile was tested for a 300km altitude, DRDO scientists are confident it “can go up to 1,000km” if required. “We need the capability to neutralise surveillance, communication, navigation and other military satellites during a conflict to render enemy forces deaf and blind,” a defence source said.

India is worried about the huge strides made in the military space arena by China, which tested its first A-Sat missile in January 2007 and also has robust programmes for kinetic and directed-energy laser weapons as well as nano-satellites.

With the test, India had become the fourth country to acquire this “global space power” status.

Successful test of anti-satellite missile

The anti-satellite missile
From: Chethan Kumar & Rajat Pandit, INDIA SHOOTS INTO STAR WARS CLUB, March 28, 2019: The Times of India

A-SAT, 2019: the essential facts
From: March 28, 2019: The Times of India

See graphics:

The anti-satellite missile

A-SAT, 2019: the essential facts

Timeline: 2007-17

The A-SAT launch: a timeline: 2007-10
From: March 28, 2019: The Times of India

The A-SAT launch: a timeline: 2013-17
From: March 28, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic:

The A-SAT launch: a timeline: 2007-10

The A-SAT launch: a timeline: 2013-17

The Secret Mission

Chethan Kumar, How A Secret Mission Launched Satkiller, March 28, 2019: The Times of India

Only 5-6 People Knew About Timing Of Test

The test to “kill” a satellite accomplished on Wednesday was a technologically complex mission that synced a host of sophisticated systems even as the mission was kept a tightly guarded secret known only to a small group right up to the day of the launch.

“Typically, we get about less than one second to intercept a satellite given its velocity. To overcome this challenge, a host of technologies go into guidance control, mission computer, systems that aid accuracy and relative timing,” DRDO chief Satheesh Reddy told TOI, without elaborating on the specific technologies or the budget.

Former DRDO chief Avinash Chander, who helped develop India’s missile capabilities, said Wednesday’s mission could be seen as an extension of DRDO’s long-range anti-ballistic missile programme. However, he pointed out that the “satellite killer” project was initiated recently and was significantly different.

“The satellite is a different ball game given that the velocity is much higher, the size is small and you have a very short time to collect data. You need appropriate booster vehicles that give sufficient velocity to reach a target in the given time, and you must have an anti-satellite vehicle that tracks the satellite and corrects the distance. You will only have 10-15 seconds to do this,” Chander said.

The test demonstrated India’s capability to defend its assets in outer space, with the anti-satellite missile seen as being a major deterrent in a conflict.

Scientists explained that these capabilities were also seen to add to the country’s abilities to tackle high-altitude incoming missiles. India has a long-standing ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme with multiple missiles already in its arsenal.

“As of today, those missiles cannot intercept a target at such altitudes. The Asat, in that sense, is a game changer that can help our forces tackle incoming missiles at a greater height,” a scientist said.

Reddy said 300 DRDO scientists and staff worked on the project day and night over the past six months and yet its scope and objectives were kept under wraps. “Even as of yesterday (Tuesday) evening, not more than five-six people knew about the test today (Wednesday),” he said.

The last time India carried out a secret test was in May 1998, when it tested nuclear weapons in Pokhran. Incidentally, the test laid the foundation for India’s ballistic missile programme, which is today pegged as one of the best in the world.

What is an anti-satellite weapon?

Anti-satellite weapons in India, USA, Russia and China/ As in 2019
From: March 28, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic:

Anti-satellite weapons in India, USA, Russia and China/ As in 2019

2019: India vis-à-vis China

Rajat Pandit, A big leap, but India still miles behind China, March 28, 2019: The Times of India

India’s first-ever anti-satellite missile test was in direct response to rapid advances made in the military space arena by China, which has had “counter-space” capabilities as a thrust area and tested its own A-Sat weapon against a “lowearth orbit (LEO)” weather satellite in January 2007.

While improving upon its already extensive space-based intelligence and reconnaissance abilities, the People’s Liberation Army also has several projects underway for strong counter-space capabilities ranging from “direct-ascent kinetic kill missiles” to directed-energy laser weapons and satellite jammers to destroy or degrade an adversary’s space assets during a conflict.

Having set up a dedicated Strategic Support Force four years ago to handle space and cyberspace operations, China is moving towards a space station with military applications in the near future.

India, in sharp contrast, has not even approved a full-fledged Aerospace Command that the armed forces have been demanding for almost a decade now. The PM Narendra Modi government only recently agreed to set up a small tri-Service Defence Space Agency.

“This has to change now. India cannot keep on missing the bus. We should have the capability to counter China and its rapidly expanding A-Sat capabilities, multiple military satellites, launch-on-demand nanosatellites and the like. Space and cyberspace, after all, are now the fourth and fifth dimensions of modern warfare after the traditional domains of land, air and sea,” an official said. Effective A-Sat weapons can “blind and deafen” an adversary’s military forces by taking out satellites vital for surveillance, missile early-warning, precision-targeting and other such purposes.

There are an estimated 320 military satellites orbiting the Earth with the US leading the pack with over 140 followed by Russia (80) and China (35). India has only two dedicated military satellites in the shape of the naval GSAT-7 and the IAF’s GSAT-7A, though it also uses “dual-use” remote sensing ones for military purposes.

Despite having an enviable civilian space programme, India has been hesitant about militarising the final frontier.

In 2010, the defence ministry had come out with a 15-year ‘Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap’ that dwelt on the need to develop ASat weapons “for electronic or physical destruction of satellites in both LEO (2,000km above earth’s surface) and GEO-synchronous orbits”.

But these parts were quietly deleted in subsequent roadmaps. Similarly, though the “building blocks” for development of A-Sat capabilities were present in spin-offs from the Agni-V missile and ballistic missile plans, the option to test a satellite-killing missile was never exercised before.

Bhaskara-I: India’s first low orbit Obsevation Satellite

India Today.in , Keeping an eye on earth “India Today” 15/12/2016

Bhaskara-I , India Today

Chandrayaan-1:India’s first unmanned space mission

India Today.in , To put a man on the moon “India Today” 15/12/2016

2008

Chandrayaan-1

To put a man on the moon

India's space programme came of age in 2008, with the first unmanned space mission, Chandrayaan-1, reaching the moon. It included a lunar orbiter and an impactor, and was launched by a modified version of the PSLV on October 22, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the spaceport at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It attained lunar orbit on November 8. The goals of the mission included high-resolution mapping of the moon in visible, near infrared, low energy X-ray and high-energy X-ray spectra, and the preparation of a three-dimensional atlas of regions of scientific interest. For this, Chandrayaan-1 carried six indigenous Indian scientific instruments, as well as two from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), three instruments from the European Space Agency and another from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. This mission gave momentum to plans for a modified GSLV for India's proposed manned mission.

Geosynchronous satellites

Rukmini (GSAT-7): India's first military satellite

India's first military satellite successfully launched

Rajat Pandit, TNN | Aug 30, 2013

The Times of India

NEW DELHI: India's first military satellite GSAT-7 or " Rukmini", which will boost the Navy's blue-water combat capabilities with a 2,000-nautical mile footprint over the crucial Indian Ocean Region (IOR), was successfully launched from Kourou Island in French Guiana in the early hours on Friday.

Injected into the "geosynchronous transfer orbit" by European space consortium Arianespace's launch rocket around 2am, GSAT-7 promptly deployed its solar panels to generate 2,900 watt, even as ISRO master control facility at Hassan in Karnataka began acquiring its signals.

The naval communication and surveillance satellite will now undergo "three orbit-raising operations" over the next five days to place it in the geostationary orbit of almost 36,000-km above the equator. Once positioned in its orbital slot of 74 degree East Longitude by September 14, its all-important UHF, S, Ku and C-band transponders will begin beaming signals after they are switched on.

It will then become "a potent force-multiplier", networking all Indian warships, submarines and aircraft with operational centres ashore through high-speed encrypted data-links. This is the first time a high-power UHF (ultra high-frequency) transponder forms part of an Indian communication satellite like INSAT or GSAT.

The Navy has been leasing transponders of domestic and foreign satellites over the years for reconnaissance, navigation, communication and other purposes. Now, it will have a "dedicated" satellite of its own to keep tabs over almost the entire IOR — stretching from the African east coast to Malacca Strait, where China is assiduously expanding its strategic footprint.

From the individual "I see, I kill" operation, the entire Navy will now be "seamlessly" networked to get "a composite, clear picture of all the actors" in the IOR. It will transform from "a platform-centric" Navy to "a network-enabled" force. Shorn of military lingo, this means the ability to detect and share emerging maritime threats "in real-time" so that a counter to "neutralise" them can be swiftly launched, said sources.

The Navy has already tested the "ship-end" for "network-centric operations" through the massive Tropex (theatre-level readiness and operational exercise) manoeuvres, with both the eastern and western fleets accompanied by fighters, spy drones and helicopters out at sea.

India might not want "militarisation of space" but effective use of this final frontier for reconnaissance and communication missions to keep tabs on enemy troop movements, missile silos, airbases and the like across land and maritime borders cannot be overstressed. "Satellites can also help in missile early-warning, delivery of precision-guided munitions and jamming enemy networks," said an official.

'Rukmini' boost to Navy

• GSAT-7 launched from French Guiana, off Pacific Coast, on Friday morning. Will become fully-operational by mid-September, networking all 140 Indian warships, 14 submarines and 200 aircraft, among other platforms. Its footprint will cover almost the entire IOR.

• Satellite delayed by almost a decade. Absence of operational GSLV to launch the 2.6-tonne satellite a major factor. Overall cost, including manufacture and launch, of GSAT-7 around Rs 950 crore. GSAT-7A for IAF and Army to follow by 2014-15.

• India is a late starter in military space arena despite expansive civil programme. Armed forces forced to depend on civilian "dual-use" satellites or leasing foreign transponders. Government reluctant to approve a full-fledged Aerospace Command.

• Around 300 dedicated or dual-use military satellites currently in orbit, with the US owning 50% of them, followed by Russia and China. Beijing even testing ASAT (anti-satellite) weapons since January 2007, apart from active kinetic and directed-energy laser weapons as well as nano-satellite programmes. Wants space station with military applications by 2020

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

2013

GSLV has had a chequered past

The Times of India 2013/08/20

Arun Ram TNN

India’s efforts to power Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle with indigenous cryogenic engine continue to be jinxed.

The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) in Aug 2013 called off the launch of the GSLV-D5 after scientists detected a leak in the second stage liquid propellant tank.

The GSLV-D5 launch is crucial as it would demonstrate the country’s ability to develop and use cryogenic engines that are a requisite for the launch of big telecommunication satellites and Isro’s ambitious projects, including manned missions. PSLVs, which India has mastered, can only carry satellites weighing less than 1,500kg.

History

Postponing GSLV flights at the last moment is not new to the somewhat-jinxed three-stage rocket.

The first mission of this rocket was scrubbed following a technical snag and a fire when the countdown hit the zero mark at Sriharikota 12 years ago on March 30, 2001. The countdown was progressing smoothly, and since it was the maiden flight of a new rocket, foreign countries were keenly watching the mission.

The mood was a mixture of excitement and nervous apprehension, till the countdown hit the zero mark and an Isro official announced ‘fire, fire’ over the public address system and declared that the launch was scrubbed. The rocket was back on the launchpad within two weeks and was launched on April 18, 2001. It was only a partial success because the satellite, GSat-1, failed to achieve its orbit. The postponement of the launch on Monday has also raised serious questions about the schedule of India’s second lunar mission, Chandryaan-2, which will use this rocket. Provisionally, it is slated for lift off in 2016.

If this rocket had maintained a good track record, India would not have depended upon Arianespace to launch its two to 2.5-tonne communication satellites. Of the seven flights between 2001 and 2010, only two have been fully successful.

GSLV-D5

India Today.in , This is rocket science “India Today” 15/12/2016

2014

GSLV-D5

Rocket science poses extraordinary challenges. An example is that it took exactly 25 years for India, after developing a rocket that could lob a satellite successfully into orbit, to develop an indigenous cryogenic engine. On January 5, the GSLV-D 5 rocket, which launched the GSAT-14 communications satellite, was powered for the first time by an Indian-made liquid fuelled cryogenic engine. It is a rocket engine that uses a cryogenic, or super-cooled, fuel or oxidiser, which are gases liquefied and stored at very low temperatures. These are super-cooled, comparatively lighter engines than those which use solid fuel propellant, allowing heavier payloads to be delivered into high geostationary orbits or farther into space. In fact, engines such as these were one of the main factors in NASA's success in reaching moon on the Saturn V rocket. When it comes to India, ISRO scientists and engineers, after beginning work at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu, spent more than two decades developing cryogenic engineering technology.

2015: Indigenous cryogenic engine

The Times of India, Aug 28 2015

Some facts, Cryogenic engine; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Aug 28 2015

India exercises cryogenic ghost with successful GSLV-D6 lift-off

Arun Ram & Janani Sampath

On January 5, 2014, when Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) launched GSAT-14 using its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5), the score card of its success using an indigenous cryogenic engine read: 1-1.

Isro broke the tie in style, clearing all doubts on its cryogenic capabilities by successfully firing GSLV-D6 carrying GSAT-6 into orbit. The first launch using an indigenous cryogenic engine, on April 15, 2010, was a failure.

GSLV-D6 lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport at 4.52pm. About 17 minutes later, the rocket injected the 2,117kg satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.“This shows that our previous success was not a fluke,“ said Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar. He wasn't, however, exulting when he added: “We have understood the intricacies of a cryogenic engine. If we don't make errors, GSLV will be a good candidate for commercial launches.“

What went unelaborated were the military capabilities of the communication satellite (used also for television, telephone, radio and internet) with S-band and C-band transponders that cover the entire country -and a little beyond its boundaries. Besides the utility of GSAT, scientists were happy about the second consecutive success of the indigenous cryogenic engine. After India used up six of the seven engines bought from Russia, Isro's big missions now rest on the success of its cryogenic capabilities.

All eyes were on the “ador able boy“ (cryogenic engine) as the rocket's second stage burned out after about five minutes of flight. When the cryogenic engine ignited, there was a roaring applause.The next 12 minutes, when the engine propelled the satellite into space, were marked by a calm suspense that ended with the satellite being put into an elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit.

2018: Gsat 11, India’s heaviest satellite

Gsat 11, India’s heaviest satellite
From: December 4, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

Gsat 11, India’s heaviest satellite

Pakistan mapped by Indian satellites

2019: 87% of Pakistan’s land area

Chethan Kumar, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Indian satellites can map 87% land area of Pakistan- Microsat-R
From: Chethan Kumar, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Indian satellites can map 87% land area of Pakistan- GSAT-7A
From: Chethan Kumar, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Indian satellites can map 87% land area of Pakistan- HysIS
From: Chethan Kumar, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Indian satellites can map 87% land area of Pakistan- IRNSS Constellation
From: Chethan Kumar, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Indian satellites can map 87% land area of Pakistan- Cartosat Family
From: Chethan Kumar, February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Keeping an eye over Pakistan, Isro's satellites provide vital inputs to the armed forces for operations like the Balakot airstrikes

BENGALURU: That India’s space capabilities allow its armed forces to be more effective in planning is no secret. But here’s the extent of India’s reach: Information accessed from the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) shows our satellites keep a watch over the entire Pakistan and provide high definition mapping of 87% of the neighbour’s land area, providing vital inputs to the armed forces’ operations like the Balakot airstrikes on Tuesday. Indian satellites are able to map all terrains across 7.7lakh sqkm of Pakistan’s total 8.8 lakh sqkm of land area, giving Indian commanders access to high resolution images of 0.65 metre.

India has similar capabilities for other neighbouring nations — our satellites can map about 5.5 million sqkm of land spread across 14 countries — but details about China were not immediately available. “This coverage is just from the Cartosat family of satellites. There are an array of services that Isro provides, but we cannot comment on everything in public,” a source said.

On January 17, junior space minister Jitendra Singh said that India can peep into Pakistan homes, and it appears he wasn’t joking. “India’s integrated border management system allows India to look into the verandahs and rooms of houses of people across the border in Pakistan,” he said.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), which has a demand for more satellites is happy with the services being provided by Isro. On a specific question, an Air Marshal commanding a top facility said last week: “Do we need more satellites? Yes. But nearly 70% of our demand has already been met and we are on track.”

SENTINEL IN THE SKY

The use of space technology by the Indian armed forces has increased over the years. India has at least 10 satellites for military purpose. The data sent to the military is supplied by Isro's National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad, while data from communication satellites is accessed directly by the end-users

Among the major satellites that have helped the Indian armed forces are the series of Cartosat satellites, GSAT-7 and GSAT-7A, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, the Microsat, Risat and the HysIS (Hyper-spectral Imaging Satellite). If we count individual spacecraft, then more than 10 operational satellites are of use to the military.

As reported by TOI first, the first major use of the Cartosat family of satellites had, in fact, aided India’s surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in September 2016. Isro has been providing images to the armed forces, the Army in particular.

Cartosat provides ‘area of interest’ (AOI) images based on specific requests. Isro has the capability of providing one or more scenes/images covering the AOI as specified in a single polygon (all the areas in one circle) in the form of a shapefile (non-topological geometry and attribute information for the spatial features).

According to the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad, AOI products are of two types — standard and precision-based ortho (where images taken from space are corrected to have a uniform scale) — both of which are useful for the armed forces. Ortho rectified products are corrected for terrain distortions and camera tilt effects.

While the first Cartosat was launched in 2005, Cartosat-2A launched in 2007 was the first dual-use satellite with capabilities of monitoring missile launches in India’s neighbourhood. Cartosat-2C, launched in June 2016, can record videos of sensitive targets from space, compress them, and relay to earth. The next in the series, Cartosat-2E, was launched in June 2017. Isro launched a bevy of other satellites for military use in 2018 too.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

2019/ PSLVC44 lifted off at midnight

U Tejonmayam, Here’s why this PSLV lifted off at midnight, January 25, 2019: The Times of India

As PSLV lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota soaring through the night skies for the second time in five months, Microsat-R, the main payload, played a key role in deciding the launch time. The 740kg imaging satellite was programmed to cross the equator every day around noon local time when the sun illuminates the Indian region. At 11.37pm on Thursday, PSLVC44 lifted off with Microsat-R and Kalamsat from the first launch pad in the Indian spaceport at Sriharikota.

“Launch time depends on the requirement of the satellite. Here, they wanted the satellite to cross south to north of equator around noon, maybe due to sunlight condition. Our launcher goes from north to south of equator. To meet the requirement of the satellite, we needed to have a night launch,” said K Sivan, Isro chairman. “It is the satellite team that decides when they want the satellite payload to take photographs. It could be during maximum sunlight condition or minimum cloud condition. Launch time depends on that.”

Private sector satellites

IRNSS-1H to have replaced Faulty Atomic Clocks

Surendra Singh & Chethan Kumar, August 31, 2017: The Times of India

Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System, Surendra Singh & Chethan Kumar, August 31, 2017: The Times of India

The launch of India's eighth navigation satellite, IRNSS1H, on [31 Aug 2017 was to have opened] a new chapter in the country's history of space exploration as, for the first time, the private sector has been actively involved in assembling and testing of a satellite. [The launch was unsuccessful.] Earlier, the private sector's role was limited only to supplying components.

The 1,425-kg satellite [was] all set to start its voyage from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, riding the Indian Space Research Organisation's trusted launch vehicle PSLV-XL. A consortium led by Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies successfully completed 25% of the development work of IRNSS-1H, under the guidance of Isro scientists.

Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar told TOI, “For the first time, a private company has been involved in the integration of a satellite. Progressively, we will involve more and more companies in satellite assembly activities.“ Kiran Kumar said, “Subsystems of the payload and launch vehicle are already being developed in collaboration with the industry .“

Alpha Design CMD HS Shankar said the consortium had bagged the orders to build IRNSS-1I and work had already begun. The launch of IRNSS-1I is scheduled for April 2018. Incidentally , in another first, a crucial part of the development of IRNSS-1H happened at the newly developed Isro space park in Whitefield.

Isro felt the need to launch IRNSS-1H after three atomic clocks of its first navigational satellite IRNSS-1A, launched in 2013, stopped functioning.These rubidium atomic clocks, which are imported from European aerospace manufacturer Astrium, are meant to provide accurate locational data.

Tapan Misra, director of Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre, said, “We need to know the position of a satellite in order to find the position of an object on earth.And to find a satellite's position, we have to measure it with the help of time. To find the satellite's position with an accuracy of 0.5 metre, atomic clocks are therefore used for precise timing.“ When the time signal is missing, getting true positional accuracy be comes a problem. “Poor the accuracy of these atomic clocks, less the accuracy of the distance calculated.“

Isro had imported 27 sophisticated timekeepers for the nine satellites of the Rs 1,420-crore Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (operational name NaVIC -Navigation with Indian Constellation). Out of which, seven of the satellites are in the orbit. NaVIC, which has become operational but is yet to be commercialised, has several key applications. It can help merchant ships navigate to their destination, help in real-time tracking of train movements, help government agencies manage resources efficiently using geotagging techniques, help provide location-based services to people and can be used by fishermen reach potential fishing zones at sea.

The satellite will be launched into a sub geosynchronous transfer orbit. After injection into this preliminary orbit, two solar panels of IRNSS-1H will be automatically deployed, and the master control facility at Hassan will perform orbit raising manoeuvres of the satellite.

Satellite TV

SITE TV sets being assembled , India Today

India Today.in , A SITE for sore eyes “India Today” 15/12/2016

Villagers watching a SITE programme , India Today

1975

NASA's ATS-6 Satellite; A UHF Antenna used to receive signal , India Today

Satellite TV

A SITE for sore eyes

The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) began on August 1 in that year. For the first time, 2,400 black-and-white community TV sets came alive in as many villages, clustered in six states across the country. This was long before urban India, including the metros, experienced television. The project, undertaken by ISRO, was designed and implemented in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States. This was one of the largest experiments of its kind, with the aim of demonstrating the potential of satellite technology as an effective medium of mass communication for a developing country. Educational programmes made in India were beamed by the Application Technology Satellite (ATS-6) of the US. The year-long SITE project established that the extension of communications infrastructure to remote areas was not only feasible, but that it could also make a contribution to promoting national development.

See also

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Satellites: India