Satellites: India
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Aryabhata: India’s first satellite into space
India Today.in , Once an astronomer, then a satellite “India Today” 15/12/2016
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.
Bhaskara-I: India’s first low orbit Obsevation Satellite
India Today.in , Keeping an eye on earth “India Today” 15/12/2016
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 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
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.
Satellite TV
India Today.in , A SITE for sore eyes “India Today” 15/12/2016
1975
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.
