Cartosat-2B Launching Postponed

The launch of ISRO`s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) fixed for May 9, 2010 has been rescheduled. A marginal drop in the pressure in second stage of the vehicle was noticed during the mandatory checks carried out on the PSLV-C15 vehicle. The new date for the launch of PSLV-C15 mission will be decided after preliminary results of the analysis are obtained.

PSLV-C15 is planned to launch India`s Cartosat-2B, an Algerian satellite ALSAT-2A, two nano satellites NLS 6.1 and NLS 6.2 from University of Toronto, Canada and STUDSAT, a satellite built by students from academic institutions in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

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ISRO to launch 8 foreign satellites

India's space agency has in its pipeline eight foreign satellites for launch and is scouting to acquire such spacecraft from abroad to expand capacity in the field of communication transponder back home, according to DNA.

"Today, we have eight (foreign) satellites to be launched. This will be launched over the next two-three years", managing director of Antrix Corporation, marketing arm of Bangalore headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), KR Sridhara Murthi, told PTI.

These are a mix of small and bigger satellites, he said but declined to elaborate, noting that the space agency is yet to formally ink some of these contracts. But one foreign satellite that is being readied for launch is a 150-kg one from Algeria, which is slated to be launched by home-grown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle as a piggyback payload likely in April next year.

He further said that ISRO is looking for opportunities to acquire foreign satellites. In fact, it, along with its global partners, recently unsuccessfully bid to acquire a satellite, which was put up for auctioning by a company facing bankruptcy, in the United States.

ISRO's bold move is a sign of its growing confidence, he said. ISRO has also started integrating Hylas spacecraft, a contract it jointly bagged with EADS-Astrium, and it would be delivered to the customer, UK-based Avanti Screenmedia, in June.

Under the contract, EADS-Astrium is the prime contractor in charge of overall programme management and would build the communications payload, while Antrix/ISRO would build the satellite with a lift-off mass of around 2.5 tonnes and power of 3.2 KW.

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Constellation of satellites needed for disaster management

The Indian Space Research Organisation has stressed on the need to have a constellation of satellites with multispectral sensors to predict, mitigate and manage disasters.

Many studies suggest at least eight satellites, with dual capability sensors can collect both high and low spatial resolution data, and an equal split between optical and microwave instruments.

Crucially, different situations need data collected in different wavebands - like optical and near infrared data can map land use or assess agricultural droughts.

Landslide studies depend on accurate high-resolution digital elevation models, which require data collected by stereo-viewing optical sensors like Cartosat-1, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars or Light Detection and Ranging instruments.

Conversely, polar-orbiting satellites offer higher spatial resolution data but information is only collected once every few days.

Landslide studies depend on accurate high-resolution digital elevation models, which require data collected by stereo-viewing optical sensors like Cartosat1, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars or Light Detection and Ranging instruments.

Conversely, polar-orbiting satellites offer higher spatial resolution data but information is only collected once every few days. [report]

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Indian satellites for climate change studies

According to a report, India will soon join a select space club by launching two dedicated satellites in polar orbit to study climate change through atmospheric research and detection of greenhouse gases, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said.

"The satellites will be launched in 2010 and 2011. The first will be a 50 kg micro-satellite to conduct atmospheric research. The second will be a remote sensing satellite to monitor emission of greenhouses gases like methane and carbon dioxide," Nair told.

The dedicated satellites will make India one of the few countries in the world to have such advanced facility to study the impact of climate change due to emission of greenhouse gases.

The use of satellite technology will also demonstrate that India is serious about global warming and committed to protect the environment.

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Chandrayaan-I Spacecraft Loses Radio Contact

Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at 0130 Hrs (IST) on August 29, 2009. Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received the data from Chandrayaan-I during the previous orbit upto 0025 Hrs (IST).

Detailed review of the Telemetry data received from the spacecraft is in progress and health of the spacecraft subsystems is being analyzed.

It may be recalled that Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota on October 22, 2008 .The Spacecraft has completed 312 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors like Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc., meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission. [via ISRO]

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Oceansat-2 satellite, to launch soon

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Oceansat-2, a unique integrated satellite to track marine life and identify potential fishing zones in September, disclosed Y V N Krishnamurthy, Director of ISRO's Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre.

The integration of the satellite, designed to identify potential fishing zones, assists in forecasting marine trends and coastal zone studies will also provide inputs for weather forecasting and climate studies.

All pre-launch tests on the functional aspects of the satellite have been successfully completed.

Oceansat-2 would blast off on board India's indigenous workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota located on the Indian east coast. The satellite will be an in-orbit replacement to Oceansat-1, which was launched by ISRO in May 1999 to study physical and biological aspects of oceanography.

Oceansat-2 would carry an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band pencil beam Scatterometer - for the first time, besides a Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies (ROSA).

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India, Russia complete design of Chandrayaan-2 project

India and Russia have finished the design of a second unmanned lunar orbiter to be sent to the Moon in 2011-2012, quoted the Indian Express newspaper.

"Right now, the design has been completed. We had a joint review with Russian scientists here", said Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Bangalore.

Russia is responsible for the design and construction of a lander and a rover, which could collect samples of the lunar soil, analyze them and send the data back to Earth.

The ISRO and the Russian Federal Space Agency signed in November 2007 an agreement to work together on the Chandrayaan-2 project. The work started following the launch of India's first unmanned mission to the moon, the Chandrayaan-1, in October last year.

During the two-year mission, the remote-sensing satellite is expected to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the Moon's surface and investigate its chemical composition. The primary goal is the discovery of water, along with magnesium, aluminum, silicon and titanium, and the radioactive elements radon, uranium and thorium.

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ISRO to launch satellites for US

India will be able to launch smaller satellites for United States into space by indigenously developed rockets at one third of the cost charged by American firms. This is one of the significant feature of the space agreement signed with the US during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent visit to Delhi.

"Space cooperation with the US has been the agenda of the government. The pact will enable US made satellites or with components of US to be launched from India," Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Madhavan Nair said.

ISRO offers satellite launching services for global customers at cost-effective price.

India expects to bring down the cost of sending a satellite to space by half through its heavier rocket GSLV-MKIII, which will be ready by 2010.

On the country's first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan, which suffered a glitch, Nair said space scientists would hold a review in September.

[via]

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Smaller launchers for low earth orbits satellites

Smaller launchers for LEO satellites. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building a smaller launcher designed to put remote-sensing satellites, weighing less than 500kg, into low earth orbits (LEO). Such launchers will cost 40 per cent less than existing rockets.

An orbit 400-500km above the earth is designated as a low-earth orbit. Satellites launched into LEOs circle the earth at shorter intervals than their heavier geo-synchronous cousins and so can return to cover a specific point on the planet at shorter intervals.

The newly designed three stage launcher will cater to the country's military as well as international customers.

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Indian Space Research Organisation to launch youth satellite

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch a dedicated satellite for scientific experiments pursued by the undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities in India. Annoucing this project in Bangalore on Thursday, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said that the launch of this satellite is expected sometimes next year on-board a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) sometimes next year.

The launch vehicle will carry the auxiliary satellite with scientific experiments developed by the undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities in India, Russia and other countries. Apart from the payload (auxiliary satellite), the launch vehicle will also carry a mini remote sensing satellite.

According to ISRO, this project is the brain-child of A P J Abdul Kalam, who at the same event in Bangalore termed this project as an 'youth satellite.'

Earlier, ISRO had made an announcement of opportunities to institutions and universities to send experiment proposals which can be part of the launch. "We are in the process of building the satellite, a part of which will be dedicated for the youths. We are planning to launch this from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota off the Andhra Pradesh Coast, next year," said Nair, addressing the conference to celebrate the golden jubilee celebrations of the National Aerospace Laboratory.

According to an ISRO spokesperson, this will help the student community conduct experiments in remote sensing and observing outer space.

The experiment will also help in galactic observation, atmospheric studies among many other experiments, he added.

[via]

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