ISRO General News and Updates

[Akask kumar]

http://swarajyamag.com/insta/launch...-that-shield-space-start-ups-from-competition

we are champions in small satellite launch market.. US has to revisit its policies and open doors for its small satellite manufacturers under corporate pressure.. every company wants cheap and best service.. and we offer that..

 

[Indx TechStyle]

we are champions in small satellite launch market..

Let GSLV Mk3 get a launch frequency above 5 in 3-4 years.[emoji38]

 

[Akask kumar]

Let GSLV Mk3 get a launch frequency above 5 in 3-4 years.[emoji38]

if that happened then all the western space agency will form a combined opposition front like the oppositions did in bihar elections to counter ISRO .. LOL..either way space scince & indsutry will benefit.. .. competition improves the related sector..

 

[Chinmoy]

Ooty telescope detects massive cosmic ray attack that cracked Earth's magnetic shield

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...rths-magnetic-shield/articleshow/55221962.cms

 

[Chinmoy]

Well........... its not connected with ISRO anyway, but I was so excited to see this in space and the images we could get from it. So posting it here. :biggrin2:.
Hope @Indx TechStyle @Akask kumar would not mind it........

Nasa's most powerful space telescope completed

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-telescope-completed/articleshow/55221412.cms

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Google India official: Bhuvan by ISRO is not competition to Google Maps

Google India official: Bhuvan by ISRO is not competition to Google Maps

Google does not perceive ISRO’s geo-portal app Bhuvan as competition, a senior Google India official said here on Thursday, stressing that such data sharing platforms help bolster the industry. “From our analysis, it’s a great platform for sharing data. We generally don’t look at a different app as a competition as we are trying to solve the same problem,” said Google India’s Maps Lead Sanket Gupta.

“There’s a long way to go… It is something like a great experience and generally great for the industry,” Gupta told the media here. Bhuvan is a software application created by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that allows users to explore 2D/3D representation of the Earth’s surface. The mapping app is specifically tailored to view India, offering highest resolution in the region and providing content in four local languages.

Asked about the security and privacy concerns regarding live traffic updates, Gupta clarified the company aggregates anonymised traffic data from people using Google Maps apps. “We generally strip out personal identifiable information which keeps it secure and that’s why we can’t identify a particular traffic update to a particular cell phone,” Gupta added.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Tentative launch schedule
2016
November 23 28, 2016 - PSLV-C36 (FLP) - Resourcesat-2A + IITMSAT + Max Valier + Venta-1 + Niusat
2017
Q1January 18- GSLV Mk III D1 (SLP) - GSAT-19
H1Q1- PSLV(XL) C37 - EMIsat + SPaDEx + 81 nanosats (USA, Europe)
end March - GSLV Mk II F09 - GSAT-9 (aka South Asia Sat?)
April - PSLV C38 - Cartosat-2D + 3 Diamonds (Australia)
- GSLV Mk II F10 - GISAT (GEO Imaging SATellite)
- GSLV Mk II F11 - GSAT-6A
- PSLV - 8 Skysat-C (tbc)
December - PSLV - Cartosat-2E

- tbd- Mars Observation Mission

piggybacked on PSLV: Microsat, PlanetiQ-1, PlanetiQ-2, InnoSat-2 (Malaysia), CE-SAT1 (Japan), "3 Diamonds", Niusat

Q1- Ariane 5 - GSAT-11
Q1- Ariane 5 - GSAT-17

2018
March - PSLV - Cartosat-3
July - PSLV - Oceansat-3
Q3 - PSLV - EnMap (Germany)
- GSLV Mk II F12 - GSAT-7A
(or December 2017) - GSLV Mk III D2 - GSAT-20
December - GSLV Mk II D9 - Chandrayaan-2

piggybacked on PSLV : IMS(Indian Mini Satellite)/Atmos, IMS-1E, IMS-1F, IinuSat, IMS-B, PARIKSHIT, NEMO-AM (FY 2018-19)
2019
March - PSLV - Cartosat-3A
Q2 - PSLV - RISAT-1A
- PSLV XL - Aditiya-1
December or 2020 - PSLV - Oceansat-3A

piggybacked on PSLV: HYSIS

2020
March - PSLV - Cartosat-3B
- PSLV - RISAT-2A
Q2 - PSLV - Resourcesat-3S
Q2 - PSLV - Resourcesat-3
- PSLV? - MOM-2

2021
Q2 - PSLV - Resourcesat-3SA
Q2 - PSLV - Resourcesat-3A
- GSLV MkII - NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR sat)

2022
Q1 - PSLV - Resourcesat-3B

Credit: Input~2 of NASA Spaceflight Forum


CartoSat -2D and 2E will screw the limits of Indian Reconnaissance capabilities for sure.:biggrin2:

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Press Information Bureau
Government Of India
Department of Space
(27-July, 2016 17:03 IST )​

Satellite System Supplies

A one day conference on “Enabling Spacecraft Systems Realisation through Industries (ESSRI 2016)” was held on June 23, 2016 at ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore. About 500 delegates from 103 industries have participated.

The conference was intended to enhance the participation of suppliers/ Industries in various aspects of satellite technology including production activities. During the conference, various opportunities for industries in satellite technology were discussed. The delegates were also informed about Expression of Interest (EoI) floated by ISRO seeking industry participation in Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) of standardized ISRO satellites.

To meet the growing demands of space applications addressing the national priorities, ISRO has prepared a plan for realizing (i) Earth observation satellites with the capabilities of high resolution, hyper-spectral, all weather imaging, stereo imaging, wind vector measurements, ocean & meteorological observations; (ii) high throughput communication satellites, high power DTH satellites; (iii) enhanced navigation constellation; (iv) Space exploration missions viz. Chandrayaan-2, Aditya-L1, XpoSAT. The indicative demand in the next five years is estimated to be of 70 satellites. The approvals for 40 satellites missions have been obtained.

ISRO has standardized design of major satellite subsystems in the areas viz. telemetry, tele-command, power, control systems, structural systems, spacecraft mechanisms etc. and has outsourced fabrication and testing activities to Industry. It is envisaged to enhance the industry participation towards productionization of such subsystems on an end-to-end basis, which include components procurement, fabrication, package assembly and testing by vendor as per ISRO’s design.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Courtesy: Press Information Bureau

 

[Indx TechStyle]

For the 83 satellites to be launched in single shot in next year,
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/...With-82-sats-in-one-go-Isro-to-28102016016042
60 from USA
20 from EU
2 from UK
1 from India (EMISat :biggrin2
It says that it'll ne launched on 15th January, means GSLV Mk3 D1 is occurring either in December or delayed to Feb-March.

@Akask kumar

 

[Indx TechStyle]

I quoted you to avoid risk that you don't get notified of tag.

Indian Reconnaissance/Spy Sats

About the EMISat/SPADEX to be launched next year.
http://nrsc.gov.in/sites/all/pdf/modnrscUIM _Raghava Reddy_1.pdf

If someone knows it's full form.
Besides CartoSats, GISATs and RISATs, it seems to be another spy satellite program from Indian Military being worked jointly by ISRO and DRDO.
https://web.archive.org/web/2016030....in/writereaddata/AnnualReport2013-14-ENG.pdf

 

[Indx TechStyle]

It says that it'll ne launched on 15th January, means GSLV Mk3 D1 is occurring either in December or delayed to Feb-March.

Other source suggests GSLV Mk3 occuring on January 18.

 

[south block]

Other source suggests GSLV Mk3 occuring on January 18.

with CE 20? & what's the update on SCE...last year they said it will be ready for testing in 6 months now it's more than a year & nowhere to be seen, is ISRO going DODO way of declaring deadlines

 

[Indx TechStyle]

with CE 20? &

An already operational cryogenic engine.

what's the update on SCE...

Ground tests done. Currently, it has to be integrated with LVM3.
First orbital flight in early 2018 to have a capacity of about 6 tonnes to GTO and 12-15 tonnes to LEO.
Over that, ULVs (Modular rockets) will take off after third launch pad is completed.

last year they said it will be ready for testing in 6 months now it's more than a year & nowhere to be seen, is ISRO going DODO way of declaring deadlines

No, SCE 200 is a really big project and such a small delay is common in space programs of most countries, even China.


Over that, it wasn't just delayed, it's schedule was put late because of other projects underway.
Last month and this month are going busy with tests of rovers of Chandryaan 2 and HHK-1 missions.
Once, SCE 200 is completed, ISRO can have it's successor in a short time just by modification.
Can be used in upcoming HLV rocket family with capabilities ranging from putting 20 to 35 tonnes to LEO and 10-15 tonnes GTO. Comparable to Ariane 5, CZ-9 and D4 Heavy.
If SLS and Vulcan overshoot their deadline and not HLV, India can have world's largest operational rocket in 2020-21.

 

[republic_roi97]

@Indx TechStyle , will the SCE-200 be smokeless like russian rockets and american Delta 4 ??

 

[AnantS]

@Indx TechStyle CE 20 is not yet operationalized. It has undergone testing and is to have it first flight in coming 4th quarter of FY 2016

SCE 200's individual components are undergoing testing, it will be hot tested in one or two years.

 

[republic_roi97]

@Indx TechStyle CE 20 is not yet operationalized. It has undergone testing and is to have it first flight in coming 4th quarter of FY 2016

SCE 200's individual components are undergoing testing, it will be hot tested in one or two years.

It is known that SCE-200 would be used in LVM3 in early 2018. No change in that. CE-20 would be used in the upcoming launch of LVM3 in December 2016 or January 2017

 

[Indx TechStyle]

@Indx TechStyle CE 20 is not yet operationalized. It has undergone testing and is to have it first flight in coming 4th quarter of FY 2016

SCE 200's individual components are undergoing testing, it will be hot tested in one or two years.

My bad, confused it with Vikas Engines.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

After Bellatrix Aerospace and Team Indus, there's a new private space start up from India called Astrome Technologies. Though, big companies like Godrej, L&T, Mahindra and TATA are already involved to some extent.
This space entrepreneur from a small town in Rajasthan is taking on the Elon Musks of the world

At 4 feet, 11 inches, Neha Satak from Beawar in Rajasthan stands tall in the crowd of young entrepreneurs today. Giving up promising prospects in the US, she returned to set up a space technology company out of India in 2014.

Astrome Technologies, the company she started with Prasad HL Bhat, Chairman and CTO, is all set to shake up how internet connectivity is available not only in India but also everywhere else in the developing world. If you thought Google’s Project Loon and Facebook’s solar drone project were mind blowing, then listen to this.

What this essentially means is that her company will be delivering internet from space. Ground technology has to do a lot more in terms of money and effort to provide internet connectivity to non-urban areas. In India, the number of internet users is growing fast — with 277 million users, it has surpassed the US to become the second largest internet user market after China – but in terms of internet penetration to the non-urban areas a lot of work still remains to be done.

Just telling, it's 460 millions now.

"Just like cable TV from space is 100 times cheaper, delivering internet from space will be cheap and fast,” ​

says 31-year-old Neha, who is the CEO of her company.
A small star in a universe of giants

In 2013, Google launched its Project Loon using high-altitude balloons to create an aerial wireless network. In July this year, Facebook’s solar-powered drone, which is designed to beam internet to remote regions, successfully took its first flight. With such giants taking over the space, does a puny startup from India stand any chance of success?

A satellite in space (for representation purpose only)

“They are not our competition. In fact, they may need us as backup charging posts. They are more like floating telecom towers,” Neha explains. But this does not mean she will not have to contend with other heavy-weights. Companies like OneWeb, Space X, and Boeing have plans to launch a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit for the purpose of providing internet connectivity to remote areas. Says Neha,

“We differ from them because of our patented wireless communication tech that provides us more communication capacity. Our 100 Gbps versus their eight Gbps.”​

So what stops the space giants from doing this? “They are not concentrating on developing core technology yet,” says Prasad. There are different elements to this technology: there’s the transponder, the satellites themselves, and then there’s the launch. “For example, Space X is excellent in space launches. OneWeb has set up a factory in Florida to manufacture satellites. Both are using technology which is tested and established. Whereas, we are venturing into an industry with technology which is new,” says Prasad.

Adds Neha, “It has a tremendous payback in terms of cost. These big companies are concentrating on business innovation whereas we are concentrating on technology. There is no such low earth constellation right now, so their focus is to get the infrastructure going, while our focus is to innovate on that and have high-speed transponder technology ready.”

Solving real problems

For the next two years, Astrome will focus on building this technology, while in the third year, they will launch three to five satellites, which will provide connectivity to IoT, edutech, tracking and monitoring, and telemedicine sectors. Following that, the startup will launch its full constellation of 100 to 150 satellites, which will give 24/7 internet.

(Prasad explains the space technology scenario in India in the video below.)

At the moment, besides the two founders, there are five other people in their team. “We have some interns in Europe, and a panel of advisors from IISc and IITs,” says Neha.

Astrome Technologies was seed funded by IISc and operates out of the Entrepreneurship Centre Building, Society for Innovation and Development (SID), Bengaluru. The founders are now focussing on angel investment and looking at raising funds in stages.

“As a company, we understand space business is tricky from the investors’ point of view. Our approach has been to raise funds in stages. We want to create a model where we take money, create value, and monetize it and then move ahead into the next phase,” says Neha. The two founders are creating Astrome as a global company out of India, and a for-profit one.

Big dreams

Neha spent six years in the US where she completed her PhD but ultimately wanted to start something on her own. “I always had this dream to start a company in the aerospace field,” she tells me. She would routinely write to her IISc professor (she completed her masters in Aerospace Engineering from IISc) talking about this dream of hers.

Neha and Prasad

Around the same time, Prasad, who was working on an e-commerce startup, was sharing his similar dream with the same professor. “Our professor put us in touch with each other when he realised we both wanted the same thing,” says Neha.

The two had, however, met for the first time while working on a project in IISc together. “That was when our space dream started,” says Prasad. They designed and built micro-aerial vehicles (a miniature version of drones) for surveillance that could be hand-launched.

Small step in space

Prasad, who hails from Shimoga, did his Systems Engineering from Surathkal and then moved to Bengaluru to join IISc for his masters. He subsequently did his PhD also from IISc, spending a good seven years there. Prasad credits his wife for supporting his entrepreneurial dreams.

Neha belongs to a small town called Beawar, which is an hour’s drive from Ajmer in Rajasthan. She studied there till Class X and moved to Jaipur for Class XI and XII. She was always interested in space, and attributes a 1960s American television sitcom that inspired her to pursue that dream. “Funnily enough, I would love to watch ‘I Dream of Jeannie’, where an astronaut falls in love with his female genie. It was aired on Sony channel dubbed in Hindi. I would watch it without fail,” she says laughing. In fact, both Neha and Prasad are sci-fi buffs, and one day hope they can travel to space. “I don’t think there’s anyone working in this field who will not want to go in space,” Neha says.

Despite being born in a Marwari home and having grown up in a small town, Neha was never under pressure to conform. Her parents encouraged her and her two siblings to pursue higher education. “My mother spent her whole time thinking about our careers. I can see how Rajasthan has changed so much now. If one family sends a daughter to study engineering, others also want to do the same. Our milkman, who is also a school teacher, was asking my mother one day about how to send his daughter to an engineering college,” says Neha.

Clearly, Neha has been able to inspire her town. Though it’s one small step, but as the famous saying goes, it could be a giant leap for humankind. A fact worth rejoicing as we mark India's 70 years since independence.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Astrome's Space Solution for Internet

We all understand the importance of internet and its impact into our life. Widespread use of the Internet has opened up a substantial amount of knowledge to a much broader range of people than ever before. The Internet contains a wealth of knowledge that is available instantly upon any search. Because of this, the Internet has superseded libraries as a source for information gathering and research. Internet has really made our world small with large possibilities of innovations and market. We communicate to each other, procure services, sell, buy and many more through internet. But, more than 68% of India's population is out of reach with this is incredible technology. Astrome Technologies, an Indian space technology company is leveraging on cutting edge satellite technology to provide high speed, location free internet. By doing this, Astrome is not just providing an innovative, high tech, solution to a practical problem it is also opening the doors for a potential transformation in the lives of people who were so far denied access to the latest in technology. Astrome’s first set of satellites are scheduled to take off in 2018.

Land Based or terrestrial internet is a reliable and the best option for a deployment in one location. However, Satellite internet is best with multiple sites, due to single point hub termination for all sites and simplified billing from one service provider. Furthermore, satellite service is sometimes the ONLY option in rural areas as compared with terrestrial internet. Its requirements such as to reach all locations and obtaining the necessary “right of way” clearance to install the cable makes it unfit for rural areas. Also, terrestrial internet requires a lot of infrastructure like laying a lot of cables and towers etc. involving huge cost. For example, it costs about US $3000 to lay optical fibre cable for one kilometer in India. The cost to cover a square kilometer for space solutions vary between $3 to $6 as compared to ground solutions that incur at least $3000 to cover the same area using cable and towers. However, ground technology brings much higher capacity in a concentrated fashion whereas space solutions that are good for distributing capacity to a large area. Thus, ground technology solutions are a good business case for urban areas and space technology a good business case for rural and semi-urban areas.

Astrome's space solution is to have a few satellites in space very close to the Earth (Low-Earth Orbit) which act as “floating routers”. The satellites take up their positions on the lower orbits covering 1200-1800 kilometres in diameter. It is estimated that four to five satellites are enough to ensure broadband at one point of time all across the Indian geographical region. The ground nodes would be set up on strategic locations on the ground, though most of the infrastructure would be floating in space. The ground nodes would connect and talk to servers that are located on the Earth’s surface. Subscribers on ground can get high speed internet through an antenna on the rooftop, and a box inside their home which is very similar to the DTH television service setup.

Packed with a bandwidth of 100Gbps per satellite, the users on Earth can have up to 50Mbps and 400Mbps for business users. The beauty of it is that, this speed does not depend on the geographical location of the user. The speed at which the Internet streams for people accessing from a crowded city or a remote hamlet in the Himalayas remains the same.

However Astrome’s space solution's statistics have shown impressive results.

1. A typical round-trip delay to GEO can be anywhere around 250ms whereas LEO provide fibre-like latency of about 10ms. the cost of providing internet to any semi-urban and rural location is at least hundred times lower than that in terrestrial technology.

2. The cost of providing internet to any semi-urban and rural location is at least hundred times lower than that in terrestrial technology.

3. Unlike SpaceX, and OneWeb and ViaSat, Astrome’s satellites will operate in the millimeter region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This enables significantly higher capacity per satellite as compared to Ku and Ka band satellites that results in 10 times reduction in cost per Mbps. It will actually incur about 3-4 times lower cost per Mbps than even terrestrial solutions such as Reliance Jio.

Over the next few years, the company wants to build a constellation of hundred microsatellites in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Each satellite of Astrome, can support a bandwidth of 100 gigabytes per second, both upload and download (1:1) – this means that the users on earth can expect up to 50 megabytes per second for home users and 400 megabytes per second for business users. The company will focus on only South Asia and South-east Asia in the beginning, bringing a total distributed capacity of 10 Tbps over the globe.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

The Astrome Plan Is to Launch 150 Satellites By 2020

Bengaluru, India, based space startup Astrome Technologies will launch 150 satellites into space by 2020 to provide high-speed affordable Internet to remote locations across the world, this according to Nilesh Christopher at the online infosite ET Tech, published by India Times.

“Not only India, but the entire belt of developing nations will have high-speed Internet after the launch of our satellite,” said Neha Satak, CEO, Astrome Technologies. “We are working on the prototype of the first satellite, which will be unveiled to the public in December."

What Satak characterized as “the developing nation belt” includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Middle East, Africa, and parts of Mexico; all of which would be powered with 50 to 400 Mbps speeds. How does the technology work? The working principle is similar to that of a home DTH television. The user simply has to install a STB and an antenna on the rooftop of the building to enable satellite Internet service.

About 150 satellites weighing 120 kg each would be orbiting the Earth, taking turns in Internet beaming, thereby forming a network in space. With the first satellite scheduled for launch in 2018, Astrome is currently in talks with different segments of the markets to provide this Internet service.

The CTO of Astrome Technologies, Prasad HL Bhat, indicated that the launching the satellite and testing it will be our top priority—once the network is operational, all the stakeholders from education to healthcare can make use of the solution.

From a cost perspective, to cover one square km area through ground connection costs around $3,000. From space, that cost would be just $4 to $5, Satak added.

Asked about the feasibility of satellite Internet, Dr. KT Alex, former Director of ISRO Satellite Centre Bangalore, said, “The concept of providing Internet from space is viable; however, manufacturing satellites costs a lot of money. Once you have the money for investment, it is possible.”

The Indian firm is currently backed by IISC and other private investors and the firm also receives business mentoring from Cisco and Analog devices. Incidentally, a 2016 study on ‘The future of Internet in India’ by NASSCOM foresees a 75 percent increase in the number of rural web users by 2020. The colossal rise in the number of "netizens" has nudged foreign firms to fight for a larger share of the pie.

US-based satellite TV broadcaster, ViaSat, recently established an R&D facility in Chennai to work on satellite Internet in India, according to Sathya Narayanaswamy, the Vice President of ViaSat India. Viasat currently holds the Guinness record for launching the highest capacity communication satellite in the world (140 Gbps). ViaSat’s vision is to launch three high capacity satellites: Viasat-1, Viasat-2, and Viasat-3, thereby enabling high-speed Internet for the entire world. As a step in the realization of this vision, Viasat-1 launched in 2011 and has been fully functional for five years, offering speeds up to 25 Mbps for the company's customers in the US and Canada.

“We serve around 700k subscribers—and we can’t add any more because the satellite is full,” said Heather Ferrante, spokesperson at Viasat, adding that with the launch of Viasat-2 and -3, the company is confident of addressing the larger market by 2019.

In addition to home internet, Viasat specializes in providing airborne WiFi for people commuting via airplanes. We are “having discussions with potential Indian partners now and looking for companies who share our vision,” said Keven Lippert, EVP Satellite technologies, ViaSat.

A third contender who stands toe-to-toe with Astrome and Viasat with the aim of building the world’s largest constellation of 648 LEO satellites is London-based OneWeb. That firm has several high-profile investors backing their project. Partially funded by Richard Branson’s Virgin group, and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Enterprise, OneWeb will be launching their fleet of satellites in 2018. Christopher Torres, a spokesperson for OneWeb, said that Sunil Bharti-owned Bharti Airtel will be supporting the distribution of broadband to its customers in India when the satellites are on orbit.