ISRO General News and Updates

[Gessler]

For Trip To Mars, NASA Wants To Ride With ISRO
All India | Written by Pallava Bagla | Updated: February 28, 2016 17:47 IST

At least three teams from NASA have visited India in the last few days.

NEW DELHI: The change of heart is complete it seems. Shunned by the American space agency for long, the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO is now the subject of exceptional adulation.

Impressed by India's frugal mission to Mars that captured the imagination of the scientific world for placing a satellite in the Martian orbit on its maiden attempt, NASA is now wooing ISRO to join as an equal partner in its journey to put boots on Red Planet.

NDTV has learnt that at least three different teams from NASA have visited India in the last few days, all courting ISRO into a tighter embrace. They seek India's participation in the International Space Station, America's forthcoming plans to return to Mars and even put an Indian on Mars.

The Mangalyaan mission was widely lauded for its efficiency.

"We sure are. On our journey to Mars, we will like to lead it from NASA and the US and we are looking for partners and ISRO will be a fantastic partner," said Dr Dava Newman, Deputy Administrator, NASA.

NASA also seeks India's partnership on flying humans to Mars by 2030 as announced by President Barrack Obama - towards which American astronaut of Indian origin Captain Sunita Williams has also been making a fervent plea when talking to stakeholders in New Delhi.

"It is more than just a possibility. We have a pretty extensive plan to go to Mars," she said.

Sunita Williams has been speaking to stakeholders in new Delhi.

In a way, a cooperation on Mars already exists. America has rovers like Curiosity on the Martian surface and satellites orbiting it alongside India's Mangalyaan. Both sides have been exchanging Martian data.

But will the partnership really be among equals? "Co-equal, long term partner, a partner in everything and in every sense of the word," Ambassador Richard Verma, US Embassy to India, New Delhi said emphatically.

India is also slowly warming up to the idea. "If NASA is wanting to partner, India should grab the opportunity. Since if we were to do it alone it would decades longer," Dr AS Pillai, Distinguished Professor, ISRO said.

Story First Published:February 27, 2016 21:30 IST

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/for-trip-to-mars-nasa-wants-to-ride-with-isro-1281975

 

[sasum]

“About 500 m before the level crossings, this hooter went on, warning the train driver about the approaching level crossing. The hooter got louder as the level crossing neared, and finally fell silent after the train passed it by.

These days all Locomotives are fitted with electronic route display and the current position of the train on that route, just like in Metro coaches. Therefore, every driver knows exactly how far he is from an approaching level-crossing. The waiting traffic at the crossing is given loud hooter-warnings by the driver well in advance, sometimes from as far away as 1 km. if the train is approaching at high speed. GPS based warning will not provide any additional safety feature. The main cause of accidents at level-crossing is recklessness of the people. Pedestrians are two-wheeler riders try to beat the train and sneak thru just in time. Sometimes they succeed sometimes not.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO chief signals India's readiness for Chandrayaan II mission

TNNChandrayaan II is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission. (In the pic: ISRO)
MANGALURU: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman A S Kiran Kumar on Sunday signaled country's readiness for Chandrayaan II mission, which will be India's second mission to the moon. Chandrayaan II is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission. It consists of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover configuration. It is planned to be launched as a composite stack into the Earth Parking Orbit (EPO) of 170 X 18,500 km by GSLV-Mk II.

Kiran Kumar, who was in the city in connection with the international conference on startups, incubators and entrepreneurship and National Science Day at Yenepoya University, said the orbiter carries the combined stack up to moon till the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). The combined stack is then inserted into a lunar orbit of 100 km x 100 km. The Lander is separated from the Orbiter in this orbit. The Orbiter with scientific payloads will orbit around the moon.


The Lander will soft land on the moon at a specified site and deploy the Rover. The scientific payloads onboard the Orbiter, Lander and Rover are expected to perform mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface. During 2010, it was agreed that Russian Space Agency ROSCOSMOS will be responsible for lunar Lander and ISRO will be responsible for Orbiter and Rover as well as Launch by GSLV, a note on Chandrayaan II on ISRO website says.
Later, due to a shift in the programmatic alignment of this mission, it was decided that the Lunar Lander development would be done by ISRO and Chandrayaan-2 will be totally an Indian mission. Kiran Kumar, who is credited with development of key scientific instruments aboard the Chandrayaan I and Mangalyaan space crafts, gave an insight on achievements and contributions made by the scientists at ISRO including the Chandrayaan I and Mangalyaan.

ISRO chief told students that ISRO makes available the data collected by them to the students for research work at their website. Students had an inquisitive interactive session with Kiran Kumar after his address. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi, Chancellor, Yenepoya University graced the occasion. Shree Kumar Menon, director, Yenepoya University proposed vote of thanks. Earlier, Dr Akhter Hussein, secretary of Islamic Academy of Education, welcomed the gathering.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO-Built Doppler Radar To Be Commissioned In Odisha's Gopalpur

The doppler radar will help in better cyclone forecast and help the authorities in taking timely action. (File photo)
New Delhi: Gopalpur, the Odisha district which bore the brunt of severe cyclonic storm Phailin, is all set to get a doppler radar to boost the weather forecasting system on cyclone-prone east coast.

The radar, indigenously built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), is expected to be operational by next month.

In November last year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had also installed a doppler radar in Paradip, another coastal district in Odisha which was ravaged by a super cyclone in 1999.

"The Odisha government has given land and also constructed building for the project free of cost," said Devendra Pradhan, Deputy Director General of IMD.

He said the government intends to cover the entire eastern and western coast with doppler radars for improved weather forecast.

"Doppler radar is an observational tool for monitoring and predicting severe weather events within the radius of 300 km such as thunder storms, hailstorm, cyclones and tornadoes. It not only gives information about precipitation, but also wind velocity," Mr Pradhan said.

After Maharashtra government and the Centre came under fire over the handling of the 2005 deluge in Mumbai, the IMD expedited the process of setting up doppler radars.

On the eastern coast, the IMD has installed doppler radars in Chennai, Kolkata, Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam. Paradip and Gopalpur are new additions. The move assumes significance as the eastern coast is prone to cyclones and better forecast will help the authorities in taking timely action.

Kochi, Bhuj, Mumbai and Karikal on the western coast already have doppler radars, while the equipment is being set up in Goa. Negotiations are on with the ISRO to install another doppler radar in Trivandrum.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

These days all Locomotives are fitted with electronic route display and the current position of the train on that route, just like in Metro coaches. Therefore, every driver knows exactly how far he is from an approaching level-crossing. The waiting traffic at the crossing is given loud hooter-warnings by the driver well in advance, sometimes from as far away as 1 km. if the train is approaching at high speed. GPS based warning will not provide any additional safety feature. The main cause of accidents at level-crossing is recklessness of the people. Pedestrians are two-wheeler riders try to beat the train and sneak thru just in time. Sometimes they succeed sometimes not.

Understood that very well but still this tech can reduce some accidenaccidents which aren't caused by peds deliberately.
Few is better than nothing.

 

[Gessler]

^^ The images are only for representative purposes. The lunar module is a pic of the Soviet Lunokhod rover's lander and the bottom-right settlement image is taken from the web.

But, the important thing to note is that the plans are there. The first missions however can be robotic in nature. Anticipation about the possible objectives of the forthcoming Chandrayaan-3 and 4 missions gets more & more interesting by the day. They could lay the foundation stones for structural settlements on the Moon.

By foundations, I mean research regarding possible locations, ground & rock-analysis etc. Nothing that hasn't been done before it seems, but it deserves to be watched.

@Indx TechStyle By what time periods do you estimate Cdy-3 and Cdy-4 to be launched? I'd expect Cdy-3 within 2020.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

@Indx TechStyle By what time periods do you estimate Cdy-3 and Cdy-4 to be launched? I'd expect Cdy-3 within 2020.

Cdy-2 will ~100% be launched in 2017 and there's very high probability of Mangalyaan-2 in 2018.
Aditya -2 is scheduled for 2019.
ULVs are scheduled for initial launches in 2020, Human Spaceflight is planned for 2021-22.
It's unlikely to occur in this decade as ISRO has plans for Venus and deep space exploration, Asteroid missions too.

We will also have to replace Astrosat. Yet Cdy-3(sample return) can occur in this decade on GSLV Mk-3 but watching tentative schedules, I guess not.

But as Government is also disturbed by Chinese Moon Activities, we must not conclude anything very soon.


I guess we must first conduct deep space missions for outer planets and asteroids first.
When we will have capability to do sophisticated Moon in a short time, and we be launching deep missions, we can execute lunar missions on fast track.

For example, we have stopped working on manned mission because of other priorities and scheduled it for 2021-22.
But we can execute mission within an year of restart because we already have developed space suits, rockets and required capsules.

You may have understood what I'm trying to say.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO to help in building ‘smart’ cities: Dr Jitendra


Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Feb 28: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will help in building “smart” cities through its satellite data and for this purpose, it is collaborating with the Union Ministry of Urban Development by providing large-scale GIS database for 500 towns under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) which include 100 towns under the ambitious Smart City programme announced by Government of India.
This was disclosed here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, while speaking to a delegation of the Joint Forum of officials of Indian Telephone Industry (ITI) Limited, who approached him with the request for wider engagement of the ITI Limited engineers and experts in the upcoming projects of space research and ISRO.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, for the first time, the Department of Space under Prime Minister Modi, was no longer confined only to the launching of satellites but had assumed wider social and economic responsibilities in areas including construction of towns and roads, disaster management, remote sensing and the updated communication networking.
The delegation presented a memorandum to Dr Jitendra Singh wherein it was submitted that ITI Limited, with its cherished historyof being the first Public Sector Unit (PSU) to have been established after independence in 1948, deserves to be given a larger role in various programmes and projects undertaken by the Department of Space, Government of India. The delegation which, primarily comprised of members from ITI Palakkad Unit in Kerala, mentioned their past experience of having manufactured and supplied 70 Mhz receivers and Remote Mounting Safe Arm Assembly (RMSA) used by the Space Department for important satellites like “Mangalyaan” and at present also, they are engaged in assembling the Head Mounting Safe Arm for ISRO at Trivandrum.
The memorandum also urged that the participation of ITI in the ISRO projects can increase, if they are given a bigger role in carrying out the integrated assembly and testing of PSLV sub-assemblies with satellite imaging.
After giving a patient hearing to the delegation, Dr Jitendra Singh said, he would place all the suggestions before the colleagues in the Department of Space and seek their inputs and opinion in the matter.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO data available on website: Chairman

ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said that the ISRO makes available the data collected by them to the students for research work on their website.

Speaking after inaugurating the international conference on start ups, incubators and entrepreneurship and also the National Science Day programme organised by the Yenepoya University in the City on Sunday, he gave an insight on the tremendous achievements and contributions made by the scientists at ISRO including the Chandrayan I and Mangalyaan projects.

The ISRO chairman said that the ISRO is ready for Chandrayan-II Mission, which is an advanced version from the previous Chandrayan-I Mission. "It consists of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover configuration. It is planned to be launched as a composite stack into the Earth Parking Orbit (EPO) of 170 X 18,500 km by GSLV-Mk II. The Orbiter carries the combined stack up to the moon, till the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). The combined stack is then inserted into a lunar orbit of 100 km x 100 km. The Lander is separated from the Orbiter in this orbit. The Chandrayan II will be totally an Indian mission,” he explained.

The students later interacted with the Kiran Kumar. Yenepoya University Chancellor Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi was present.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Space Act will be in place soon, says ISRO Chairman

Kiran Kumar says a space law is needed for the government to spell out how it will deal with issues, untoward incidents. —PHOTO: G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR.

We want clarity on what industries can and cannot do, says Kiran Kumar.
The government’s new endeavour is to inject satellite-based technology into governance and numerous common uses. In this interview given to Madhumathi D.S. in mid-February, A.S. Kiran Kumar, who has completed a year as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, talks about new shifts in India’s space activities in satellite and launcher areas. Excerpts:



A space law has been in the offing. What is its status?



We have submitted papers to the government based on discussions we first had with academicians and legal experts in January 2015. It should be approved for circulation among a large number of departments — the Ministries of Home Affairs, External Affairs [Defence, Finance, Law,] etc. Some more insight should come in from there.



Something concrete should come out by next year. A Space Act will be finally brought out through Parliament.



What was the need for it? What will it spell out? And what will happen to the existing Satellite Communication Policy and Remote Sensing Data Policy?



Today, space-related activities are done [as per] business rules. The process to be adopted by the government for these activities has to be defined because the government is responsible for any object put up in space and for what happens to it in orbit or because of it. With a law, all activities will be done under the Space Act. As we enable more and more industries in space activities, we also want clarity on what they can do and what the limitations are.



Very few countries have legislation pertaining to space. However the number of countries as buyers of satellites or solutions has increased. In space, anything can happen. And it is more about what can happen — collision, accidents, damage from or to a satellite.



So a law is necessary for the government to spell out how it will deal with issues, untoward incidents. It will help the government in how it will approach commercial use of space, international collaborations and international treaties; and state regulatory mechanisms.



The other two policies will continue to be available as independent policies. And I don’t think it is going to make any major change in our overall approach.



There has been an increased start-up activity in space related areas. How does the Department of Space view the aspirations of start-ups and engage with them?



It is fantastic. In fact, we want to develop through academia, industry and others some of our requirements which we cannot do as we are tied up with our activities.



Before this year-end, we plan to bring out two separate mechanisms for promoting original activities by anybody or any entity outside the department. This is still an early thinking that we should work out.





What is ISRO's broad plan for industry's participation in its programmes?



Globally a thousand satellites are estimated to be put up in the next four years. There are opportunities for Indian industry to participate in these activities. Building capacity within the country to deal with a growing space market is also one of our activities.



Many industries that supply to ISRO are getting shortlisted to supply elsewhere. We provide them with support infrastructure [on ISRO laboratories]; information, R&QA, [reliability and quality assurance], etc.

 

[sorcerer]

First Scientific Result from Mars Orbiter Mission Published
MENCA (Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser) is a quadrupole mass spectrometer onboard India's Mars Orbiter Mission, MOM. In Hindu mythology, Menaka was a nymph sent down to Earth from Indralok, the palace of the gods' god, Indra. Hence the first published results of MENCA from Mars is like a divine wealth, I must say. The results were published a few days ago in Geophysical Research Letters. Barring a few conference abstracts and a recent summary of MOM sub-systems in an Indian journal (PDF), this is the very first science result that the Indian MOM has churned out on the international forum. I am hoping for many more to come.

MENCA is based on the design of the CHACE instrument that was sent to the moon on ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission. It was built at Space Physics Laboratory (almost by the same group as for CHACE) of ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, in southern part of India. Basically, it is a neutral gas mass spectrometer covering 1-300 amu range with a capability of separating a single mass unit. The Mars Orbiter Mission was inserted into Martian orbit on September 24, 2014, with orbit parameters of 400 by 71,000 kilometers.

After the completion of one year of primary mission (September 2015), MOM was made to dip down to 260 kilometers from its normal periapsis altitude of 400 kilometers. While dipping down, MENCA had better chances of collecting data on neutral species data. The newly published paper reports that MENCA has successfully measured the altitudinal profiles of CO2, (N2+CO) and O. It gives me an immense satisfaction and PRIDE that MENCA has come up with flying colors.
What about the other instruments? Among the five payloads onboard MOM, both MCC and TIRS are imaging instruments. Big science is expected from the Methane Sensor for Mars, MSM, but as per a report appearing in January in The Financial Express, speaking at the Indian Science congress, Mr. S.K. Shivakumar (ex-director ISAC-ISRO) made a statement that MOM is yet to find methane on Mars. The Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP) carries a great scientific value for its potential in estimating Martian atmospheric loss. But, the day belongs to MENCA.

The hard lessons learned in developing CHACE during Chandrayaan-I were all worth it. I feel I am on seventh cloud. I could say this not only for my correct prediction that MENCA was the most scientifically promising instrument on MOM, but also due to my personal experience of our attempts to publish the peak #18 (Water) data recorded by CHACE at the Moon in December 2008 with Chandrayaan-I. It was (then) rejected for publication on the grounds that it was likely "contamination". Later, in November 2009, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument's remote sensing data of water from Chandrayaan-I was published by Science. So I would like to end by saying that MENCA's triumph on Mars means Lunar CHACE was correct.

Syed Maqbool Ahmed was part of the team that analysed CHACE results
Source>>

 

[sorcerer]

ISRO Looks at Using GSLV for Foreign Satellite Launches

New Delhi: After establishing the reliability of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to put foreign satellites in orbit, India’s space agency is seeking tap the market for commercial launch services using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).


Antrix Corporation Ltd, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, is in preliminary discussions with several countries on possible satellite launches using the GSLV, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

India has used its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to carry out more than 50 commercial satellite launches.

The GSLV, which can put satellites into the geostationary orbits, has so far not been used.
A leading space company in the US is one of the potential customers with which Antrix is in discussions, said minister of state Jitendra Singh, who holds the atomic energy and space portfolio.
“This is a welcome move. The PSLV has launched 57 foreign satellites, but its is restricted by its capability of launching payloads of upto two tonnes. But PSLV has shown its reliability to the world and GSLV can do it too and provide commercially viable services,” said Ajay Lele, research fellow at the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. “There is a growing market for GSLV as long as India can put the system in place.”

Source>>

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Hot Isostatic Press Facility was inaugurated at VSSCVSSC: Story of the week
Hindi Version

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) is a manufacturing process used to reduce the porosity of metals and increase the density of many ceramic materials. This improves the mechanical properties and workability of the material. HIP Facility is an extremely useful facility for enhancing yield and reliability of investment castings for flagship projects of ISRO namely cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines as well as for processing high temperature materials towards emerging programmes.
Cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines employ altogether forty types of investment castings in seven types of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. During manufacturing, defects are inevitable at some locations of the investment castings due to their complex shapes. HIP facility supports the defect healing of performance-critical cast components enhancing their quality and reliability.
Ceramic and other high temperature materials play a very crucial role in the upcoming programmes of ISRO. These materials have very high melting points and extremely difficult to process through liquid metallurgy route. HIP facilitates the solid state processing of ceramics and other high temperature materials through powder metallurgy route. It enables achieving theoretical density in the processed materials ensuring the quality and reliability. Unlike uniaxial pressure based hot presses, HIP with isostatic pressure conditions facilitates processing of highly complex shapes.
A state-of-the-art HIP facility was inaugurated at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Thiruvananthapuram by Shri A. S Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO on February 19, 2016. Dr K Sivan, Director, VSSC was also present along with the senior colleagues.
This is the first HIP Facility in the country in terms of its capability. The size of the Hot zone is 500 mm height and 350 mm diameter. The operating temperature is 2000 deg. C and pressure is 2000 bar. The facility was established mainly through indigenous sources.
Specifications of HIP Facility at VSSC

Furnace I
Furnace II
Heating element
Lanthanum doped Molybdenum
Graphite
Max. Temperature

1400°C

2000°C

Max. Operating Pressure

2000bar (200MPa)

2000bar (200MPa)

Working zone

500 mm dia x 1000 mm height

350 mm dia x 500 mm height

Thermocouples used

Type-B (Pt-30%Rh)

sheath material-Molybdenum with Alumina as an Insulation material

Type- C (W-5%Rhenium)

sheath material-Tantalum with Hafnium oxide as an Insulation

About ISRO
[/SIZE]

• 
  
  
  • Vision and Mission Statements
  • Genesis
  • Organisation Structure
  • ISRO Centres
    • Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
      • Hot Isostatic Press Facility was inaugurated at VSSC
    • Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC)
    • SDSC SHAR
    • ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)
    • IPRC Mahendragiri
    • Space Applications Centre (SAC)
    • National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)
    • ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)
    • ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU)
    • Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS)
    • Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU)
    • Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST)
    • Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS)
    • Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)
    • National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL)
    • Master Control Facility (MCF)
    • North Eastern-Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC)
    • Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL)
    • Department of Space and ISRO HQ
    • Antrix Corporation Limited
  • ISRO's Timeline from 1960s to Today

Story of the Week - Archive
Feb 29, 2016 : Hot Isostatic Press Facility was inaugurated at VSSC
Feb 26, 2016 : ISRO participates in "Make In India Week"
Feb 16, 2016 : Towards Self Reliance in Navigation-IRNSS
Feb 10, 2016 : User Interaction Meet 2016 and New Releases in Public Domain
Feb 02, 2016 : IIST: Capacity Building for Indian Space Programme
Jan 26, 2016 : Aditya - L1 First Indian mission to study the Sun
Jan 18, 2016 : ASTROSAT Completes 100 days in Orbit

• 
  
  
  • 1 of 6
  • next ›

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Make your own ASTROSAT Model


Astrosat paper model template







Learn about ASTROSAT




PSLV-C30/ASTROSAT MISSION

• Astrosat
• Brochure
• Gallery
• Astrosat Mission Explained - Video
• ASTROSAT Completes 100 days in Orbit
• Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) Payload onboard ASTROSAT made Operational – October 12th, 2015
• Astrosat First Light: CZT Imager Looks at Crab Nebula
• Book on Astrosat Released - Download the Copy
• CZT Imager detects a Gamma-ray Burst
• First Light with the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) for ASTROSAT
• Make your own ASTROSAT Model

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Global Albedo Map of Mars
The albedo of any planetary surface is defined as the fraction of incident solar radiation reflected by the surface. The magnitude and spatial distribution of Martian surface albedo are important inputs for characterisation of Martian surface and Atmospheric circulation. The global Short Wave Infra Red (SWIR) albedo map in wavelength band 1.64-1.66 µm has been derived for the surface of Mars using the data from Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) onboard the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Five months (October 2014- February 2015) of radiance data from the reference channel of MSM are converted to the top of atmosphere reflectance normalised to sun-sensor viewing geometry and incoming solar flux. The global view of MSM derived Martian SWIR albedo has been averaged at ~50 km spatial resolution.

The bright regions (albedo > 0.4) are mainly localised over the Tharsis plateau, Arbia Terra and Elysium Planitia regions of Mars. The low albedo regions (< 0.15) are mainly localized in Syrtis Major and Southern highlands and parts of Northern hemisphere. In general low albedo values are associated with darker surface on Mars having volcanic rock basalt on surface. Higher albedo values represents surface covered by Dust. The area shown in blue colour indicates the presence of basaltic composition while red indicates the dust covered regions of Mars.

Global albeda of Mars using MSM data






PSLV-C25/Mars Orbiter Mission

• Mission Objectives
• Mars Orbiter Mission Profile
• Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft
• Payloads
• PSLV-C25
• Ground Segment
• Mars Orbiter Mission Brochure
• PSLV-C25 Brochure
• Mars Orbiter Mission Gallery
• PSLV-C25 Gallery
• Announcement of Opportunity for utilising Mars Orbiter Mission data from MCC, TIS, MSM, LAP and MENCA payloads (MOM-AO)
• Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet-Download the E-book
• India's Maiden Odyssey to Mars - Video
• Mars Orbiter Mission- Launch Explained - Video
• Global Albedo Map of Mars
• Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Testing and Integration - Video
• PSLV C-25 Integration - video
• Pictures from Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Media Registration for PSLV-C32/IRNSS-1F Launch

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO Units Over the Moon
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The units of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the capital city have reasons to cheer as they have received ample allocation in the Union Budget which was presented on Monday.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre(VSSC) at Thumba, the nodal agency for launch vehicles, has been allocated Rs 1,835.42 crore. Rs 471.75 crore has been set apart for the Liquid
Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) headquartered at Valiyamala - which handles the propulsion system including the cryogenic engines. The budget has earmarked Rs 60 crore
for the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) at Vattiyoorkavu.
In addition to this, the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in neighbouring Tamil Nadu - around 150 kms from
Thiruvananthapuram - has been allocated Rs 333 crore. Formerly, LPSC, Mahendragiri, IPRC was renamed recently and handles ground-based engine tests. All the units in Thiruvananthapuram play a crucial role in ISRO missions. The 2016-17 budget has earmarked a total Rs 7,509.14 crore for the Space Department.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO's Timeline from 1960s to Today

I would recommend everybody to use the link at least once. ISRO website is really awesome and more user friendly and comprehensive than that of other space agencies.

 

[Kshatriya87]

PSLV C-32 countdown to begin today

The countdown to the launch of India’s sixth dedicated navigation satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh will begin at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, an ISRO official said. The countdown will be for 54 and half hours.

The ISRO will put into orbit the 1,425-kg IRNSS-1F regional navigation satellite being developed by India on Thursday evening. India’s workhorse satellite launch vehicle, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the PSLV-C32, will carry the payload.

The ISRO had put into orbit the IRNSS-1E in January. The IRNSS-1F will be launched into a sub geosynchronous transfer orbit with a 284-km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 20,657-km apogee (farthest point to Earth), according to the ISRO.

The satellite will carry two types of payloads – navigation payload and ranging payload. The navigation payload will transmit navigation service signals to users.

ISRO will put into orbit 1,425-kg IRNSS-1F regional navigation satellite

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-pape...2-countdown-to-begin-today/article8325437.ece

 

[sorcerer]

IRNSS Architecture
IRNSS is planned to have 7 satellites complemented with the appropriate ground infrastructure[2] as a minimum[3]. As it is traditional in GNSS systems, the architecture is described next in three different segments: the space segment, the ground segment and the user segment.

• The IRNSS Space Segment: 3 of the 7 satellites are geostationary orbit (GEOs) and they will be located at 32.5º East, 83º East and 131.5º East longitude[3]. There will be 4 geostationary satellites (GSO) in orbits of 24,000 km apogee and 250 km perigee inclined at 29 degrees. Two of the GSOs will cross the equator at 55º East and the other two at 111.75º East (two satellites in each plane)[3]. The life span of the GEOs is 9.5 years and 11 years in the case of the GSOs.[2]The Constellation Design Considerations have been mainly:[4]
  • Minimizing the Maximum DOP
  • Minimum number of satellites
  • Orbital slots for India for a continuous visibility with the control stations

IRNSS Architecture

• The IRNSS Ground Segment will consist of:[4]
  • IRNSS Space Craft Control Centre (SCC)
  • IRNSS Navigation Centre (INC)
  • IRNSS TTC & Uplinking Stations (IRTTC)
  • IRNSS Range and Integrity Monitoring Stations (IRIMS)
  • IRNSS Timing Centre (IRNWT)
  • IRNSS CDMA Ranging Stations (IRCDR)
  • Laser Ranging Station (ILRS)
  • Data Communication Network (IRDCN)

The SCC and the INC will be the core of the ground segment, and they are in charge of estimating and predicting IRNSS satellites position, calculation of integrity, ionospheric and clock corrections and running the navigation software.

• The IRNSS User segment: the IRNSS user segment is made of the IRNSS receivers. They will be dual-frequency receivers (L5 and S band frequencies) or single frequency (L5 or S band frequency) with capability to receive ionospheric correction. They will be able to receive and process navigation data from other GNSS constellations and the seven IRNSS satellites will be continuously tracked by the user receiver. The user receiver will have a minimum gain G/T of -27 dB/K.[4]

http://www.navipedia.net/index.php/IRNSS