ISRO General News and Updates

[Vishwarupa]

ISRO to launch radar imaging satellite on April 20

Bangalore: Preparations are underway for this month's launch of an indigenously designed and developed satellite that has the unique capability of imaging during day and night and in all weather conditions.
ISRO is looking at 'lucky April 20' for the blast-off from India's spaceport of Sriharikota. RISAT-1, a Radar Imaging Satellite with the capability to take images of the earth during day and night as well as in cloudy conditions, is a first of its kind by India and has already reached the spaceport having been transported from Bangalore.
India had launched RISAT-2, which it bought from Israel for $110 million, on April 20, 2009, and Resourcesat-2 mission took place on the same day last year. Both were successful ventures.

"April 20 is a lucky day for us", an ISRO official told. After back-to-back failures of GSLV - one with Russian engine and another with homegrown one, this statement did not come as a surprise.
RISAT-1, weighing around 1850 kg, is slated for launch by ISRO s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C19 (XL)) into a 536 km orbit.
The launch of the spacecraft, the country s first microwave remote sensing satellite, was put off by at least a couple of months following the ISRO row, the fallout of the punitive action against four former space scientists for their role in the Antrix-Devas deal, that delayed the preparations.
RISAT-2 with all weather capability and ability to penetrate through clouds was realised in association with Israel Aerospace Industries. RISAT-2, primarily a spy satellite, is being used solely for Defence applications, keeping an eye on the borders and the country's neighbourhood.
"This satellite (RISAT-2) can sharply focus on metallic objects", an ISRO official said. "The RISAT-1 will be useful for monitoring of agriculture and water resources management, among other applications", said the official, who added that this satellite would not be used for defence applications as RISAT-2 is already doing that job.
RISAT-1 carries a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating in a multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode to provide images with coarse, fine and high spatial resolutions respectively
ISRO to launch radar imaging satellite on April 20 - India News - IBNLive

 

[rahulrds1]

India ready with all-weather imaging satellite: ISRO

India is set to launch an indigenous satellite with the "unique" capability to capture images in all-weather conditions that will facilitate agriculture and disaster management, ISRO said today.

India currently depends on images from a Canadian satellite as domestic remote sensing spacecraft cannot take pictures of the ground during cloud cover.

After nearly 10 years of effort, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed -- with a lot of participation from Indian industries -- a microwave satellite that has the unique capability of imaging during day and night and in all weather conditions, it said.

India ready with all-weather imaging satellite: ISRO
"This (Radar Imaging Satellite or RISAT-1) is about 1,850 kg. So, this will be heaviest satellite lifted by a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said.

"It's most likely to be launched on April 26 at 5.45 am," he said. "It has taken about 10 years of efforts in developing this (RISAT-1)". The approved cost of RISAT-1, including its development, is Rs 378 crore, while Rs 120 crore has been spent to build the rocket (PSLV-C19), making it a Rs 498-crore mission.

RISAT-1 is a "complex satellite", Radhakrishnan said.

India ready with all-weather imaging satellite: ISRO
The satellite would be particularly useful in Kharif season when cloud-covered atmosphere is frequent. Images taken from the spacecraft of agricultural crops would enable planners with regard to production estimation and forecast, the space agency said.

During floods, aerial pictures would give a clear idea on the affected region and water level. In addition, this satellite can even "penetrate" the ground and throw light on soil moisture up to a few centimeters, Radhakrishnan said.

RISAT-1 would be launched into a 536-km orbit by PSLV, which is India's workhorse rocket.

The satellite carries a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating in a multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode to provide images with coarse, fine and high spatial resolutions.

Radhakrishnan said ISRO had built two SARs in the past but these had been flown on aircraft.

source: http://zeenews.india.com

 

[rahulrds1]

New ISRO centre to control launch of Risat-1

The Indian rocket that will carry the 1,850 kg indigenous surveillance satellite - Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-1) - to the skies this month will be controlled by the new mission control centre at Sriharikota, said a senior official of Indian space agency ISRO.

"The second mission control centre was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil this January. The forthcoming rocket launch would be controlled and monitored from the new mission control centre. The rocket will fly off the first launch pad," S. Satish, director (publications and public relations), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said.

ISRO has its rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh around 80 km from here.

A senior ISRO official not wanting to be named said: "The new mission control centre is modern and has larger area to accommodate more space scientists, officials, VIPs and others."

ISRO officials said that the rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying remote sensing satellite Risat-1 is slated for launch from April 25-30.

"The exact launch date depends on the readiness of the rocket and satellite systems. Normally it will take 12-14 days for the rocket launch after carrying out all the tests," an ISRO official said.

ISRO officials said that Risat-1 systems are being checked at Sriharikota and it will be mated with the rocket later.

Once the satellite is loaded on to the rocket, the entire rocket systems would again be tested.

The PSLV rocket is in a fully assembled condition and is waiting for Risat-1, the heaviest microwave remote sensing satellite to be built by India. The satellite has all weather, day and night imaging capability.

The satellite would be used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry, and the high resolution pictures and microwave imaging could also be used for defence purposes.

The satellite's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can acquire data at C-band. In 2009, ISRO had launched 300 kg Risat-2 with Israeli built SAR enabling earth observation in all weather, day and night conditions.

Remote sensing satellites send back pictures and other data for use. India has the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites in the world providing imagery in a variety of spatial resolutions, from more than a metre ranging up to 500 metres, and is a major player in vending such data in the global market.

According to ISRO officials, the rocket that would sling Risat-1 would be PSLV's upgraded variant called PSLV-XL.

The rocket would weigh around 320 tonnes at lift-off and would be the third such expendable rocket to be sent up by ISRO.

source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

 

[A chauhan]

double post : deleted

 

[A chauhan]

Guys have you checked Pocket Bhuvan ? :- Pocket Bhuvan | bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in

Visiting there after a year i guess, site has got a new look, don't know whether Bhuvan is upgraded or not!

 

[rahulrds1]

ISRO plans biggest ever spacecraft by 2014

ISRO plans to launch its biggest ever spacecraft, the 5,000-kg GSAT-11, by 2014.

The advanced communication satellite, GSAT-11, will be double the capacity and size of the present buses, and will be built over the next two years.

GSAT-11 will have 32 transponders in the Ka and Ku bands, ISRO's just-released annual report for 2011-12, has revealed.

ISRO is banking on this large, one-shot boost to its flagging capacity. Only half of its present capacity — or 80 transponders — comes from its fleet of INSAT /GSAT communications satellites. The rest are leased on foreign satellites.

The present capacity of 175 transponders is around half of its requirement. It has been looking around to fill it. To date, GSAT-8 is the biggest national craft to be built. The 3,600-kg piece was launched by a European Ariane rocket last May.
Formal approval

Mr S. Satish, ISRO's spokesman, said the spacecraft proposal was due for formal approval. He said the 5k advanced craft would go up on a 'procured' or outside launch. ISRO has traditionally used European Ariane launchers to put its larger satellites into orbit.

A normal 2-3k satellite costs around Rs 200 crore to assemble; and around the same for launch. For GSAT-11 and its launch, it could be an estimated Rs 700-800 crore.

"Subsystem level preliminary design review has been completed. The qualification programme for all new elements onboard GSAT-11 has been initiated," the report says.

ISRO's medium-lift rocket under development, the GSLV, can launch up to 2,000-kg satellites into the middle-earth orbits that are suited for communication satellites — 36,000 km up above the earth.

The rocket is being perfected and has yet to be put fully in service. The GSLV MkIII, meant to lift heavier satellites of 4-6 tonne, looks far from GSAT-11's schedule.

Upcoming satellites would be a mix of 1k, 2k and 3k satellites, so that smaller ones like the 1,400-kg GSAT-12 can be launched quickly on the PSLV, he said.

source : [www.thehindubusinessline.com] Business Line : Industry & Economy / Economy : ISRO plans biggest ever spacecraft by 2014

 

[nitesh]

count down has begun
The Hindu : News / National : RISAT-1 all set for launch at Sriharikota

The 71-hour countdown for the lift-off will begin at 6.45 a.m. on Monday. The RISAT-1 is essentially a remote-sensing satellite.

 

[JAISWAL]

:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::
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71-hour countdown begins for Indian satellite RISAT 1 - The Times of India
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71-hour countdown begins for Indian satellite RISAT 1
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CHENNAI: The 71-hour countdown for the launch of 1,858 kg RISAT -1, India's radar imaging satellite, the heaviest one to be lifted by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle commenced this morning.
"The countdown for radar sensing satellite RISAT-1 started this morning at 6.47am at Sriharikota. This is a 71- hour long countdown," an ISRO spokesman said.
The launch is scheduled at 5.47am on April 26 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
India currently depends on images from a Canadian satellite as domestic remote sensing spacecraft cannot take pictures of the ground during cloud cover. "This (Radar Imaging Satellite or RISAT-1) is about 1,850 kg. So this will be heaviest satellite lifted by a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan had earlier said.
The approved cost of RISAT-1, including its development, is Rs 378 crore, while Rs 120 crore has been spent to build the rocket (PSLV-C19), making it a Rs 498- crore mission.
RISAT-1 will be launched into a 536-km orbit by PSLV, India's workhorse rocket. The satellite carries a C-band Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating in a multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode to provide images with coarse, fine and high spatial resolutions.

 

[A chauhan]

Any updates on IRNSS ?

 

[Godless-Kafir]

Assembling a PSLV space rocket. Very nice to watch the precision work.

 

[john70]

:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::
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71-hour countdown begins for Indian satellite RISAT 1 - The Times of India
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71-hour countdown begins for Indian satellite RISAT 1
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CHENNAI: The 71-hour countdown for the launch of 1,858 kg RISAT -1, India's radar imaging satellite, the heaviest one to be lifted by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle commenced this morning.
"The countdown for radar sensing satellite RISAT-1 started this morning at 6.47am at Sriharikota. This is a 71- hour long countdown," an ISRO spokesman said.
The launch is scheduled at 5.47am on April 26 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
India currently depends on images from a Canadian satellite as domestic remote sensing spacecraft cannot take pictures of the ground during cloud cover. "This (Radar Imaging Satellite or RISAT-1) is about 1,850 kg. So this will be heaviest satellite lifted by a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan had earlier said.
The approved cost of RISAT-1, including its development, is Rs 378 crore, while Rs 120 crore has been spent to build the rocket (PSLV-C19), making it a Rs 498- crore mission.
RISAT-1 will be launched into a 536-km orbit by PSLV, India's workhorse rocket. The satellite carries a C-band Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating in a multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode to provide images with coarse, fine and high spatial resolutions.

Though being reffered as non military sat, it may have functions like Risat 2 launched last year. Risat 2 is all time milatary sat, with eye on movement of forces.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

ISRO documentary.

 

[nitesh]

The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Technology : RISAT-1's radar can see through clouds and work in darkness

Satellite being lowered into a large test chamber at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore.Photo : ISRO


The indigenous radar imaging satellite will be launched aboard PSLV tomorrow

More than two decades after India's first operational optical remote sensing satellite went into orbit, the country's space capabilities are poised for a big technological leap with the launch of an entirely indigenous radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to send the satellite into space aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle that is scheduled to lift-off from Sriharikota early on Thursday.

The RISAT-1's radar will be able to see through clouds and work in darkness, conditions that hamper optical satellites. Its images will be useful for a variety of applications, from crop forecasting and disaster management to addressing the country's strategic needs.

The RISAT-1 will, however, be the country's second radar imaging satellite. India already operates the Israeli-built RISAT-2, which was launched in April 2009 and appears to have been quickly procured to meet security requirements.

After the ISRO launched IRS-1A in 1988, it sent up well over a dozen earth-viewing satellites bearing a variety of optical imaging cameras. These satellites have created a large user community within the country. Their data is also being received and utilised in several countries.

An important reason for the ISRO's initial emphasis on optical imaging was the far greater complexity of a radar satellite, according to Pramod Kale, who was once director of the ISRO's Space Applications Centre at Ahmedabad that builds payloads carried on Indian satellites.

With RISAT-1, ISRO scientists and engineers demonstrate their mastery of that difficult and closely guarded technology. If the satellite works as its creators hope, it will match and perhaps in some respects even surpass Canada's second-generation RADARSAT-2 that is now operational.

The RISAT-1 uses the 'synthetic aperture radar' technique. It carries out complex processing of the radar echoes received from the same place on the ground so as to simulate a much bigger antenna than it actually carries. Doing so greatly increases the image resolution that is possible.

Radar images from the satellite will have a resolution that can be varied from 50 metres down to 3 metres. However, as resolution increases, less of the ground can be imaged as the satellite passes overhead.

In a special 'spotlight mode,' where the satellite will keep looking at a small region on the ground, it will be capable of providing one-metre resolution images. (The best resolution now possible on the ISRO's optical remote sensing satellites is believed to be about 0.8 metres.)

The satellite is equipped with an advanced 'active phased array' antenna. Instead of a single device generating the microwave signals, the antenna has a large number of modules that collectively produce the radar beam. By suitably adjusting the signals generated by various modules, the beam can be electronically moved around. Even if a few modules fail, the satellite can continue to function albeit perhaps with some degradation in performance.

 

[Predator]

^good work by ISRO

 

[JAISWAL]

old but a worthy artical to read.
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India's Space Shuttle [Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)] program information
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AA Me, IN: India's Space Shuttle [Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)] program - some information

 

[nitesh]

posting here for records

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : It can spy and also do a hundred humdrum things

India's space and security capabilities are poised for a big leap with the launch of an entirely indigenous radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1.

In the popular mind, radar satellites have a swashbuckling image that is often associated with covertly watching over other countries and tracking their military hardware. These satellites can certainly serve that sort of function. But such spacecraft also support a range of more humdrum but vital operations.

Optical satellites rely on sunlight to illuminate the ground below, working much like an ordinary camera does. Radar satellites, on the other hand, must send out pulses of radio waves and then pick up signals that bounce back.

Click here for PDF

Once the monsoon sets in over India, cloud cover often severely limits the useful images that satellites with optical cameras can supply. But radar can see through cloud and rain. Nor does darkness hamper its operation.

Optical or radar?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has long been aware of the advantages of deploying radar in space, remarked Y.S. Rajan, who was its Scientific Secretary for many years from the late 1970s and participated in the decision-making process that shaped the remote sensing programme.

The engineering challenges of putting a radar on a satellite are "enormous" and considerably greater than for building optical imaging satellites, he told The Hindu. The processing of radar data and interpretation of images are also vastly more complicated. In addition, there was pressure from the launch vehicle team to hold down the weight of satellites, a factor that again worked in favour of optical satellites.

So while ISRO opted to go the optical route for India's early remote sensing satellites, it was also very clear that the technological capability to build and use space-based radars needed to be developed, he said. Led by O.P.N. Calla, a group at ISRO's Space Applications Centre at Ahmedabad built a "Side-Looking Airborne Radar" that was installed on a Dakota aircraft in 1980. It subsequently built a more sophisticated "Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar." The National Remote Sensing Centre at Hyderabad operates two aircraft that can carry such radars.

Apart from learning to build the hardware, the space agency sought to develop the necessary expertise in using radar imageries for various applications. It did so by taking data from foreign radar satellites, starting with Europe's ERS-1 that was launched in 1991.

Flood mapping, agriculture

Satellite radar data, often from Canada's RADARSAT satellites, is now routinely used during the monsoon to provide near real time flood mapping. In last year's monsoon, for instance, radar data was drawn upon to identify affected areas when floods struck Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.

Monitoring crops from space to derive timely and more accurate estimates of acreage and yield was identified as an important application early on in India's remote sensing programme. But with small field sizes in the country, different crops being grown in the same area and variations in agricultural practices, establishing 'signatures' that can distinguish one crop from another has been difficult enough with optical remote sensing.

It becomes even more complicated with radar where a number of factors, such as soil characteristics, moisture levels in the soil and even the plant size and shape, influence the signals that return to the satellite.

Radar, however, opens up the possibility of monitoring crops grown during the monsoon when extensive cloud cover often hinders optical satellites. Data from Canada's RADARSAT satellites is currently being used for operational rice crop inventory at the state and national levels, according to a journal paper published by a team of ISRO scientists. There has also been some success with jute.

RADARSAT data was costly, remarked one person who was involved with the Indian remote sensing programme. "With our own satellite, we will be able to carry out more extensive studies for establishing ways to monitor other crops with the required accuracy."

Glacier study

Satellite-borne radar could prove useful in studying glaciers in the Himalayas, according to Anil V. Kulkarni who earlier worked at the Space Applications Centre and is now with the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Radar techniques could potentially be employed to understand some key parameters of glaciers, including their rate of movement and area. It may also be possible to derive indications of whether they are gaining or losing mass from one year to the next. Such information could provide important insights into how climate change is affecting the glaciers.

Radar data could also be utilised to figure out how much snow was melting in summer. With suitable modelling, it should then be possible to estimate the run-off that flows into various rivers, he pointed out.

RISAT-1's radar data is likely to find many more applications, including in geology, terrain mapping and forestry. Oceanography can benefit from information on winds and currents that such data can supply. Canada is reportedly using its RADARSAT satellites to manage shipping operations, including monitoring offshore fishing activities.

After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, data from a number of radar satellites was used to keep a careful eye on the spread of the resulting oil slick.

Military use

A radar satellite opens up avenues for watching over another country's military operations. Such satellites can pick out military vehicles, aircraft and ships.

A radar satellite is "a very powerful instrument" for detecting naval movements, remarked Bhupendra Jasani of the Department of War Studies at King's College London. They could even pick up the wake of submarines moving below the surface.

Prof. Jasani has worked extensively on using commercially available satellite imagery as a way of verifying compliance with arms control and other international treaties.

Radar imageries could also aid in examining if a nuclear reactor was being used for plutonium production. In that case, there would be signs that the reactor was being shut down more frequently, he told this correspondent.

For India, the ability to design, build and utilise radar satellites therefore represents a quantum jump in its remote sensing capabilities both for civilian and security-related applications. More radar satellites will doubtless follow RISAT-1.

[email protected]

 

[nitesh]

Business Line : Industry & Economy News : ECIL going to great heights to eye the sky

 

[nitesh]

packed schedule
Isro announces two new missions

 

[nitesh]

Successfully placed in final orbit:

Welcome To ISRO :: Press Release :: April 28, 2012

 

[JAISWAL]

India to ferry heaviest foreign satellite in August



India will ferry two foreign satellites - French and Japanese - on board its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) rocket in August this year for a price, said a senior official. "The next rocket launch will be in August. We will be sending our PSLV rocket with French satellite SPOT 6 (800 kg) and a small Japanese satellite weighing around 15 kg. Though the rocket is called PSLV-C21 it will go before PSLV-C20," P.S. Veeraraghavan, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), told IANS.

The Thiruvananthapuram based VSCC is part of India's space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix) has entered into a commercial Launch Services Agreement with Astrium SAS, a company under EADS, France for launching SPOT-6, an advanced remote sensing satellite.

What is interesting is that the 800 kg SPOT-6 built by Astrium SAS will be the heaviest third party payload that ISRO will be carrying after the 350 kg Italian satellite Agile it carried in 2007, officials said.

As the total luggage will be around 815 kg, ISRO will be using its Core Alone variant of PSLV (rocket without its six strap on motors).

The mission will take ISRO's total tally of ferrying foreign satellites to 29.

ISRO has been carrying foreign satellites since 1999 initially as an add-on luggage to its own satellite.

It was with Agile satellite that ISRO started flying a full commercial rocket.

According to Veeraraghavan, the space agency would launch SARAL satellite - an Indo-French initiative - using PSLV-C20 rocket after the August launch.
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India to ferry heaviest foreign satellite in August - Hindustan Times