ISRO news and views

[Sridhar]

US clears launch of Algerian satellites atop Indian rocket

IANS 12 August 2009, 09:57am IST Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |

WASHINGTON: In the first significant outcome of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's visit to India, the US has given clearance to Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch Algerian satellites with American components.

This follows the signing of a Technical Safeguards Agreement covering launches of satellites, having US components on Indian launch vehicles, during Hillary Clinton's New Delhi visit.

"Following the signing of the Technical Safeguards Agreement during secretary Hillary Clinton's recent visit to India, the US government has given clearance for launch by Indian Space Research Organisation [ISRO] of Algerian satellites ALSAT-2A and ALSAT-2B, which have US components, on board an Indian space launch vehicle," the Indian embassy said in a statement.

US clears launch of Algerian satellites atop Indian rocket - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[nitesh]

bhuvan is up and running:

Welcome to Indian EO Visualisation

 

[SATISH]

Isro eyes mission to Mars; govt sanctions Rs10 crore - DNAIndia.com

Isro eyes mission to Mars; govt sanctions Rs10 crore
PTIWednesday, August 12, 2009 16:47 IST Email


New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) today said it has begun preparations for sending a spacecraft to Mars within the next six years.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The government has sanctioned seed money of Rs10 crore to carry out various studies on the experiments to be conducted, the route of the mission and other related details necessary to scale the new frontier, Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

"Already, mission studies have been completed. Now we are trying to collect scientific proposals and scientific objectives," Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a day-long
workshop of the Astronautical Society of India here. He said the space agency was looking at launch opportunities between 2013 and 2015.

Chandrayaan-I, the country's maiden unmanned moon mission, appears to have fired the imagination of young scientists who have taken to space sciences, and Isro plans to
tap this talent for its mission to Mars.

"A lot of young scientists are being brought into the mission, particularly from the Indian Institute of Space Technology, the Physical Research Laboratory, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and other research laboratories," K Radhakrishnan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said.

He said the space agency would use its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to put the satellite in orbit and was considering using ion-thrusters, liquid engines or nuclear power to propel it further towards Mars.

According to preliminary plans, Isro is likely to send a 500kg spacecraft to Mars and has identified three launch windows -- one each in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Though most Isro spacecraft, including Chandrayaan-I, are powered by solar panels, space scientists
feel energy from sunlight may not be sufficient and are exploring alternative propulsion systems.

"Solar energy may not be sufficient or viable. So we may have to go for nuclear [energy]," TA Alex, director, Isro Satellite Centre, told PTI.

Isro plans to put the spacecraft in orbit around Mars and is yet to decide on the altitude, details of the experiments it intends to carry out and the duration of the mission.

"We are still discussing whether to launch it as our exclusive mission or to inviteinternational experiments," Alex said, adding that these details would be worked out
soon.

India plans to land a robot on the moon in 2012 during the Chandrayaan-II mission and is aiming to put humans in space by 2015. An astronaut training centre is likely to be set up near Bangalore to select a crew of four from around 200 to undertake the seven-day human space flight.

 

[ajay_ijn]

bhuvan is up and running:

Welcome to Indian EO Visualisation

thats gr8, can we use it for free or do we have pay anything?

 

[nitesh]

thats gr8, can we use it for free or do we have pay anything?

FREE only ajay bhai

 

[nitesh]

India to launch ocean satellite in second half of next month

 

[Pintu]

Great find Satish , kudos agin for posting it, I think may be the date between 2016-2018, its great to see that ISRO , planning to go for alternative way of energy i.e N Power.

Regards

 

[ajay_ijn]

Isro eyes mission to Mars; govt sanctions Rs10 crore - DNAIndia.com

Isro eyes mission to Mars; govt sanctions Rs10 crore
PTIWednesday, August 12, 2009 16:47 IST Email


New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) today said it has begun preparations for sending a spacecraft to Mars within the next six years.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The government has sanctioned seed money of Rs10 crore to carry out various studies on the experiments to be conducted, the route of the mission and other related details necessary to scale the new frontier, Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

"Already, mission studies have been completed. Now we are trying to collect scientific proposals and scientific objectives," Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a day-long
workshop of the Astronautical Society of India here. He said the space agency was looking at launch opportunities between 2013 and 2015.

Chandrayaan-I, the country's maiden unmanned moon mission, appears to have fired the imagination of young scientists who have taken to space sciences, and Isro plans to
tap this talent for its mission to Mars.

"A lot of young scientists are being brought into the mission, particularly from the Indian Institute of Space Technology, the Physical Research Laboratory, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and other research laboratories," K Radhakrishnan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said.

He said the space agency would use its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to put the satellite in orbit and was considering using ion-thrusters, liquid engines or nuclear power to propel it further towards Mars.

According to preliminary plans, Isro is likely to send a 500kg spacecraft to Mars and has identified three launch windows -- one each in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Though most Isro spacecraft, including Chandrayaan-I, are powered by solar panels, space scientists
feel energy from sunlight may not be sufficient and are exploring alternative propulsion systems.

"Solar energy may not be sufficient or viable. So we may have to go for nuclear [energy]," TA Alex, director, Isro Satellite Centre, told PTI.

Isro plans to put the spacecraft in orbit around Mars and is yet to decide on the altitude, details of the experiments it intends to carry out and the duration of the mission.

"We are still discussing whether to launch it as our exclusive mission or to inviteinternational experiments," Alex said, adding that these details would be worked out
soon.

India plans to land a robot on the moon in 2012 during the Chandrayaan-II mission and is aiming to put humans in space by 2015. An astronaut training centre is likely to be set up near Bangalore to select a crew of four from around 200 to undertake the seven-day human space flight.

another gr8 news.

but should we give more priority to Mars or Moon?

 

[youngindian]

‘Mission to Mars in next decade’

ISRO has received Rs 10 cr from Centre to carry out feasibility studies

13/08/09

Notwithstanding the Chandrayaan snag, the Indian Space Research Organisation is on course to launch an unmanned mission to the earth’s closest planetary neighbour, Mars.
The space agency has received Rs 10 crore from the Central government for carrying out feasibility studies for the Mars mission, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said here on Wednesday.

India’s quest to touch the Red Planet will be met in a deep space mission, similar to the Chandrayaan-1 mission.

A 500-kg Mars payload will be first launched in the earth’s orbit and from there, it will be raised to the Mars’ orbit. Instead of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle used in the lunar mission, more powerful Geo-stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) will be exploited in the Mars programme.

According to the ISRO’s long-term plan, an unmanned mission to the Mars is scheduled between 2013 and 2018.

Addressing an Astronautical Society of India meeting, Nair said Europe, the US and Japan had Mars missions on their agenda and India could not afford to lag behind.
The European Space Agency plans to have a Mars robotic lander mission by 2011 and a sample return mission in 2020.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), too plans to send a manned mission to the moon, and going beyond Mars is a part of the programme.
Japan, too, has a manned lunar mission by 2015 and a mission to Mars by 2025 on its agenda.

“Young scientists from the Indian Institute of Space Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, are being roped in for the mission,” said K Radhakrishnan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

The space agency is yet to decide on the Mars craft engine. Electricity generated from solar panels — like other satellites — may not be a feasible option. The space agency is currently working on options like the nuclear-powered propulsion or ion propulsion. India’s first satellite with an ion propulsion system is expected to be launched in a few months.

Nair released the beta version of Bhuvan, ISRO’s own mapping software — India’s answer to Google Earth — on Wednesday, incidentally the birth anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme. Union science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan was present on the occasion.
Bhuvan will allow users to have a closer look at any part of the subcontinent, barring sensitive locations such as military and nuclear installations.

‘Mission to Mars in next decade’

 

[RPK]

India's human space flight mission gathering momentum


Bangalore, Aug 13 (PTI) India has begun the process of building a training centre for astronauts, designing a new launch pad and modifying the rockets as preparations for its ambitious manned flight to space gathers momentum.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has drawn up an outline for the training centre, which would come up near the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahally on the city outskirts, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told PTI here.

Forty acres are already in the possession of the Bangalore-headquartered ISRO, which has approached the state government for an additional 100 acres for the centre.

Nair expects investment for the training centre to be in the range of Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore.

"We have to again establish the launch paunch for the crew with reception and servicing facilities and launcher itself has to be modified to handle the humans.

 

[RPK]

India's human space mission progressing

Bangalore, Aug 13 (PTI) India has begun the process of building a training centre for astronauts, designing a new launch pad and modifying the rockets as preparations for its ambitious manned flight to space gathers momentum.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has drawn up an outline for the training centre, which would come up near the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahally on the city outskirts, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told PTI here.

Forty acres are already in the possession of the Bangalore-headquartered ISRO, which has approached the state government for an additional 100 acres for the centre.

Nair expects investment for the training centre to be in the range of Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore.

"We have to again establish the launch paunch for the crew with reception and servicing facilities and launcher itself has to be modified to handle the humans.

 

[nitesh]

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=ISRO to put Algerian satellites in orbit by 2010

 

[Tuco]

:

 

[RPK]

India completes design of Chandrayaan-2

"Next (now that design has been completed) we will go towards prototype building, which will be taken up next year," Nair, also secretary in the Department of Space, said.0 Nair said ISRO has learnt plenty of lessons from



Chandrayaan-1 mission, particularly on the thermal and redundancy management fronts and would seek to improve systems in Chandrayaan-2, slated towards the end of 2012.


India has completed the design of Chandrayaan-2, its next mission to the moon this time in collaboration with Russia that would have a lander and rover which can collect samples of the lunar soil and analyse them and send back the data.



"Right now, the design has been completed. We had a joint review with Russian scientists here," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair, said.



According to the Bangalore-headquartered space agency, the Chandrayaan-2 mission would have an orbital flight vehicle constituting an Orbital Craft (OC) and a Lunar Craft (LC) that would carry a soft landing system up to Lunar Transfer Trajectory (LTT).



The target location for the lander-rover would be identified using data from instruments of Chandrayaan-1, India's own and first unmanned mission to the Moon launched on October 22 last year. While ISRO will be developing the orbiter, it will be Russia's job to make the lander and rover. Additional scientific payloads would be acquired from international scientific community.



"I think we have got very valuable inputs on the heat radiation from the moon's surface and so on. Accordingly, the thermal design of the future aircraft can be addressed," he said. "Radiation is much beyond our expectations, so we will have to see how the radiation hardening has to be strengthened."



"Then, in redundancy management also, there are some inputs which are available from this (Chandrayaan-1), which we will try to incorporate in Chandrayaan-2."



The ISRO Chairman said contingency operations undertaken by the organisation following the failure of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's onboard star sensor earlier this year have worked well and "this is (now) as precise as it was earlier."



"We are able to locate the cameras at specific locations," he said noting some of the stereo images that have come recently. "The fact that we were able to point the spacecraft towards the Earth and capture the (recent) solar eclipse, shows the accuracy of the system."



Nair said 95 per cent of the scientific objectives of Chandrayaan-1 mission have been achieved. "Another five per cent, what's left out, we will try to take up in the next season which is starting in October so that we can complete all the observations."

Nair said India's ground station at Byalalu on the city outskirts has given precision as good as the NASA station. "We are comparing both the tracking results."



On how the US and Europe, which have flown instruments on board Chandrayaan-1, have taken to the failure of star sensor, Nair said, "They have got more than sufficient data with them and are extremely happy. Now, Indian and foreign scientists are working together to analyse the data and they have promised some results before the year end." Three-dimensional pictures of the moon would be available soon, he said.



On the agenda for scientists' meet to discuss the Chandrayaan-1 project next month, Nair said ISRO wants to ensure that it has not "left out anything". "Today, we know that there is no redundancy on board. So, if further failure...if it happens, then we will be crippled.

"So, all the scientific objectives have to be completed in the remaining time. We will discuss with them what is pending and what needs to be done. Secondly, if some of them have got preliminary findings then we will try to make an assessment."

 

[hit&run]

:

http://www.defenceforum.in/forum/at...250424920-isro-news-views-appletransport3.jpg

I ll fell faint on the ground. My gosh, it happens only in india. I love my motherland so much.
i can't explain my feelings.:scaut:
jai hind.

 

[RPK]

India's space capsule by 2015 - dnaindia.com

London: Despite the economic slowdown, the Indian government plans to hike its science budget, with special emphasis on developing semi-cryogenic rocket engines, building a space capsule to carry a two-person crew into space by 2015 and for setting up the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System.

India will spend 289 billion rupees on research and development this year, 19% more than last year, according to the budget for 2009-2010 announced on July 6.

The largest allocations are for atomic energy (71.7 billion rupees), the space programme (49.6 billion rupees) and defence research (47.6 billion rupees), while eight 'national missions' or programmes to combat climate change -- announced by the government last year -- are to be launched.

The 40% hike in the space budget from last year's 35 billion rupees is for developing semi-cryogenic rocket engines, building a space capsule to carry a two-person crew into space by 2015 and for setting up the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System along the lines of the US GPS, space department spokesman S Satish said.
Heads of government scientific departments say that although none of their projects has been shot down because of the economic slowdown, the increase in their budgets is less this year than in previous years.

"Allocations for us had been increasing by 30% each year, but this year it is only 20%," said Thirumalachari Ramasami, secretary of the Department of Science and Technology. Funding for Earth sciences has, however, increased by 50% to 12.1 billion rupees, with a provision of 5.48 billion rupees for oceanographic research, and the setting up of a third station in Antarctica.

Budget allocation
The 40% hike in the space budget from last year's 35 billion rupees is for developing semi-cryogenic rocket engines, building a space capsule to carry a two-person crew into space by 2015.

Student factor
To draw students, the budget provides for interest-free loans for those pursuing approved courses. 5.4 billion rupees has been set for a network of gigabit bandwidth to connect educational institutions.

 

[I-G]

Isro-Nasa to jointly look for water on Moon

Isro-Nasa to jointly look for water on Moon
Srinivas Laxman, TNN 21 August 2009, 03:42am IST


MUMBAI: Five minutes before midnight on August 20, India's Rs 386 crore Moon mission, Chandrayaan-1 will cross an important milestone when it teams
up with Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in search of water ice, said Chandrayaan project director Mylaswamy Annadurai on Thursday.

Speaking to TOI hours before the joint lunar flight, Annadurai said both the spacecraft will move simultaneously picking up data. "It will be a brief flight leading to an exchange of information. There will be a combined analysis of both the data," he said. Both the spacecraft will fly at a velocity of about 1.6km per second and survey an area on the Moon's north pole which is 18km across.

The historic combined flight will be tracked by Isro's deep space network at Byalalu, Bangalore and Nasa's deep space network and Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, US. Annadurai had been quoted as saying that the launch of LRO will lead to co-ordinated operations between both spacecraft. LRO was launched on June 18, 2009 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Pradeep Mohandas, a space expert, described the flight as an important step in Indo-US space collaboration. It will be what is known as a "bi-static" radar experiment when both the spacecraft will be in close proximity 200km above the Moon's surface.

Both are equipped with radar instruments — Mini-Sar (Synthetic Aperture Radar) on Chandrayaan-1 and Mini-Rf on LRO. Explaining how they will operate, Isro officials said the two instruments will target the same spot on the Moon from different angles with Chandra-yaan-1's radar transmitting a signal which will be reflected off interior of Erlanger Crater. This will be picked up by LRO. They said scientists will then compare the signal that bounces straight back to Chandrayaan-1 with the signal that bounces at a slight angle to LRO.

Isro-Nasa to jointly look for water on Moon - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[Pintu]

India's lunarcraft hunts for ice on moon with NASA orbiter- Hindustan Times

India's lunarcraft hunts for ice on moon with NASA orbiter

Indo-Asian News Service
Bangalore, August 21, 2009

First Published: 22:00 IST(21/8/2009)
Last Updated: 22:55 IST(21/8/2009)

India's first lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1 Friday conducted a joint experiment with Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) of the US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to trace presence of ice in a dark crater near the North Pole of the moon, the Indian space agency said.

"The unique bi-static experiment was carried out jointly when Chandrayaan and Orbiter came closer while orbiting over the lunar North Pole where the permanently shadowed crater is located," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement here.

Indian space scientists will analyse the data received from NASA's miniature radio frequency instrument on board Chandrayaan and the Orbiter to ascertain the existence of water and ice in the permanently shadowed crater.

"Chandrayaan transmitted the signals and the Orbiter received the reflected signals through the instrument, which functions as a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The four-minute experiment used both the radars to point at Erlanger Crater at the same time," the statement said.

Prior to the experiment, the Orbiter made a minor manoeuvre to adjust its orbit to that of Chandrayaan, located 200 km above from the lunar surface.

The experiment was conducted at 00:30 IST from the spacecraft control centre of ISRO telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) at Peenya, 20 km from this tech hub.

The data was soon downloaded from the Orbiter at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in the US, the ground station that had the visibility.

A few hours later, the Indian Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas at Byalalu, about 40 km from Bangalore, also received the same data along with Chandrayaan's orientation information while bi-static observations were made.

"ISRO and NASA scientists will analyse the observational data from the experiment to find out whether water is present in the form of ice on the dark lunar surface in the crater, which is away from sunlight," the space agency added.

Chandrayaan was launched amid fanfare October 22, 2008, from India's only spaceport Sriharikota, about 90 km north-east of Chennai, onboard the 316-tonne polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11) and inserted into the lunar orbit Nov 8. A week later, its moon impact probe (MIP) was crashed into the lunar surface Nov 16.

The 11 scientific payloads onboard the lunarcarft continue to send high quality data as per planned sequence to its ground station (DSN).

The mooncraft has orbited around the moon 3000 times over the last nine months and its high-resolution cameras relayed over 70,000 digital images of the lunar surface, providing breathtaking views of mountains and craters, including those in the permanently shadowed area of the moon's polar region.

Of the 11 scientific instruments (payloads), five are Indian. Of the other six, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two from the NASA of the US and one from Bulgaria.

 

[I-G]

ISRO to launch space-based National Mission on Information Support.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a National Mission-‘Space-based Information Support for Decentralised Planning’.

The programme is being taken up at the instance of the Planning Commission. It will provide ICT enabled geo-spatial platform involving local bodies to carry out developmental activities under the Panchayat Raj in a decentralized, speedy and transparent manner.

This was indicated here on Thursday by ISRO Chairman Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, during a lecture on, "Space Technology Applications for Rural Development" at a meet organised by AGRASRI, a Tirupati-based professional organisation.

He said the Mission aims at harnessing space technology and the information system at the local bodies to create an information base and would also focus on capacity building at the panchayat level to use the space-based inputs. Dr. Nair was optimistic about the mission solving issues related to land use or reclamation of wastelands, agriculture, horticulture, infrastructure development, water harvesting etc specific to the local environment.

Dr. Nair listed out ISRO’s various society-centric initiatives and cited the example of ‘Village Resource Centres’ (VRC) implemented in collaboration with stakeholders at local levels to deliver the benefits of space and IT-enabled services directly to common man at his door-step in the local language in the form of advisories. 470 VRCs are operating spread over 22 States and UTs providing data which could be used to work out development plans at local level.

The ISRO Chairman paid rich tributes to Rajiv Gandhi for his great vision and said that the late PM introduced India to modern science and technology and gave immense boost to space programmes leading eventually to a situation where India has nine IRS satellites operating in orbit. It is one of the largest constellations of RS satellites in the world, he said and pointed out that as for Tele-education, more than 34,500 classrooms were in EDUSAT network including 3400 which had interactive terminals.

Dr. A. Eswara Reddy, former Speaker addressed gathering and later felicitated the ISRO chief with the Award. S. Ramachandra Reddy, former MP and President AGRASRI, AP presided.

Dr. Nair presented the Leadership Awards-2009 among others to Dr Jaya Arunachalam,, President, Working Women’s Forum, Neelima Khetan, Chief Executive, Seva Mandir, Udaipur, Rajasthan, M. Rama Goud Samala, MPP, K. Narayanan, President, Peralam Gram Panchayat, Kannur district, Kerala.

ISRO to launch space-based National Mission on Information Support. @ The Hindu

 

[indian_blues]

I ll fell faint on the ground. My gosh, it happens only in india. I love my motherland so much.
i can't explain my feelings.:scaut:
jai hind.

We are extremely crazy.

well done bull, the thing you carried worked fine credits goes to you too.

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