PSLV-C17 Successfully Launches GSAT-12 Satellite

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle proves its mettle again. PSLV-C17, in its 19th flight, successfully launches India's communication satellite GSAT-12 from the Second Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre- SHAR, Sriharikota, India. PSLV-C17 measuring 44.5 m height, with a lift off weight of 320 tonnes has four stages of solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. In its XL Version, PSLV-XL uses six extended solid strap-on motors wherein each strap-on carries 12 tonnes of solid propellant. This is a second time such a configuration is being flown, earlier one being the PSLV-C11/Chandrayaan-I mission.

Salient feature of PSLV-C17/GSAT-12 Mission:

·         For the first time, use of indigenously designed and developed On-Board computer (OBC) with Vikram 1601 processor in both primary and redundant chains of the vehicle. The OBC performs the functions of Navigation, Guidance and Control processing for the vehicle.

·         Use of extended solid strap-on configuration

·         Satellite injection in elliptical transfer orbit sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO)

·         Five burn strategy (2 perigee burn and 3 apogee burn) for placing the GSAT-12 satellite from its sub-GTO to Geostationary Orbit

Department of Space to launch 30 satellites

The Department of Space plans to launch “not less than 30 satellites in the next decade. These include a series of resourcesat, cartosat, ocean and atmospheric satellites, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) Director V. Jayaraman told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Karnataka Geo-Spatial Database on Tuesday.

The Hyderabad-based NRSC, which comes under the Department of Space, acquires processes and disseminates remote sensing data for applications and disaster management.

“We will launch Resourcesat-2 in early February or January-end. It will be a replacement satellite for Resourcesat-1, which gives us 5.8 metres, 70 km multi-spectral data for the first time,” Dr. Jayaraman said.

An “integrated multi-mission ground segment” would be set up in Hyderabad, which would enable the Indian Space Research Organisation to receive satellite data and to supply 1000 space products every day directly to the users.

Emergency products:

At present, the NRSC needed four to five days to deliver space products. With the new ground segment, the centre would be able to do that within 12 hours and even supply “emergency products” within an hour of receiving the data. The ground segment would be set up at a cost of around Rs. 40 crore and was expected to be operational by June 2011.

Delivering the keynote address at the conference, Dr. Jayaraman said experts in GIS and remote sensing must tap into the power of cloud computing. GIS, he added, must be made simple, friendly and easy-to-use. 

ISRO planning to launch 10 satellites in a year

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch 10 satellites in a year to better communication network and improve disaster management, the government revealed Wednesday.

"ISRO is planning to launch 10 satellites in a year. The actual number of satellites to be launched will be decided based on national developmental priorities," Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan said in the Lok Sabha.

"The aims and objectives of these satellites include natural resources management, augmenting the communications infrastructure, satellite navigation, disaster management support, space science research and planetary exploration," the minister added.

He said the action plan of the department in this context will include augmenting the technical infrastructure within ISRO and enhancing the production capabilities in the Indian industry in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2012-17) to meet projected demand.

Chandrayaan’s Mini-SAR finds Ice on Moon

Analysis of data obtained by the Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) onboard Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has provided evidence for the presence of ice deposits near the moon's North Pole. The Mini-SAR instrument found more than 40 small craters (2-15 km in diameter) with sub-surface water ice located at their base. The interior of these craters is in permanent sun shadow.

Prof. Paul Spudis, Principal Investigator of the Mini-SAR experiment said, “The new discoveries by Chandrayaan-1 and other lunar missions show that the moon is an even more interesting and attractive scientific exploration and operational destination than people had previously thought.”

The Mini-SAR mapped the moon’s permanently shadowed polar craters that are not visible from Earth. The radar uses the polarisation properties of reflected radio waves to characterise surface properties. Results from the mapping showed deposits having radar characteristics similar to ice. The emerging picture from the multiple measurements and resulting data of the instruments, Moon Mineralogy Mapper and Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 and NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), indicates that water creation, migration, deposition and retention are occurring on the moon.

The Mini-SAR's findings have just been published in the journal, “Geophysical Research Letters” authored by scientists from 13 agencies from USA and India, including Prof. J.N. Goswami, Principal Scientist, Chandrayaan-1 from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and Dr. M. Chakrabarty of Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad. The new findings add to the growing scientific understanding of the multiple forms of water on the moon.

Mini-SAR and Moon Mineralogy Mapper are two of the 11 instruments on Chandrayaan-1, which was launched on October 22, 2008, and began orbiting the moon on November 8, 2008. The Applied Physics Laboratory, USA performed the final integration and testing on Mini-SAR. It was developed and built by the Naval Air Warfare Center and several other commercial and government agencies in USA.

Japan to send robot to moon

Japan is considering putting a robot on the moon by 2020 and an astronaut by 2030, a report from a government office showed on Friday, amid fears that the country will be left behind in Asia's space race.

The plans follow China's first space walk and India's launch of their first unmanned moon mission last year. Beijing officials have said that China is looking to eventually put astronauts on the moon, though the government has not revealed any schedule.

The robot and the astronaut would probe the moon to see how its resources could be used, the report showed. A space development panel also discussed on Friday the possibility of Japan eventually starting its own manned space program, a government official said.

"Some experts are concerned that unless there is an independent program, then Japan may be left behind in terms of space development," said an official from the Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy (SHSP), under the Cabinet Office.

"If large scale space development projects, such as moon probes or space solar power system, are conducted, not only robots but also people will have to be there. The technology of manned space programs will certainly become the foundation in such cases," he said.

Japan's space program was in tatters in the late 1990s and early 2000s after unsuccessful rocket launches, but it successfully launched its first lunar explorer in 2007. It has sent six astronauts to space, all through international missions.

The Soviet Union, United States and China are the only countries that have put people in space with their own rockets.

Amid worries about a regional space race and North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, Japan introduced a new space law last year that allows military use of space, ending a decades-old pacifist policy.

The law, which allows the military to launch its own satellites for spying and warn of missile launches but rules out offensive weapons in space, opened ways for the nation's space industry to compete globally.

SHSP is set to announce in May its first comprehensive space strategy that will include ideas for military and diplomatic use of space, the official said.

While SHSP was founded last year to oversee the comprehensive space strategy, Japan's space program has been led for years by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

JAXA runs on an annual budget of 228 billion yen ($2.3 billion), just a fraction of NASA's $17 billion annual spending.