Important missions and programmes of Department of Space and Indian Space Research Organization.

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<<–2/”>a >a href=”https://exam.pscnotes.com/space-technology-indian-space-programs/”>Space Technology– Indian space programs.

Application of Satellites for different purposes

 

Despite being a developing economy with its attendant problems, India has effectively developed space technology and has applied it successfully for its rapid development and today is offering a variety of space Services globally.

Indian Space Program:

During the formative decade of 1960s, space research was conducted by India mainly with the help of sounding rockets. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formed in 1969. Space research activities were provided additional fillip with the formation of the Space Commission and the Department of Space by the government of India in 1972. And, ISRO was brought under the Department of Space in the same year.

In the history of the Indian space programme, 70s were the era of Experimentation during which experimental satellite programmes like Aryabhatta, Bhaskara, Rohini and Apple were conducted. The success of those programmes, led to era of operationalisation in 80s during which operational satellite programmes like INSAT and IRS came into being. Today, INSAT and IRS are the major programmes of ISRO.

For launching its spacecraft indigenously, India is having a robust launch vehicle programme, which has matured to the state of offering launch services to the outside world. Antrix, the commercial arm of the Department of Space, is Marketing India’s space services globally. Fruitful co-operation with other space faring nations, international bodies and the developing world is one of the main characteristics of India’s space programme.

The most significant milestone of the Indian Space Programme during the year 2005-2006 was the successful launch of PSLV-C6. On 5 May 2005, the ninth flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C6) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota successfully placed two satellites – the 1560 kg CARTOSTAR-1 and 42 kg HAMSAT – into a predetermined polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Coming after seven launch successes in a row, the success of PSLV-C6 further demonstrated the reliability of PSLV and its capability to place payloads weighing up to 1600 kg satellites into a 600 km high polar SSO.

The successful launch of INSAT-4A, the heaviest and most powerful satellite built by India so far; on 22 December 2005 was the other major event of the year 2005-06. INSAT-4A is capable of providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) television broadcasting services.

Besides, the setting up of the second cluster of nine Village Resource Centres (VRCs) was an important ongoing initiative of the Department of Space during the year. VRC concept integrates the capabilities of communications and earth observation satellites to provide a variety of information emanating from space systems and other IT tools to address the changing and critical needs of rural communities.

In October 2008, the first lunar mission launched by ISRO. The spacecraft, Chandrayaan took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and it operated till August 2009. The project was announced by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as part of his independence day speech in 2003. The greatest achievement of this lunar project was the discovery of a large number of water Molecules in moon. ISRO plans to launch its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2 by 2018.

In 2014, Mangalyaan, India’s first interplanetary mission was launched, making ISRO the fourth space agency to reach Mars. Mangalyaan gained worldwide repute as being the least expensive Mars mission till date.

Recently India has launched 104 staellites at one go, which is a world record. The previous world record is with the Russian space agency with 37 satellites at one go.

India has been launching heavy satellites on its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) but so far it has only been used for domestic satellites.In recent months though, there have been queries from foreign companies for launches on the GSLV.

 

Application of satellites for different purposes:

Satellites based on application can be categorized as follows:

Earth Observation satellite->

Starting with IRS-1A in 1988, ISRO has launched many operational remote sensing satellites. Today, India has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation. Currently, *thirteen* operational satellites are in Sun-synchronous orbit – RESOURCESAT-1, 2, 2A CARTOSAT-1, 2, 2A, 2B, RISAT-1 and 2, OCEANSAT-2, Megha-Tropiques, SARAL and SCATSAT-1, and *four* in Geostationary orbit- INSAT-3D, Kalpana & INSAT 3A, INSAT -3DR. Varieties of instruments have been flown onboard these satellites to provide necessary data in a diversified spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions to cater to different user requirements in the country and for global usage. The data from these satellites are used for several applications covering agriculture, water Resources, urban planning, rural development, mineral prospecting, Environment, Forestry, ocean resources and Disaster Management.

Communication satellite->

The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in Asia-Pacific region with nine operational communication satellites placed in Geo-stationary orbit. Established in 1983 with commissioning of INSAT-1B, it initiated a major revolution in India’s communications sector and sustained the same later. GSAT-18 joins the constellation of INSAT System consisting 14 operational satellites, namely – INSAT-3A, 3C, 4A, 4B, 4CR, 3DR and GSAT-6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16.

The INSAT system with more than 200 transponders in the C, Extended C and Ku-bands provides services to telecommunications, television broadcasting, satellite newsgathering, societal applications, weather forecasting, disaster warning and Search and Rescue operations.

 

Navigation satellite->

Satellite Navigation service is an emerging satellite based system with commercial and strategic applications. ISRO is committed to provide the satellite based Navigation services to meet the emerging demands of the Civil Aviation requirements and to meet the user requirements of the positioning, navigation and timing based on the independent satellite navigation system. To meet the Civil Aviation requirements, ISRO is working jointly with Airport Authority of India (AAI) in establishing the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system. To meet the user requirements of the positioning, navigation and timing services based on the indigenous system, ISRO is establishing a regional satellite navigation system called Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

(a) GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN):

This is a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) implemented jointly with Airport Authority of India (AAI). The main objectives of GAGAN are to provide Satellite-based Navigation services with accuracy and Integrity required for civil aviation applications and to provide better Air Traffic Management over Indian Airspace. The system will be interoperable with other international SBAS systems and provide seamless navigation across regional boundaries. The GAGAN Signal-In-Space (SIS) is available through GSAT-8 and GSAT-10.

(b) Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) : NavIC

This is an independent Indian Satellite based positioning system for critical National applications. The main objective is to provide Reliable Position, Navigation and Timing services over India and its neighbourhood, to provide fairly good accuracy to the user. The IRNSS will provide basically two types of services

Standard Positioning Service (SPS)

Restricted Service (RS)

Space Segment consists of seven satellites, three satellites in GEO stationary orbit (GEO) and four satellites in Geo Synchronous Orbit (GSO) orbit with inclination of 29° to the equatorial plane. This constellation of seven satellites was named as “NavIC” (Navigation Indian Constellation) by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi and dedicated to the Nation on the occasion of successful launch of IRNSS-1G, the seventh and last satellite of NavIC. All the satellites will be visible at all times in the Indian region. All the seven Satellites of NavIC, namely, IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, ID,1E, 1F and 1G were successfully launched on July 02, 2013, Apr 04, 2014, Oct 16, 2014, Mar 28, 2015, Jan 20, 2016, Mar 10, 2016 and Apr 28, 2016 respectively and all are functioning satisfactorily from their designated orbital positions.

Ground Segment is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the IRNSS constellation. It provides the monitoring of the constellation status, computation of the orbital and clock parameters and navigation data uploading. The Ground segment comprises of TTC & Uplinking Stations, Spacecraft Control Centre, IRNSS Timing Centre, CDMA Ranging Stations, Navigation Control Centre and Data Communication Links. Space segment is compatible with single frequency receiver for Standard Positioning Service (SPS), dual frequency receiver for both SPS & RS service and a multi mode receiver compatible with other GNSS providers.

 

Experimental satellite->

ISRO has launched many small satellites mainly for the experimental purposes. This experiment include Remote Sensing, Atmospheric Studies, Payload Development, Orbit Controls, recovery technology etc. Example- INS-1A, INS-1B, YOUTHSAT, APPLE

 

Small satellite->

The small satellite project is envisaged to provide platform for stand-alone payloads for earth imaging and science missions within a quick turn around time. For making the versatile platform for different kinds of payloads, two kinds of buses have been configured and developed.

Indian Mini Satellite -1 (IMS-1): IMS-1 bus has been developed as a versatile bus of 100 kg class which includes a payload capability of around 30 kg. The bus has been developed using various miniaturization techniques. The first mission of the IMS-1 series was launched successfully on April 28th 2008 as a co-passenger along with Cartosat 2A. Youthsat is second mission in this series and was launched successfully along with Resourcesat 2 on  20th April 2011.

Indian Mini Satellite -2 (IMS-2) Bus: IMS-2 Bus is evolved as a standard bus of 400 kg class which includes a payload capability of around 200kg. IMS-2 development is an important milestone as it is envisaged to be a work horse for different types of remote sensing applications. The first mission of IMS-2 is SARAL.  SARAL is a co-operative mission between ISRO and CNES with payloads from CNES and spacecraft bus from ISRO.

 

Student/Academic satellite->

ISRO has influenced educational institutions by its activities like making satellites for communication, remote sensing and astronomy. The launch of Chandrayaan-1 increased the interest of universities and institutions towards making experimental student satellites.,

The Department of Space (DoS) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for civilian space activities. It was established in 1972 with the objective of promoting, coordinating, and overseeing all aspects of space research and development in India. The DoS is headed by the Secretary of the Department of Space, who is also the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ISRO is the premier space agency of India. It was established in 1969 with the objective of developing space technology for peaceful purposes. ISRO has achieved many successes in space exploration, including the launch of India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975. ISRO has also launched a number of satellites for telecommunications, meteorology, and remote sensing.

The DoS and ISRO have played a major role in the development of space technology in India. They have also made significant contributions to the field of space exploration. Some of the most important missions and programmes of the DoS and ISRO include:

  • Aryabhata: India’s first satellite, launched in 1975.
  • Bhaskara: India’s second satellite, launched in 1979.
  • Rohini: India’s third satellite, launched in 1980.
  • INSAT: A series of geostationary satellites for telecommunications and meteorology.
  • IRS: A series of remote sensing satellites.
  • Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV): A four-stage rocket capable of launching satellites into low Earth orbit.
  • Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV): A three-stage rocket capable of launching satellites into geostationary orbit.
  • Chandrayaan-1: India’s first lunar probe, launched in 2008.
  • Mangalyaan: India’s first Mars orbiter, launched in 2013.
  • GSAT-19: India’s heaviest satellite, launched in 2017.
  • IRNSS: A constellation of seven satellites for navigation.
  • Aditya-L1: India’s first solar mission, launched in 2018.
  • Chandrayaan-2: India’s second lunar mission, launched in 2019.
  • Vikram 1: India’s first lunar lander, which attempted to land on the Moon in 2019 but failed.
  • PSLV-C51: A PSLV rocket that launched the GSAT-30 satellite in 2020.
  • GSLV-F10: A GSLV rocket that launched the EOS-03 satellite in 2020.
  • PSLV-C52: A PSLV rocket that launched the Amazonia-1 satellite in 2021.
  • GSLV-F11: A GSLV rocket that launched the GSAT-29 satellite in 2021.
  • PSLV-C53: A PSLV rocket that launched the DS-EO satellite in 2022.
  • GSLV-F12: A GSLV rocket that launched the GSAT-20 satellite in 2022.

These are just some of the most important missions and programmes of the DoS and ISRO. The organization has a long and successful history of space exploration, and it continues to make significant contributions to the field.

The DoS and ISRO are also involved in a number of other activities, including:

  • Space Education and training: The DoS and ISRO offer a number of space education and training programs for students and professionals.
  • Space technology development: The DoS and ISRO are involved in the development of new space technologies, such as satellites, rockets, and launch vehicles.
  • Space applications: The DoS and ISRO use space technology for a variety of applications, such as telecommunications, meteorology, and remote sensing.
  • Space science: The DoS and ISRO are involved in space science research, such as the study of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets.

The DoS and ISRO are playing a major role in the development of space technology and space exploration in India. They have made significant contributions to the field, and they continue to make progress in a number of areas.

Here are some frequently asked questions and short answers about the Department of Space and Indian Space Research Organization:

  • What is the Department of Space?
    The Department of Space (DoS) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for the implementation of the national space programme. It was established in 1972 with the objective of promoting and coordinating space research and development activities in the country.

  • What is the Indian Space Research Organization?
    The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is the national space agency of India. It was established in 1969 with the objective of developing space technology and applications for the benefit of the country.

  • What are the important missions and programmes of the Department of Space and ISRO?
    Some of the important missions and programmes of the Department of Space and ISRO include:

  • The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) series of satellites, which are used for remote sensing of the Earth’s surface.

  • The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) series of satellites, which are used for telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and disaster management.
  • The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) launch vehicles, which are used to launch satellites into orbit.

  • The Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan missions, which were India’s first missions to the Moon and Mars, respectively.

  • What are the benefits of space technology?
    Space technology has a wide range of benefits, including:

  • Remote sensing of the Earth’s surface for land use planning, agriculture, forestry, and disaster management.

  • Telecommunications, broadcasting, and meteorology.
  • Navigation and positioning.
  • Earth observation and environmental monitoring.

  • Space science and exploration.

  • What are the challenges of space exploration?
    Space exploration is a challenging endeavor due to the harsh environment of space, the high cost of space missions, and the long distances involved. However, the rewards of space exploration are great, including new knowledge about the universe and the potential for new technologies.

  • What is the future of space exploration?
    The future of space exploration is bright. With the development of new technologies, such as reusable launch vehicles and in-situ resource utilization, space exploration will become more affordable and accessible. This will allow us to explore more of The Solar System and beyond.

The Department of Space (DoS) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for civilian space activities. It was established in 1972 with the objective of promoting the development and use of space science and technology for national development. The DoS is headed by the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Space.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the national space agency of India. It was established in 1969 with the objective of developing space technology and its applications for national development. ISRO is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka.

ISRO has successfully launched several satellites and interplanetary probes. It has also developed a number of launch vehicles, including the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), and the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

ISRO’s major missions and programmes include:

  • The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) programme, which is a series of satellites for remote sensing of the Earth.
  • The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) programme, which is a series of satellites for telecommunications, broadcasting, and meteorology.
  • The GSAT programme, which is a series of satellites for communication, navigation, and broadcasting.
  • The Chandrayaan-1 mission, which was India’s first lunar mission.
  • The Mangalyaan mission, which was India’s first Mars mission.
  • The Aditya-1 mission, which is a solar mission.
  • The Gaganyaan mission, which is India’s first human spaceflight mission.

Here are some MCQs on the topics of Important missions and programmes of Department of Space and Indian Space Research Organization:

  1. Which of the following is not a mission of ISRO?
    (A) Chandrayaan-1
    (B) Mangalyaan
    (C) Aditya-1
    (D) Gaganyaan

  2. Which of the following is not a launch vehicle of ISRO?
    (A) PSLV
    (B) GSLV
    (C) SSLV
    (D) Ariane 5

  3. Which of the following is not a satellite of ISRO?
    (A) IRS
    (B) INSAT
    (C) GSAT
    (D) ExoMars

  4. Which of the following is the objective of the Department of Space?
    (A) To promote the development and use of space science and technology for national development.
    (B) To develop space technology and its applications for national development.
    (C) To launch satellites and interplanetary probes.
    (D) To develop launch vehicles.

  5. Which of the following is the headquarters of ISRO?
    (A) Bangalore
    (B) Hyderabad
    (C) Chennai
    (D) New Delhi

The answers to the MCQs are:
1. (D)
2. (D)
3. (D)
4. (A)
5. (A)