Space Technology- Indian space programs

<<–2/”>a >a href=”https://exam.pscnotes.com/space-technology/”>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.,

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the Indian government’s civilian space agency. It is headquartered in Bangalore, India. ISRO was founded in 1969, and has since become one of the world’s leading space agencies.

ISRO has launched a number of satellites into orbit, including the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe, the Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, and the GSAT-10 communications satellite. ISRO is also developing a number of new technologies, including a reusable launch vehicle and a human spaceflight program.

ISRO’s achievements have been recognized internationally. In 2014, ISRO was awarded the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Kalinga Prize for the popularization of science. In 2017, ISRO was awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development by the Indian government.

ISRO’s success is due to a number of factors, including its talented scientists and engineers, its well-developed Infrastructure-2/”>INFRASTRUCTURE, and its strong commitment to research and development. ISRO is a shining example of what can be achieved when a country invests in science and technology.

Here are some of ISRO’s most notable achievements:

In 1975, ISRO launched the Aryabhatta satellite, making India the sixth country in the world to do so.
In 1980, ISRO launched the Rohini satellite, which was the first satellite to be launched from a fully indigenous launch vehicle.
In 1994, ISRO launched the INSAT-1A satellite, which was the first Indian geostationary satellite.
In 2008, ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe, which was the first Indian spacecraft to orbit the Moon.
In 2013, ISRO launched the Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, which was the first Indian spacecraft to orbit Mars.
In 2017, ISRO launched the GSAT-10 communications satellite, which is the heaviest satellite ever launched by India.

ISRO is currently working on a number of ambitious projects, including a reusable launch vehicle, a human spaceflight program, and a deep-space exploration program. ISRO is also working on developing new technologies for the use in agriculture, disaster management, and healthcare.

ISRO is a world-class space agency that has made significant contributions to the field of space exploration. ISRO’s achievements are a source of pride for India, and they have helped to put India on the map as a major player in the space race.

Here are some of the challenges that ISRO faces:

ISRO is facing competition from other space agencies, such as NASA and the European Space Agency.
ISRO is facing budget constraints.
ISRO is facing the challenge of developing new technologies.
ISRO is facing the challenge of launching satellites into orbit.

Despite these challenges, ISRO is committed to achieving its goals. ISRO is confident that it will be able to overcome these challenges and continue to make significant contributions to the field of space exploration.

Here are some frequently asked questions about space technology and Indian space programs, along with short answers:

What is space technology?
Space technology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the development of spacecraft, satellites, and other equipment for use in space.
What are the benefits of space technology?
Space technology has many benefits, including:
Improved communications: Satellites are used to provide telecommunications services, such as television, radio, and telephone.
Weather forecasting: Satellites are used to monitor weather patterns and provide early warning of severe weather events.
Navigation: Satellites are used to provide navigation services, such as GPS.
Earth observation: Satellites are used to monitor the Earth’s environment, including its land, Oceans, and Atmosphere.
Scientific research: Satellites are used to conduct scientific research, such as studying The Solar System and the universe.
What are some of the challenges of space technology?
Some of the challenges of space technology include:
The high cost of developing and launching spacecraft.
The harsh environment of space, which can damage spacecraft and equipment.
The long distances involved in space travel, which can make it difficult to communicate with and control spacecraft.
What are some of the most important achievements in space technology?
Some of the most important achievements in space technology include:
The launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957.
The landing of the first humans on the Moon in 1969.
The construction of the International Space Station, which began in 1998.
What is the Indian space program?
The Indian space program is a civilian space program that is managed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The program was established in 1969 with the goal of developing space technology for peaceful purposes.
What are some of the achievements of the Indian space program?
Some of the achievements of the Indian space program include:
The launch of the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975.
The launch of the first Indian astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, into space in 1984.
The construction of the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series, which is used for Earth observation.
The launch of the Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013, which was the first successful interplanetary mission by an Asian country.
What are some of the challenges facing the Indian space program?
Some of the challenges facing the Indian space program include:
The high cost of developing and launching spacecraft.
The harsh environment of space, which can damage spacecraft and equipment.
The long distances involved in space travel, which can make it difficult to communicate with and control spacecraft.
What are the future goals of the Indian space program?
The future goals of the Indian space program include:
Developing a reusable launch vehicle.
Sending a human to the Moon.
Establishing a permanent human presence in space.

Sure, here are some MCQs on space technology without mentioning the topic Space Technology- Indian space programs:

Which of the following is not a type of space Telescope?
(A) Optical telescope
(B) Radio telescope
(C) X-ray telescope
(D) Gamma-ray telescope
The first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth was called:
(A) Sputnik 1
(B) Explorer 1
(C) Luna 1
(D) Vostok 1
The first person to walk on the Moon was:
(A) Neil Armstrong
(B) Buzz Aldrin
(C) Michael Collins
(D) Yuri Gagarin
The International Space Station is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Mars rover Curiosity is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft are:
(A) Space shuttles
(B) Space stations
(C) Space probes
(D) Space telescopes
The New Horizons spacecraft is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Dawn spacecraft is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Rosetta spacecraft is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Philae lander is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Hayabusa spacecraft is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The Mars 2020 rover is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is a:
(A) Space shuttle
(B) Space station
(C) Space probe
(D) Space telescope