Space in India

Space technology has allowed India to move into a grouping of advanced nations, a place previously occupied only by more-developed nations. In recent years, India has concentrated much of its space development work on complex applications satellites and more powerful rockets. Our nation's main interests are towards satellites for remote sensing and communications- used for weather pictures, disaster warnings and feeds to television and radio stations at the ground-level.

Recent Developments

Gaganyaan Mission

  • Gaganyaan Mission will be India’s first manned space mission. India is planning to send three humans into space by 2022 for a period of 5-7 days under this mission. Through this mission, it will be possible to physically enquire about the planet than merely to analyze the satellite photographs.
  • India will be fourth nation in the world after USA, Russia and China to launch a human spaceflight mission.
  • The crew of three astronauts (named as Gaganyatris) will conduct experiments on microgravity in space. They will be selected jointly by Indian Air Force (IAF) and ISRO after which they will undergo training for two-three years.
  • GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, having necessary payload capability (higher payload capacity than the similarly named GSLV) will be used to launch Gaganyaan.

Gaganyaan Project

  • ISRO has set up a Human Space Flight Center (HSFC) in Bengaluru for the advancement of this Project.

CARTOSAT-2

  • Cartosat-2 Series Satellite is the primary satellite carried by PSLV-C40. This remote sensing satellite is similar in configuration to earlier satellites in the series and is intended to augment data services to the users.
  • The imagery sent by satellite will be useful for cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management like road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, change detection to bring out geographical and manmade features and various other Land Information System (LIS) as well as Geographical Information System (GIS) applications- it is a dedicated satellite for defence forces.

Saraswati Supercluster

  • A group of Indian astronomers have discovered a massive supercluster of galaxies, and have named it Saraswati.
  • The supercluster is about 4 billion light years away and spreads over a “great wall” about 600 million light years across. This makes it one of the largest superclusters to be discovered and also the furthest.
  • This is the first time that we have seen a supercluster that is so far away. Even the Shapley is about 8-10 times closer; as per IUCAA.

ADITYA-L1

  • Aditya-1 was meant to observe only the solar corona (outer layers of the Sun). It has a temperature of more than a million degree Kelvin which is much higher than the solar disc temperature of around 6000K.
  • “Aditya-L1 mission” will be inserted in a halo orbit around the L1, which is 1.5 million km from the Earth.The satellite carries additional six payloads with enhanced science scope and objectives.
  • Aditya-L1 can provide observations of Sun’s Photosphere (soft and hard X-ray), Chromosphere (UV) and corona (Visible and NIR).
  • The project is approved and the satellite will be launched during 2019 – 2020 timeframe by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota.

India’s Deep Ocean Mission

  • India’s own Union of Earth Sciences Ministry is setting up another leg in deep-sea exploration with its recent “Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)”; which aims to explore the depths of the ocean for the possibilities of deep-sea mining.
  • Two key projects planned under “DOM” include:
    • A desalination plant, powered by tidal energy; and
    • A submersible vehicle that can explore depths of at least 6,000 meters.

GSLV F-10/ CHANDRAYAAN-2

  • Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1 which is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV-MKIII).
  • The Chandrayaan-2 would orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote sensing the moon. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.

Space in India

Evolution of Indian Space Programme

  • The space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960’s, when applications using satellites were in experimental stages even in the United States.
  • As a first step, Department of Atomic Energy formed the INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) under the leadership of Dr. Sarabhai and Dr. Ramanathan in 1962.
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was later formed on August 15, 1969. The prime objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national needs. It is one of the six largest space agencies in the world.
  • The Department of Space (DOS) and the Space Commission were set up in 1972 and ISRO was brought under DOS on June 1, 1972.
  • Since its inception, the Indian space programme has been well orchestrated and had three distinct elements such as, satellites for communication and remote sensing, the space transportation system and application programmes.
  • Two major operational systems have been established – the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) for telecommunication, television broadcasting, and meteorological services and the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) for monitoring and management of natural resources and Disaster Management Support.

Major Landmarks

  • INSAT System: INSAT system has grown as one of the largest domestic communications satellite constellations in the Asian region. In the last decade, INSAT system has been augmented with the launch of 12 INSAT/GSAT communication satellites. A vital application of INSAT system in the last decade has been in the field of education with the launch of thematic satellite EDUSAT in 2004. EDUSAT was specially designed to spread education (formal and informal) at all levels and regions of the country. INSAT system was also instrumental in taking the benefits of space technology to the doorsteps of common man through the initiatives of Tele-medicine and Village Resource Centres in the country.
  • PSLV – A Workhorse Launch Vehicle: India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), with a proven track record of 24 successful flights, has provided the country the crucial autonomy in ‘access to space’. The versatile vehicle PSLV has been successfully used for launching lighter communication and navigation satellites into GTO, apart from launching remote sensing satellites to Low Earth Orbit and Interplanetary missions. PSLV, to its credit, has the successful launch of India’s first Inter-planetary Mission to Mars in November 2013 as well India’s first Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-1 earlier in October 2008.
  • India’s Mission to Moon: India’s maiden moon exploration mission ‘Chandrayaan-1’ was launched in October 2008 for mapping the lunar surface with high resolution remote sensing and study the chemical and mineralogical composition.
  • Space Capsule Recovery:Leap-froging in Indian Launch Vehicle Technology was achieved in 2007 through the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment Mission SRE-1 which established India’s technological capability to recover an orbiting satellite with precise re-entry trajectories.
  • Indian Cryogenic Engine & Stage: The successful flight testing of indigenous cryogenic stage onboard GSLV-D5 Flight on January 5, 2014. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is capable of placing 2 Tonnes class communication satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and India is one among six countries in the world to demonstrate such launch capability to GTO with the use of complex cryogenic technology.
  • Remote Sensing and National Natural Resource Management System: The Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) System, with currently 11 satellites in orbit, is one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation in the world today. It provides inputs for management of natural resources and various developmental projects across the country using space based imagery.
  • Mars Orbiter Mission: The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan is a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was India's first interplanetary mission and ISRO has also become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency. It is the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so in its first attempt. Mars Orbiter Mission is mainly intended to establish the Indian technological capability to reach Martian orbit and to explore Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments.
  • Satellite Navigation: India is pursuing satellite navigation programme to provide position and navigation information for various applications. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is being developed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary. In addition ISRO and Airports Authority of India have jointly taken up GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) programme, as a forerunner for the operational Satellite based Augmentation System (SBAS) over the Indian Airspace. GAGAN payloads are already incorporated in GSAT 8 and GSAT 10 satellites.

Evolution of Launch Vehicles

SLV (Stage I)

  • This was a 4-stage solid-propellant light launcher
  • Intended to reach a height of 500 km and carry a payload of 40 kg.
  • First launch took place in 1979
  • The final launch took place in 1983.

ASLV (Stage II)

  • This was a 5-stage solid propellant rocket
  • Capability of placing a 150 kg satellite into Low Earth Orbit.
  • Started in early 1980s to develop technologies needed for a payload to be placed into a geostationary orbit.
  • Its design similar to SLV.
  • First launch test was held in 1987.

PSLV (Stage III)

  • This was used to launch Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into Sun synchronous orbits.
  • It can also launch small satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
  • PSLV has a four-stage system comprising a combination of solid and liquid-fuelled rocket stages.

GSLV (Stage IV)

  • It was developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites into geostationary orbit.
  • Capable of putting a total payload of up to 5 tons to Low Earth Orbit.
  • It is a three-stage vehicle with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages respectively.

GSLV-Mk III (Most Recent)

  • GSLV-Mk III is a launch vehicle and is capable to launch four tonne satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit.
  • GSLV-Mk III is a three-stage vehicle with a solid propellant strap-on booster motors.
  • The upper stage is cryogenic propellant.
  • The vehicle has a lift-off mass of about 640 tonnes and be 43.43 metres tall.
  • International Co-operation: India’s maiden mission to moon Chandrayaan-1 carried six scientific instruments from USA and Europe. Two satellite missions viz. Megha- Tropiques and SARAL (Satellite with ARgos and ALtica) were realized through India-France Co-operation. YOUTHSAT, a satellite for space weather studies has been realized by young scientists of India and Russia. India has co-operation with Jet Propulsion Laboratory of USA for ground stations support for Mars Orbiter Mission and India and USA together are planning to develop a dual band Radar Imaging Satellite to be launched by 2019-2020.

Launch Vehicle Evolution

  • During the 1960 1970s, India initiated its own launch vehicle program owing to its geopolitical and economic considerations.
  • In the 1960s–1970s, the country developed a sounding rockets programme, and by the 1980s, research had yielded the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 and the more advanced Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), complete with operational supporting infrastructure.
  • ISRO further applied its workforce to the advancement of launch vehicle technology resulting in the creation of PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) technologies.

Significance of Space Programme in Various Fields

  • Telecommunication: India uses its satellites communication network – one of the largest in the world – for applications such as land management, water resources management, natural disaster forecasting, radio networking, weather forecasting, meteorological imaging and computer communication.
  • Resource management: The IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellites have found applications in environmental monitoring, analyzing soil erosion and the impact of soil conservation measures, forestry management, determining land cover for wildlife sanctuaries, delineating groundwater potential zones, flood inundation mapping, drought monitoring, estimating crop acreage and deriving agricultural production estimates, fisheries monitoring, mining and geological applications such as surveying metal and mineral deposits, and urban planning.
  • Military: India’s satellites and satellite launch vehicles have had military spin-offs. The several launch of satellites especially for military field, that provide advantages in combating, navigations, reconnaissance missions, etc.
  • Academic: Institutions like IGNOU and the Indian Institutes of Technology use satellites for scholarly applications. The recent mission of EDUSAT satellites have been launched for the dedicated satellite assistance for proliferating education to the interior parts of hinterland.
  • Telemedicine: ISRO has applied its technology for telemedicine, directly connecting patients in rural areas to medical professionals in urban locations via satellites. Since, high-quality healthcare is not universally available in some of the remote areas of India patients in remote areas are diagnosed and analyzed by doctors in urban centers in real time via video conferencing. The patient is then advised medicine and treatment.
  • Biodiversity Information System: ISRO has also helped implement India’s Biodiversity Information System, completed in October 2002. The program is based on intensive field sampling and mapping using satellite remote sensing and geospatial modeling tools, maps have been made of vegetation cover. This has been put together in a web-enabled database that links gene-level information of plant species with spatial information in a BIOSPEC database of the ecological hot spot regions, namely northeastern India, Western Ghats, Western Himalayas and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • Cartography: The Indian IRS-P5 (CARTOSAT-1) was equipped with high-resolution panchromatic equipment to enable it for cartographic purposes. The CARTOSAT-2 project, equipped with single panchromatic camera that supported scene-specific on-spot images, succeeded the CARTOSAT-1 project.

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