Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Mars Exploration News .




MARSDAILY
ISRO end year on high note after Mars mission
by Venkatachari Jagannathan
Chennai, India (IANS) Dec 26, 2013


The high point for ISRO came towards the fag end of the year with the successful launch of its Rs.450-crore MOM in November in a copybook style, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL)/rocket.

The successful launch of India's first inter-planetary Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the sending up of India's first navigation satellite midnight, the launch of the Indo-French satellite SARAL, and signing up a couple of satellite launch contracts - all these put Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2013 amongst the select group of space-faring nations on a couple of counts.

The year also saw ISRO deciding to embrace social media like Facebook and Twitter in a major way after tasting success during MOM, and the DMK party making a forceful demand to set up the second rocket launch site in Tamil Nadu.

Fate was kind with ISRO as it was able to avoid a launch disaster by aborting the flight of its heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) hours before the blastoff as one of its fuel tanks started leaking in August.

ISRO is likely to open 2014 by flying the aborted GSLV rocket, powered by India's own cryogenic engine, to put into orbit communication satellite GSAT-14.

The high point for ISRO came towards the fag end of the year with the successful launch of its Rs.450-crore MOM in November in a copybook style, using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL)/rocket.

Subsequently, ISRO also successfully placed the 1,337-kg orbiter in the Mars Transfer Trajectory. The spacecraft carries five scientific instruments - Mars Colour Camera, Methane Sensor, Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, Lyman Alpha Photometer, and Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser.

India's Mars mission has two-fold objective - technological and scientific.

The technological objectives include design and realisation of Mars orbiter with a capability to survive and perform Earth-bound manoeuvres, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion/capture, and on-orbit phase around Mars.

It will also enable deep space communication, navigation, mission planning and management and incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.

The scientific mission will be to explore the Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments.

India became the first Asian country and the fourth nation in the world to leap into the inter-planetary space with its mission to Mars, about 400 million km (250 million miles) from earth.

So far, only Russia, the US and the European Space Agency (ESA) have undertaken such missions to Mars.

One of the notable aspects of India's Mars mission is that the idea was conceived and executed in 15 months on a shoe-string budget.

Interestingly, the US also launched another Mars mission MAVEN after India.

ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan told IANS the American Atlas V rocket has a payload capacity of 13 tonnes (13,000 kg) to GTO (geo-transfer orbit) while the PSLV-XL capacity is only around 1,300 kg.

"The American satellite, weighing around 2,500 kg, carries around 65 kg payload and about 1,600 kg fuel. Our Orbiter weighing around 1,350 kg has a payload of just 15 kg and fuel of around 850 kg," he added.

What he did not compare is the cost incurred in both the missions. While India will be spending around $72 million, the US budget is $671 million.

In 2013, ISRO launched satellites comprising its own and also others for a fee.

ISRO began its rocket-satellite launches in February placing in orbit seven satellites - the Indo-French satellite SARAL, the world's first smart phone-operated nano satellite, a space telescope satellite and four other foreign satellites.

In July, ISRO launched the first of the seven satellites planned under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) - a regional navigational system developed by India designed to provide accurate position information service to users within the country and up to 1,500 km from the nation's boundary line.

The system is similar to the global positioning system (GPS) of the US, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe, China's Beidou or the Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System.

July saw the launch of weather satellite INSAT-3D by Ariane-5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.

In September, ISRO launched the country's first "military"/communication satellite GSAT-7 by Ariance-5 rocket to improve maritime communications among the Indian Navy's warships.

On the contracts for launch of foreign satellites, Radhakrishnan said the space agency would soon launch German, French, British and Canadian satellites.

He said ISRO would launch EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Programme) satellite belonging to Germany. This apart, ISRO will be launching French satellite SPOT-7 during the first quarter of 2014.

According to him, there will be four more small foreign satellites that would piggy back on SPOT-7.

Radhakrishnan said discussions were held with British agencies for launching three satellites each weighing around 300 kg and also to launch a set of Canadian satellites.

On augmenting ISRO's launch infrastructure, Radhakrishnan said a study is being undertaken on constructing a third launch pad at Sriharikota capable of launching upgraded GSLV Mark III.

ISRO has decided to construct a new rocket assembly building in order to increase the frequency of rocket/satellite launches and use the existing two launch pads effectively.

At present, ISRO has two rocket assembly facilities and two launch pads at its Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

It needs over a month's time to ready a launch pad after each rocket blast-off.

During the 12th Plan Period (2012-17), the Indian space agency has planned 58 missions for realisation -- 33 satellite missions and 25 launch vehicle missions (17 PSLV, six GSLV Mark II missions and two GSLV Mark III, including the experimental one

Source: Indo-Asia News Service

.


Related Links
ISRO
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








MARSDAILY
NASA poised to launch Mars atmosphere probe
Washington (AFP) Nov 16, 2013
What happened to the water on Mars? How did the Red Planet's atmosphere become so thin over time? NASA's MAVEN probe is scheduled to launch Monday on a mission to find out. The unmanned spacecraft aims to orbit Mars from a high altitude, studying its atmosphere for clues on how the Sun may have influenced gas to escape from the possibly life-bearing planet billions of years ago. The prob ... read more


MARSDAILY
China's moon rover "sleeps" through lunar night

Will the Moon be carved-up?

NASA Releases New Earthrise Simulation Video

Most Chang'e-3 science tools activated

MARSDAILY
China launches communications satellite for Bolivia

China's moon rover continues lunar survey after photographing lander

China's Yutu "naps", awakens and explores

Deep space monitoring station abroad imperative

MARSDAILY
Station's Replacement Pump Successfully Restarted

Russian cosmonauts Kotov and Ryazansky complete ISS spacewalk

Spacewalk ends, station fix a success

Spacewalk ends, ISS fix a success

MARSDAILY
The Sounds of New Horizons

On the Path to Pluto, 5 AU and Closing

SwRI study finds that Pluto satellites' orbital ballet may hint of long-ago collisions

Archival Hubble Images Reveal Neptune's "Lost" Inner Moon

MARSDAILY
Clay-Like Minerals Found on Icy Crust of Europa

Cassini Spacecraft Obtains Best Views of Saturn Hexagon

Model Suggests Ocean Currents Shape Europa's Icy Shell in Ways Critical for Potential Habitats

The Bright Vortex Off Saturn Way

MARSDAILY
NASA and JAXA Announce Launch Date for Global Precipitation Satellite

NASA Carbon Sleuth Gets Simulated Taste of Space

Rainfall satellite will aid in environmental, weather science

Van Allen Probes Shed Light on Decades-old Mystery

MARSDAILY
Space trips open to Chinese travelers

Work on NASA's New Orion Spacecraft Progresses as Engineers Pivot to 2014

Boeing Completes Mission Control Center Interface Test

Official: Iran to Send Astronaut into Space in 2024

MARSDAILY
Using an Atmosphere to Weigh a Planet

Gaia Mission Could Help Map Exoplanets

First detection of a predicted unseen exoplanet

Astronomers solve temperature mystery of planetary atmospheres




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement