New Delhi/Bangalore, IANS, 29 October 2014

India to launch heavier satellite from Kourou Dec 4

Bangalore, Oct 29 (IANS) India will launch Dec 4 a heavier and advanced communication satellite (GSAT-16) with 48 transponders on board an European rocket from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, South America, a senior space agency official said Wednesday.

“We are getting ready to launch GSAT-16 Dec 4 on an Ariane-5 rocket of the European space agency Arianespace with 48 transponders, including 24 in C band, 12 in Ku band and 12 in extended C-band,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellite centre director S. Shiva Kumar told reporters here.

The 3.1-tonne GSAT-16 will be placed at 55 degrees east over India in the geo-stationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the earth.

The satellite is the 11th among GSAT series and 24th geo-stationary communication satellite with a lifespan of 12 years.

The transponders, which receive and transmit radio signals at high frequency (36MHz), will be used for various communication services, including VSATs (very small aperture terminals), television broadcasting, civil aviation and back-up.

“The transponders will be used by private industry and state-run agencies for their diverse communication needs,” Kumar said.

As GSAT-16 will be launched from an overseas spaceport (Kourou) using a procured rocket, the space agency has insured it for Rs.865 crore.

“GSAT-16 will replace the INSAT-3E, which expired in April,” Kumar added.

INSAT-3E was also launched from Kourou onboard Ariane-5G Sep 29, 2003.

With a total of 168 transponders in the C, extended C and Ku-bands, the INSAT and GSAT series of satellites provide services to telecom, television broadcasting, weather forecasting, disaster warning and search and rescue operations.

The space agency, however, launched GSAT-14 from its spaceport Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai, January 5, 2014, using its heavy rocket — Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with an indigenous cryogenic engine.

The nearly two-tonne GSAT-14, with six extended C-band and Ku-bandAtransponders and two Ka-band beacons is being used for telemedicine and tele-education services.

India plans second Mars mission in 2018

Riding on the recent success of its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India plans to revisit the planet in 2018, possibly with a lander and rover to conduct more experiments, a space official said Wednesday.

“We plan to launch a second mission to Mars in 2018, probably with a lander and rover, to conduct more experiments for which we have to develop new technologies,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellite centre director S. Shiva Kumar told reporters here.

The state-run space agency successfully inserted its spacecraft (MOM) Sep 24 in the Martian orbit with five scientific instruments to search for life-sustaining elements on the planet over nine months after it was launched Nov 5, 2013 from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and about 90 km northeast of Chennai.

“We will be able to take the Mars-2 mission after launching the second mission to the moon (Chandrayaan-2) in 2016 with our own lander and rover, which will help us develop a separate lander and rover for the red planet,” Kumar said, ahead of a three-day ‘Engineers Conclave-2014’ by the space agency with the Indian National Academy of Engineering here.

As missions to Mars can be launched only at an interval of two years, the space agency is looking for a slot in 2018 and by which it hopes to have a heavy rocket fully operational to carry a lander and rover with scientific experiments as additional payloads.

“We hope to have fully operational heavy rockets over the next two-three years for carrying communication satellites weighting two-three tonnes into the geo-stationary orbits around the earth,” Kumar said.

The space agency has developed the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark I-III) with indigenous cryogenic engine to launch heavier satellites weighing more than two tonnes and three tonnes into the geo-orbit at 36,000 km above Earth.

“GSLV-Mark I-III will be used for Chandrayaan-2, which will have heavier payload than its predecessor (Chandrayaan-1) and later for Mars-2 mission, as both will have a lander and rover in addition to scientific experiments,” he said.

The space agency launched Jan 5 a GSLV rocket with an indigenous cryogenic engine from the spaceport and placed a communication satellite (Gsat-14) in the geo-stationary orbit.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched Oct 22, 2008, using a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11), a four-stage rocket.

The 475 kg Mars Orbiter was also launched onboard a polar rocket.

The GSLV-Mark III’s maiden launch is likely to be in December.

India to acquire polar research vessel

Giving a boost to India’s scientific research, the government Wednesday approved the acquisition of a polar research vessel for Rs.10.51 billion.

The approval was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official release said here.

The vehicle, which is an ice-breaker and research-cum-supply vessel, will be acquired within 34 months by the ministry of earth sciences.

The ministry felt it necessary to have the country’s own polar research vessel considering the need to sustain two Indian research bases in Antarctica, and dovetail research initiatives in the Southern Ocean domain with those in the proximal regions of the Antarctic continent, the release said.

Such a vessel, it is envisaged, can perform not only dual functions, research and logistics, in the polar region but also serve as a platform for scientists to undertake research in the ocean realm, including the Southern Ocean.

Indian Antarctic expeditions have been undertaken every year onboard ice-class vessels and ice-breakers chartered from the international market.

India readies for full-fledged test of indigenous ICB

India is readying for the full-fledged test-firing from a canister of an indigenous long-range missile that carries a one-tonne nuclear warhead and can target cities as far as Beijing.

The previous two launches of the 5,000 km Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with dummy warheads have been from open mobile launchers. The canisterised version has a much longer shelf-life, with the container being made of special steel that absorbs the blast of the takeoff.

“The test will happen by the end of November or early December. It will be another feather in the cap of Indian missile scientists,” an official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that developed the 50-tonne missile told IANS on condition of anonymity.

“We have already successfully fired two dummy missiles, and we are confident that the canister launch will be successful,” the official added. The dummy missiles tested were of exact mass and height as the Agni-5, but without the warhead.

According to the official, in the launch, a gas generator inside the canister ejects the missile up to a height of about 30 metres. A motor is then ignited to fire the missile.

As the launch process happens inside a canister, it takes away the need of a jet deflector on the launcher that is otherwise needed for redirecting the high energy exhaust.

The strength of the surface of the launch pad is not a critical factor either, making it possible to launch the missile from anywhere.

In addition to giving the user more flexibility, a canister-based missile offers the option to launch at a very short notice and with less manpower.

“Canister launch provides the missile a quick reaction stop-and-launch system,” the official said.

“As the missile is sealed in a canister, there is no impact on the outside environment. This protects the missile, and many pre-checks are not needed, making the launch process shorter,” the official added.

The Agni-5 is the most advanced version of the Agni, or Fire, series, part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme that started in the 1960s.

Before this, DRDO scientists successfully conducted from an underwater pontoon the K-15 ballistic missile that will be used to arm the Indian Navy’s submarines.