On a New Orbit the Space Progamme in India Started Off Modestly in the 1960S, but Has Taken Off on an Exciting Journey of Late

Home , GSLV Mark III, Rohini (rocket family)

Space On a new Orbit The space progamme in India started off modestly in the 1960s, but has taken off on an exciting journey of late. The recent launch of yet another satellite, writes Roshesh. P, establishes India’s emergence as a signiﬁ cant space and satellite power DPA

40 NDIA steps across the threshold of its 60th year of Independence, ﬁ rmly securing another milestone in Iadvancing its space technology. The September launch of the GSLV-F04 put into orbit the Insat 4CR satellite, not just taking India’s satellite launching capabilities a notch higher in the world market, but also augmenting the country’s booming television and telecommunica- tion sectors. The Insat 4CR satellite will for the next 10 years provide direct-to-home television broadcasting, video picture transmis- sions and digital satellite news-gathering services from its geo-stationary orbit. The launch is also a pointer to India’s ambition to be a signiﬁ cant player in the race for the $2.5 billion global satellite launch business. Even as it celebrates the success of the GSLV-F04, the premiere national space agency — the Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) — is preparing the DPA launch of the fi rst GSLV-Mark III series. SCANNING THE SKIES: For ISRO, 2007 has been a resounding success in determining its capabilities in high-end technologies Slated for launch in early 2009, it will arm ISRO with the competence to launch four- domestic satellite by an indigenously built country to access super-specialty medical tonne payloads into geo-transfer orbit. rocket in 1980, India has had an exciting care. Around 230 hospitals are on this For ISRO, 2007 has been a resounding journey into space over the last two telemedicine network, bringing together success in determining its capabilities in decades. India aims at tripling its current 190 small clinics in remote rural areas in high end and critical technologies. “ISRO fi ve-year space budget to nearly $12 touch with medical experts in 40 super- in fact has managed around two launches billion by 2012, in order to launch more specialty hospitals in major cities. every year in the last fi ve years. Now it satellites and rockets for local and foreign Edusat, launched in 2004, was the will be more than four a year,” explains G. customers. The country is also busy fi rst thematic satellite dedicated to educa- Madhavan Nair, chairman of the premier preparing the ground to send an astronaut tional services. It took one-way TV broad- space body. into space in the next decade. cast, interactive TV, video conferencing, The Space Capsule Recovery Experi- Launched in the 1980s, Insat is the computer conferencing and web-based ment in 2007 was a triumph, marking largest domestic communication satel- instructions to more than 10,000 class- the beginning of a new era for the Indian lite system in the Asia-Pacifi c region, rooms all over the country. space programme. Scientists can now providing services in telecommunications, With the moon being the most tanta- have experiments conducted in arduous television broadcasting, meteorology, and lising dream mission for any country, micro gravity environments of space disaster warning. Meteorological data India has now embarked on its own and be assured that the samples will from Insat is used for weather forecasting — Chandrayaan-1, set for launch in early land safely back on earth. It also bears and specially designed disaster warning 2008. ISRO plans to carry out high-resolu- testimony to the fact that India is now receivers have been installed in vulnerable tion mapping of the moon, creating a spearheading vital technologies like aero- coastal areas for direct transmission of three-dimensional atlas of regions that thermodynamics, recovery through decel- warnings against disasters like cyclones. are of scientifi c interest. The spacecraft eration and fl oatation systems, navigation, There have been several innovative will carry six Indian scientifi c instruments, guidance and control. These technologies applications of the Insat system in a besides two from America’s National will further fi nd applications in re-recover- country with an expansive demographic Aeronautics and Space Administration able and reusable launch vehicles, as well spread. ISRO has always stressed on (NASA), three instruments from the as in future manned space missions. shared community use of its advanced European Space Agency and another from The Indian space programme started technologies. It is only in recent years that the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. modestly in the 1960s with the launching the commercial potential of its technolo- A Deep Space Network (DSN) station of small sounding rockets to investigate gies are being tapped and enhanced. is being completed about 40 km from the ionosphere. Space-based telemedicine has enabled Bangalore, consisting of fully steerable With its fi rst successful launch of a people in the remotest corners of the 18m and 32m diameter antennas, to

41 SPACE

track Chandrayaan-1 as well as for future EVOLVING INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS missions. “There’s global interest in exploring ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair The thrust areas of applications will the moon,” observed Roddam Narasimha, says the most signifi cant aspect of the include expansion and growth of tele- professor emeritus at the research body Indian space programme has been to education, telemedicine and village National Institute of Advanced Studies. “In realise the vision of achieving self-reliant resource centres management with the the last few years, ISRO has built a robust capability in building a variety of satellites, involvement of other central and state launch capability. They can now afford to orbit them with indigenous rockets and ministries and NGOs.” think of a lunar mission without looking at evolve innovative applications to benefi t In the longer run, over the next how much money is being spent.” society. two decades, he also foresees that ISRO is working to develop an indig- “Today, Indian space systems like there could be a major thrust towards enous manned space vehicle in about Insat for communication, television permanent habitation in space and on eight years. It will be designed to carry broadcasting, meteorology and disaster some of the nearest objects like moon a two-member crew to low earth orbit. warning and the Indian Remote Sensing and Mars. “Already, efforts towards A manned mission is expected to cost satellite (IRS) for resources monitoring these possibilities have begun and more than $2.5 billion and will be under- and management are playing a major role most of the space agencies (of various taken once approved by the government, in the national developmental tasks,” he countries) have a framework developed according to ISRO chairman Nair. The explains. “The major emphasis in satellite to achieve this. Low cost access to organisation ultimately hopes to develop a ommunications will be towards meeting space and more reliable platforms for fully autonomous manned space vehicle, the growing demand for transponders, space exploration could be realised,” to be launched by the GSLV (geosynchro- continuous improvement in technology. says the ISRO chief. nous satellite launch vehicle). Manned space programme studies have been going on for the past few years toward establishing an indigenous satel- and hardware in the international market. at ISRO and an overview of the concept lite navigation system. In fact this commercial wing raked in developed was presented to 80 senior The space agency has also initiated revenues of over $100 million in 2005-06. scientists from across the country in a GPS and GEO Augmented Navigation These fi gures are expected to cross the November 2006, says Nair. system called Gagan with the Airport $125 million mark this year. The space agency’s major emphasis Authority of India to enhance accuracy of India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in the coming years will be to meet air navigation and therefore, safety, in the (PSLV-C8) successfully launched AGILE, the growing demand for transponders, country. a satellite of the Italian Space Agency, increasing the capacity to about 500, from Gagan is also expected to provide in April 2007 under a commercial agree- the current 200. satellite-based navigation services in the ment. Recently, ISRO inked a pact with a Scientists at ISRO are also working to Asia Pacifi c region. As part of advanced European company for joint development produce an Indian Regional Navigational technology initiatives in the area of air- of communication satellites for the inter- Satellite System (IRNSS) – a constellation breathing propulsion, a stable supersonic national market. of seven satellites – to provide naviga- combustion has been demonstrated for ISRO’s launch contracts are competi- tion and timing services over the Indian nearly seven seconds with inlet air at tively priced and with the launch of GSLV- subcontinent, marking another step Mach-six. This takes the country on par MkIII, these rates could be slashed by with countries like Russia, China, Japan, half. and Australia that are in the ground test “Chandrayaan-1 will be followed by phase; the USA alone has conducted an a multi-wavelength astronomy satellite, There have been in-fl ight demonstration of this technology Astrosat, and a climatic research satellite so far. Megha-Tropiques. These missions will be several innovative ISRO is now planning to use this followed by Chandrayaan-2 and Astrosat- technology to fl ight test an integrated 2 for pursuing scientifi c exploration,” says applications of Scramjet propulsion system to demon- Madhavan Nair, stressing on ISRO’s goals strate air intake combustion and nozzle, toward further space discoveries. the Insat system using its Rohini Sounding Rocket. A new generation of micro satellites in a country with While the primary objective of ISRO has that pack in a lot more in less than 100 been to make sure that space technology kg is also part of the agency’s plan toward an expansive fi nds applications that are benefi cial to making space systems more compact. Indian society, it has evolved a step ahead. With emphasis on understanding the demographic Tapping its technological know-how, it has origin and evolution of the solar system, of late begun to reap commercial benefi ts technology development could be initi- spread. too. Antrix Corporation Ltd was expressly ated in the coming years towards explora- created in 1992 to market space services tion of Mars, asteroids and comets.