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Indian Space Programme Past Pride & Future Challenges M. Annadurai

ECOGNISING the potential of space as a catalyst for Communication Satellites development, the Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite links are the primary means of connectivity to remote R(ISRO) devised its space programme with the objective of and far-fl ung regions of the country – they are the backup links “Harnessing space technology for national development, while for terrestrial connectivity in the mainland too. Communication pursuing space science research and planetary exploration” satellites play a vital role in today’s digital era focusing on the since its inception and this has remained the fundamental tenet utilisation of satellite communication throughout the country. around which the Indian Space Programme has evolved. The technology has matured substantially over the past three The ISRO Satellite Centre has rolled out 100 satellites decades and is being used on commercial basis for a large capable of providing services in various application domains number of applications. like communication, meteorology, remote sensing, navigation Today, we have 15 operational communication satellites and space science explorations. These satellites are continuing in orbit supporting 285 transponders in C, Ext C, Ku, Ka/ to serve the key sectors of the Indian economy such as socio- Ku and S-band for diverse applications like Television, economic security, sustainable development, disaster risk DTH Broadcasting, Radio Networking, and Mobile Satellite reduction, and governance at large. Services to exploit the unique capabilities in terms of coverage

28 | Science Reporter | May 2018 / /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Cloud cover as seen by INSAT-3D Satellite over India and surrounding areas

and outreach. The prominent users of the transponders are Tele Education projects through EDUSAT were BSNL, Doordarshan, DTH and TV operators, All India exclusively meant for educational services to cater to a wide Radio, Government users, Public Sector units, Private VSAT range of interactive educational delivery modes like one-way operators, banking and fi nancial institutions. TV broadcast, video conferencing, computer conferencing, Communication satellites have been a major catalyst for the web-based instructions, etc. EDUSAT had manifold objectives expansion of television coverage in India. Satellite television – to supplement the curriculum-based teaching, imparting now covers 100% area and 100% population. All of the Satellite effective teacher training, providing access to quality resource TV channels are digitalised. DTH services are becoming persons and new technologies, thus taking education to every popular with the introduction of premium services like HDTV nook and corner of India. services, On-demand movie services, etc. High power Ku-band It also provided connectivity to schools, colleges and higher transponders are used to support DTH television service with levels of education and also supported non-formal education the smallest dish antenna all over India. The free-to-air DTH including development communication. About 15 million service “DD Free Dish of Doordarshan offers 59 TV channels. students got benefi ted through the EDUSAT programme. More than 1404 Satellite Earth Stations of different size Mobile Satellite Services with voice communication are operating in the satellite network of BSNL, government provide communication links especially during disasters when users, closed user group, commercial users and broadcasters other means of communication are broken down. It can be and are being utilised for telecommunications/broadcasting used from any location in India for emergency communication. applications. About 2,74,000 VSATs are being used in star/ Transmit and receive frequencies of the terminal in S-Band mesh connectivity of various sizes and capabilities. could be made between any satellite and local phones. Telecom services, GSM connectivity, ATM/Banking Radio networking through satellites provides reliable high- connectivity through about 19000 IPSTAR VSATs, about 5000 fi delity programme channels for national as well as regional Digital Satellite Phone Terminal (DSPTs) Networks of Bombay networking. At present, 419 All India Radio (AIR) stations and Stock Exchange and a number of other captive government about 607 radio transmitters have been equipped with receive networks are also working with Indian satellites. terminals, and 21 radio channels of AIR are broadcast through The ISRO Telemedicine programme has also been DTH platform of Doordarshan. connecting remote/rural/medical college hospitals and Mobile Units through the Indian satellites to major specialty hospitals As a part of Satellite Aided Search and Rescue programme, in cities and towns. The ISRO Telemedicine network covers India is a member of the international COSPAS-SARSAT various states/regions across the length and breadth of our programme for providing distress alert and position location country. Presently, around 130 Telemedicine nodes are service through satellite system which provides coverage to a operational across the country. large part of the Indian Ocean region rendering distress alert

May 2018 | Science Reporter | 29 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// services to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Using the fi rst generation NavIC Receivers, tracking Sri Lanka and Tanzania. applications were demonstrated in the areas of road transport, railways, shipping, etc. NavIC capabilities have also been Navigation – NAVIC and GAGAN Applications demonstrated for time synchronisation applications in power ISRO has also entered into satellite-based navigation system operations. applications through GAGAN & IRNSS. GAGAN will redefi ne A fi shermen App has been developed using the messaging navigation over the Indian airspace, IRNSS will provide capability of NavIC. A compact NavIC device communicates independent and self-reliant satellite-based navigation services to the fi shermen’s smart phone via Bluetooth the message over the Indian region. information to the App. This App provides position information ISRO and Airports Authority of India have implemented for navigating to the potential fi shing zone, alert messages the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project on rough sea and weather status and warning messages on as a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for the approaching international water boundaries. Indian airspace. The objective of GAGAN to establish, deploy Ruggedised hybrid (NavIC & GPS/GAGAN) receivers and certify satellite-based augmentation system for safety-of- have also been developed and tested on PSLV & GSLV launch life civil aviation applications in India has been successfully vehicles for determining trajectories and the performance was completed. The system is inter-operable with other international found to be satisfactory. SBAS systems and has expansion capability for seamless navigation services across the region. Remote Sensing Applications GAGAN provides the additional accuracy, availability, Earth observation satellites are application-oriented focusing and integrity necessary for all phases of fl ight, from en route towards providing continuity of services in areas like land through approach for all qualifi ed airports within the GAGAN and water resource observation, ocean and atmosphere, service volume. Besides these, they will also provide benefi ts cartography & large-scale mapping, and microwave imaging. beyond aviation to many other user segments such as intelligent Today 15 satellites are in the orbit catering to a wide variety of transportation, maritime, highways, railways, surveying, applications like fl ood mapping, landslide inventory mapping, geodesy, security agencies, telecom industry, personal users agriculture assessment, underground water assessment, urban of position location applications, etc. planning, forest mapping, etc. IRNSS, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System India is one of the most fl ood-prone countries in the world. named as NavIC, is an ISRO initiative to design and develop Floods occur in almost all river basins in India. Both optical an independent satellite-based navigation system to provide and microwave satellite data are being used and information is positioning, navigation and timing services for users over the disseminated to the concerned Central/State agencies. Satellite- Indian region. The system is designed with a constellation based imageries due to their synoptic coverage are the best of seven and a vast network of ground systems tools for assessment of the extent of fl ood-affected areas and operating all the seven satellites. IRNSS-1A to IRNSS-1G are the damage to the infrastructure facilitating the decision makers fully operational designed to provide a position accuracy of to plan for relief operations. better than 10 metres for navigation services. The major natural disaster that affects the coastal regions of India is cyclone. With 7500 kilometres of coastline it is exposed to nearly 10% of the world’s tropical cyclones. Using appropriate models and satellite data, ISRO is supporting the efforts of the India Meteorological Department to predict the tropical cyclone track, intensity and landfall. After the formation of cyclone, its future tracks are regularly monitored and predicted using a mathematical model. These track predictions are regularly posted on the departmental web portal. Such cyclogenesis predictions are being carried out for all the global cyclones and uploaded to the portal. With more than 70 percent of India’s population relying directly or indirectly on agriculture, the impact of agricultural drought on human life and other living beings is

30 | Science Reporter | May 2018 / ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// critical. In India, around 68% of the country is prone to drought rainfall, temperature, wind speed and humidity are important in varying degrees. Coarse resolution satellite data, which meteorological parameters to be monitored on a continuous covers larger areas, is used to monitor the prevalence, severity basis. The meteorological satellites provide a synoptic level and persistence of agricultural drought at state/district/ measurement of weather parameters at frequent intervals. The sub district level during kharif season (June to November). satellite images on cloud cover and various parameters such The operational methodology developed by ISRO over as winds, rainfall, sea surface temperature, etc., have become the years is now institutionalised by setting up a Forecasting an integral part of weather forecasting. Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, ISRO is Remote sensing satellite images also play a vital role in concentrating on upgrading the methodology for monitoring the crop assessment, fi bre crop information system, Antarctic drought and efforts are on to develop early warning systems ice studies, hydrological studies, snow and glacier studies, for agricultural drought. air quality monitoring from space, monitoring of integrated Similarly, active forest fi res are detected from the satellite watershed management programme, National Land use/ images and the information is uploaded daily to the Indian Land cover mapping, Empowering Panchayat Raj Institutions Forest Fire Response and Assessment System website. Spatially, etc. Remote sensing data have been proved to be useful for landslide inventory mapping both at local and regional level. Space Sciences and Planetary Research These maps can be combined with other terrain maps like Besides the operational satellite missions catering to varied slope, slope aspect, slope morphology, rock weathering and applications, ISRO has also been pursuing space science slope-bedding dip relationship in GIS environment to map the missions. Chandrayaan-1, Orbiter Mission and vulnerable areas for landslides. ISRO has prepared Landslide missions were realised and launched successfully with various Hazard Zonation maps (LHZ) along tourist and pilgrim routes scientifi c objectives. of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh, Himalayas and in Chandrayaan-1 Mission was India’s fi rst mission to moon Shillong-Silchar-Aizawl sector. that provide signifi cant scientifi c data about the Moon and Similarly, Remote Sensing Satellite data gives synoptic pioneered in the discovery of water molecules on the lunar overview of the area affected by an earthquake. These data can surface and water ice at the lunar poles. used to create a very large scale base information of the terrain Space science research activities at par with international for carrying out disaster assessment and for relief measures. scenario are continuously being pursued at premier research The Decision Support Centre established at the National laboratories of ISRO/DOS, namely, Physical Research Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO is engaged in Laboratory (PRL), National Atmospheric Research Laboratory monitoring natural disasters. The information generated from (NARL), Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) at VSSC, and Space aero-space systems is disseminated in near real time for aiding Astronomy Group at ISAC. in decision making. The landmark (MOM) has completed Water is a crucial input required to enhance agricultural three years in the Mars orbit and is still providing appreciable production, as most of the small farmers living in arid and semi- data. Based on the scientifi c analysis of data received from arid regions are deprived of irrigation facilities. Over the years, the Mars Orbiter spacecraft, 25 scientific papers have spatial analysis of temporal satellite data has been facilitating the performance evaluation of irrigation commands, reservoir capacity surveys, assessing gaps Discovery of water in potential irrigation and utilization, ground water molecules information, water Resource Information System. etc. Remote Sensing data has also been of signifi cant help in understanding the loss of forest cover, resource depletion, assessment of trees outside forest and planning for sustainable use of forests. Signifi cant information on glaciers (retreat/advance) in the sub- basins of Himalaya has been generated using satellite images at the behest of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. High resolution satellite data and aerial data have been used to generate urban maps containing information such as landuse, geology, soil, settlement locations for 152 cities/towns in the country. The data helps in preparation of Master Plan/Development Plan, Transportation Plan, Urban Site Suitability Analysis, Urban Environmental Planning, etc. The prediction of weather in tropical regions, like India, is a major challenge due to the complex and dynamic nature of the weather system. The day to day changes of weather elements such as

May 2018 | Science Reporter | 31 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// been published so and Government sectors. In future, satellite transponders with far in peer-reviewed high bandwidth specifi cally in Ka, Q, V and even optical bands journals. The Mars will primarily be used in governance function. Colour Camera, The future advanced technology communication satellite one of the scientifi c missions shall provide the required space infrastructure payloads onboard platform for high-speed internet connectivity, bandwidth on MOM, has produced demand, broadband connectivity using multiple spot beams, more than 900 images and broadband VSAT connectivity with higher data rates. so far. The MENCA Similarly, in the navigation sector the focus is more (Mars Exospheric towards providing enhanced accurate navigation services across Neutral Composition all the modes of transportation like Railways, Roadways, Analyser) has dis- Maritime, Surveys besides the aviation sector. Navigation covered the presence services are also planned to facilitate fi shermen with timely of superthermal Mars disc imaged by the Colour Camera in information and alerts near International border crossing in November-2017 Argon atoms. the Ocean/sea. Once our indigenously developed Navigation The discovery Chipset is ready, it will enable IRNSS based services to be has important used by each and every citizen of this country. implications in In the Earth observation front, the major focus is on the context of building high-resolution satellites with sub-meter resolution understanding the imaging, hyper spectral imaging, all weather condition energy disposition microwave imaging capability, 3D Modelling imaging, Geo in the Martian upper imaging capabilities for natural resource management and atmosphere and in meteorological applications. In the meteorological domain, understanding the the focus is more towards providing timely and accurate Martian atmospheric weather predictions with advanced onboard instruments to escape rates. avoid damages and losses occurring due to natural calamities AstroSat India’s in the country. multi wavelength The future challenges of India’s Space Science programme space astronomy include demonstration of soft landing capabilities on the Moon mission completed to carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface Sabaeus quadrangle of Mars imaged on two years in orbit May 27, 2017 at an altitude of 4,406 km. with an indigenous rover in Chandrayaan-2, space docking and is being operated experiments, XPosat Mission to observe cosmic objects, Aditya as an Observatory in Mission to study and understand Solar chromosphere and which observing time is allotted based on the proposals received corona dynamics, Mars Orbiter Mission-2 with enhanced scope from interested researchers and scientists in the country through to understand the Mars planet, mission to Venus for deeper ISRO’s announcements of Opportunity (AO). Ultraviolet understanding of Venus planet, and Large Scale Telescope for Imaging Telescope (UVIT) imaged hot stars, evolved stars, Space Astronomical studies. planetary nebulae, star clusters, star-forming galaxies, active Having gained mastery over spacecraft and launch vehicle galactic nuclei, cluster of galaxies and star formation history in technologies, ISRO is poised to leap-frog into the next step the distant universe. Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) has observed with plans on the anvil for the Human Space programme (HSP) a variety of objects ranging from nearby active stars, X-ray which is beset with challenges galore. binaries, supernova remnants to many types of distant active galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Padma Shri Dr. M. Annadurai is currently Director, ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore. Dr. Future Perspective Annadurai has managed eight INSAT Looking towards the future, ISRO is poised to build and launch Missions, as Mission Director. He 18-20 satellites every year to meet the burgeoning demands of also contributed in the fi rst satellite dedicated to tele-education, Edusat, space-based services in the country. In doing so, the Centre has as its Associate Project Director. evoked greater private sector participation in satellite building Dr. Annadurai has made signifi cant activities to enhance its throughput. Capacity building in the contribution to India’s first Lunar private sector is the need of the hour to enable private players Mission, Chandrayaan-1 as its Project Director. He also realised to deliver “launch on demand” satellites. the launch of the most prestigious Mars Orbiter Mission in record time and successful insertion in the Martian orbit. He has also ISRO is also focusing on building advanced satellite overseen two student satellite projects. technologies catering to newer applications that would aid Apart from the innumerable awards he has been bestowed development of the nation. In the Communication sector, the with, he is also Fellow of the International Academy of focus is towards packaging 80-100 transponders in a satellite Astronautics. Dr. M. Annadurai’s life and works are mentioned that will meet the requirements of various users from private in the 10th Standard Science Text book of Tamil Nadu State.

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