Chapter-2 Space Technology

Space technology is technology for use in travel or activities beyond Earth’s atmosphere, for purposes
such as spaceflight or space exploration. Space technology includes space vehicles such as spacecraft,
satellites, space stations and orbital launch vehicles; deep-space communication; in-space propulsion;
and a wide variety of other technologies including support infrastructure equipment, and procedures.

The space environment is a sufficiently novel environment that attempting to work in it often requires
new tools and techniques. Many common everyday services for terrestrial use such as weather
forecasting, remote sensing, satellite navigation systems, satellite television, and some long-distance
communications systems critically rely on space infrastructure. Of the sciences, astronomy and Earth
science benefit from space technology.[1] New technologies originating with or accelerated by space-
related endeavors are often subsequently exploited in other economic activities.

Milestones in India’s Space Programme

YEAR MILESTONE

Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) formed by the

1962 Department of Atomic Energy and work on establishing Thumba Equatorial
Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) started.

First sounding rocket launched from TERLS

1963 (November 21, 1963).

1965 Space Science & Technology Centre (SSTC) established in Thumba.

1967 Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station set up at Ahmedabad.

1968 TERLS dedicated to the United Nations (February 2, 1968).

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed under Department of Atomic

1969
Energy (August 15, 1969).

Space Commission and Department of Space set up

1972 (June 1, 1972). ISRO brought under DOS.

1972-
Air-borne remote sensing experiments.
1976
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Becomes Government Organisation (April 1, 1975).
1975 ISRO First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, launched (April 19, 1975).

1975-
Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) conducted.
1976

1977 Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (STEP) carried out.

Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earth observations, launched (June 7,

1979).
1979 First Experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini Technology Payload on board
(August 10, 1979). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

Second Experimental launch of SLV-3, Rohini satellite successfully placed in

1980
orbit. (July 18, 1980).

First developmental launch of SLV-3.

RS-D1 placed in orbit (May 31, 1981)

1981 APPLE, an experimental geo-stationary communication satellite successfully

launched (June 19, 1981).
Bhaskara-II launched (November 20, 1981).

INSAT-1A launched (April 10, 1982).

1982 Deactivated on September 6, 1982.

INSAT-1B, launched (August 30, 1983).

1983 Second developmental launch of SLV-3. RS-D2 placed in orbit (April 17, 1983).

1984 Indo-Soviet manned space mission (April 1984).

First developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board (March

1987
24, 1987). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

Launch of first operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A (March 17,
1988).
1988 Second developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-2 on board (July 13, 1988).
Satellite could not be placed in orbit.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
INSAT-1C launched (July 21, 1988). Abandoned in November 1989.

1990 INSAT-1D launched (June 12, 1990).

Second operational Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1B, launched (August 29,

1991
1991).

Third developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C on board (May 20, 1992).
Satellite placed in orbit.
1992 INSAT-2A, the first satellite of the indigenously-built second-generation
INSAT series, launched (July 10, 1992).

INSAT-2B, the second satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched (July 23, 1993).
1993 Developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-1E on board (September 20, 1993).
Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

Fourth developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C2 on board (May 4, 1994).

Satellite placed in orbit.
1994 Second developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P2 on board (October 15, 1994).
Satellite successfully placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit.

INSAT-2C, the third satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched (December 7,

1995).
1995 Launch of third operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1C (December
28, 1995).

Third developmental launch of PSLV with IRS-P3 on board (March 21, 1996).
1996
Satellite placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit.

First operational launch of PSLV with IRS-1D on board

(September 29, 1997). Satellite placed in orbit.
(An in-orbit satellite, ARABSAT-1C, since renamed INSAT-2DT, was acquired
1997 in November 1997 to partly augment the INSAT system).
INSAT-2D, fourth satellite in the INSAT series, launched (June 4, 1997).
Becomes inoperable on October 4, 1997.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
INSAT system capacity augmented with the readiness of INSAT-2DT acquired
1998
from ARABSAT (January 1998).

INSAT-2E, the last satellite in the multipurpose INSAT-2 series, launched by

Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (April 3, 1999).
1999 Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), launched by Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German
DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (May 26, 1999).

INSAT-3B, the first satellite in the third generation INSAT-3 series, launched by
2000
Ariane from Kourou French Guyana(March 22, 2000).

The first developmental launch of GSLV-D1 with GSAT-1 on board from

Sriharikota (April 18, 2001)
2001 ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C3, successfully launched three
satellites — Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) of ISRO, BIRD of Germany
and PROBA of Belgium – into their intended orbits (October 22, 2001).

Successful launch of INSAT-3C by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana,

(January 24, 2002).
2002 ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C4, successfully launched
KALPANA-1 satellite from Sriharikota(September 12, 2002).

Successful launch of INSAT-3A by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana, (April

10, 2003).
The Second developmental launch of GSLV-D2 with GSAT-2 on board from
Sriharikota (May 8, 2003).

2003
Successful launch of INSAT-3E by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana,
(September 28, 2003).
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C5, successfully launched
RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) satellite from Sriharikota(October 17, 2003).

The first operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) successfully launched

2004
EDUSAT from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota (September 20, 2004)
Chapter-2 Space Technology
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, successfully launched
CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT satellites from Sriharikota(May 5, 2005).
2005 Successful launch of INSAT-4A by Ariane from Kourou French Guyana,
(December 22, 2005).

Second operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F02) from SDSC SHAR with

2006
INSAT-4C on board. (July 10, 2006). Satellite could not be placed in orbit.

ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C7 successfully launches four

satellites – India’s CARTOSAT-2 and Space Capsule Recovery Experiment
(SRE-1) and Indonesia’s LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina’s PEHUENSAT-1
(January 10, 2007).
Successful recovery of SRE-1 after maneuvering it to reenter the earth’s
atmosphere and descend over the Bay of Bengal about 140 km east of Sriharikota
(January 22, 2007).

2007 Successful launch of INSAT-4B by Ariane-5 from Kourou French Guyana,

(March 12, 2007).
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C8, successfully launched Italian
astronomical satellite, AGILE from Sriharikota (April 23, 2007).

Successful launch of GSLV (GSLV-F04) with INSAT-4CR on board from SDSC

SHAR (September 2, 2007).

PSLV-C10 successfully launches TECSAR satellite under a commercial contract

with Antrix Corporation (January 21, 2008).
PSLV-C9 successfully launches CARTOSAT-2A, IMS-1 and 8 foreign nano
2008 satellites from Sriharikota (April 28, 2008).
PSLV-C11 successfully launches CHANDRAYAAN-1 from Sriharikota
(October 22, 2008).

What is an Orbit?
• Basics of Orbit
• Types of Orbit
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Basics of Orbit
An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one. An object in an
orbit is called a satellite. A satellite can be natural, like Earth or the moon. Many planets have moons
that orbit them. A satellite can also be man-made, like the International Space Station.

Planets, comets, asteroids and other objects in the solar system orbit the sun. Most of the objects
orbiting the sun move along or close to an imaginary flat surface. This imaginary surface is called the
ecliptic plane.

What Shape Is an Orbit?

Orbits come in different shapes. All orbits are elliptical, which means they are an ellipse, similar to an
oval. For the planets, the orbits are almost circular. The orbits of comets have a different shape. They
are highly eccentric or “squashed.” They look more like thin ellipses than circles.

Satellites that orbit Earth, including the moon, do not always stay the same distance from Earth.
Sometimes they are closer, and at other times they are farther away. The closest point a satellite comes
to Earth is called its perigee. The farthest point is the apogee. For planets, the point in their orbit closest
to the sun is perihelion. The farthest point is called aphelion. Earth reaches its aphelion during summer
in the Northern Hemisphere. The time it takes a satellite to make one full orbit is called its period. For
example, Earth has an orbital period of one year. The inclination is the angle the orbital plane makes
when compared with Earth’s equator.

How Do Objects Stay in Orbit?

An object in motion will stay in motion unless something pushes or pulls on it. This statement is called
Newton’s first law of motion. Without gravity, an Earth-orbiting satellite would go off into space along
a straight line. With gravity, it is pulled back toward Earth. A constant tug-of-war takes place between
the satellite’s tendency to move in a straight line, or momentum, and the tug of gravity pulling the
satellite back.

An object’s momentum and the force of gravity have to be balanced for an orbit to happen. If the
forward momentum of one object is too great, it will speed past and not enter into orbit. If momentum
is too small, the object will be pulled down and crash. When these forces are balanced, the object is
always falling toward the planet, but because it’s moving sideways fast enough, it never hits the planet.
Orbital velocity is the speed needed to stay in orbit. At an altitude of 150 miles (242 kilometers) above
Earth, orbital velocity is about 17,000 miles per hour. Satellites that have higher orbits have slower
orbital velocities.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Types of Orbit
Upon launch, a satellite or spacecraft is most often placed in one of several particular orbits around
Earth – or it might be sent on an interplanetary journey, meaning that it does not orbit Earth anymore,
but instead orbits the Sun until its arrival at its final destination, like Mars or Jupiter.

There are many factors that decide which orbit would be best for a satellite to use, depending on what
the satellite is designed to achieve.

• Geostationary orbit (GEO)

• Low Earth orbit (LEO)
• Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
• Polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)
• Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
• Lagrange points (L-points)

Geostationary orbit (GEO)

Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle Earth above the equator from west to east following
Earth’s rotation – taking 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by travelling at exactly the same rate as
Earth. This makes satellites in GEO appear to be ‘stationary’ over a fixed position. In order to perfectly
match Earth’s rotation, the speed of GEO satellites should be about 3 km per second at an altitude of
35 786 km. This is much farther from Earth’s surface compared to many satellites.

GEO is used by satellites that need to stay constantly above one particular place over Earth, such as
telecommunication satellites. This way, an antenna on Earth can be fixed to always stay pointed
Chapter-2 Space Technology
towards that satellite without moving. It can also be used by weather monitoring satellites, because
they can continually observe specific areas to see how weather trends emerge there.

Satellites in GEO cover a large range of Earth so as few as three equally-spaced satellites can provide
near global coverage. This is because when a satellite is this far from Earth, it can cover large sections
at once. This is akin to being able to see more of a map from a metre away compared with if you were
a centimetre from it. So to see all of Earth at once from GEO far fewer satellites are needed than at a
lower altitude.

ESA’s European Data Relay System (EDRS) programme has placed satellites in GEO, where they relay
information to and from non-GEO satellites and other stations that are otherwise unable to
permanently transmit or receive data. This means Europe can always stay connected and online.

Low Earth orbit (LEO)

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface. It is
normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth – which is low
compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s surface.

By comparison, most commercial aeroplanes do not fly at altitudes much greater than approximately
14 km, so even the lowest LEO is more than ten times higher than that.

Unlike satellites in GEO that must always orbit along Earth’s equator, LEO satellites do not always have
to follow a particular path around Earth in the same way – their plane can be tilted. This means there
are more available routes for satellites in LEO, which is one of the reasons why LEO is a very commonly
used orbit.

LEO’s close proximity to Earth makes it useful for several reasons. It is the orbit most commonly used
for satellite imaging, as being near the surface allows it to take images of higher resolution. It is also the
orbit used for the International Space Station (ISS), as it is easier for astronauts to travel to and from it
at a shorter distance. Satellites in this orbit travel at a speed of around 7.8 km per second; at this speed,
Chapter-2 Space Technology
a satellite takes approximately 90 minutes to circle Earth, meaning the ISS travels around Earth about
16 times a day. However, individual LEO satellites are less useful for tasks such as telecommunication,
because they move so fast across the sky and therefore require a lot of effort to track from ground
stations. Instead, communications satellites in LEO often work as part of a large combination or
constellation of multiple satellites to give constant coverage. In order to increase coverage, sometimes
constellations like this, consisting of several of the same or similar satellites, are launched together to
create a ‘net’ around Earth. This lets them cover large areas of Earth simultaneously by working
together.

Medium Earth orbit (MEO)

Medium Earth orbit comprises a wide range of orbits anywhere between LEO and GEO. It is similar to
LEO in that it also does not need to take specific paths around Earth, and it is used by a variety of
satellites with many different applications.

It is very commonly used by navigation satellites, like the European Galileo system (pictured). Galileo
powers navigation communications across Europe, and is used for many types of navigation, from
tracking large jumbo jets to getting directions to your smartphone. Galileo uses a constellation of
multiple satellites to provide coverage across large parts of the world all at once.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)

Satellites in polar orbits usually travel past Earth from north to south rather than from west to east,
passing roughly over Earth’s poles.

Satellites in a polar orbit do not have to pass the North and South Pole precisely; even a deviation
within 20 to 30 degrees is still classed as a polar orbit. Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, as they
are at low altitudes between 200 to 1000 km.

Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is a particular kind of polar orbit. Satellites in SSO, travelling over the
polar regions, are synchronous with the Sun. This means they are synchronized to always be in the
same ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun. This means that the satellite always visits the same spot at the
same local time – for example, passing the city of Paris every day at noon exactly.

This means that the satellite will always observe a point on the Earth as if constantly at the same time
of the day, which serves a number of applications; for example, it means that scientists and those who
use the satellite images can compare how somewhere changes over time.

This is because, if you want to monitor an area by taking a series of images of a certain place across
many days, weeks, months, or even years, then it would not be very helpful to compare somewhere at
midnight and then at midday – you need to take each picture as similarly as the previous picture as
possible. Therefore, scientists use image series like these to investigate how weather patterns emerge,
to help predict weather or storms; when monitoring emergencies like forest fires or flooding; or to
accumulate data on long-term problems like deforestation or rising sea levels.

Often, satellites in SSO are synchronized so that they are in constant dawn or dusk – this is because
by constantly riding a sunset or sunrise, they will never have the Sun at an angle where the Earth
shadows them. A satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit would usually be at an altitude of between 600
to 800 km. At 800 km, it will be travelling at a speed of approximately 7.5 km per second.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)

Transfer orbits are a special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another. When satellites are
launched from Earth and carried to space with launch vehicles such as Ariane 5, the satellites are not
always placed directly on their final orbit. Often, the satellites are instead placed on a transfer orbit: an
orbit where, by using relatively little energy from built-in motors, the satellite or spacecraft can move
from one orbit to another.

This allows a satellite to reach, for example, a high-altitude orbit like GEO without actually needing the
launch vehicle to go all the way to this altitude, which would require more effort – this is like taking a
shortcut. Reaching GEO in this way is an example of one of the most common transfer orbits, called
the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

Orbits have different eccentricities – a measure of how circular (round) or elliptical (squashed) an orbit
is. In a perfectly round orbit, the satellite is always at the same distance from the Earth’s surface – but
on a highly eccentric orbit, the path looks like an ellipse.

On a highly eccentric orbit like this, the satellite can quickly go from being very far to very near Earth’s
surface depending on where the satellite is on the orbit. In transfer orbits, the payload uses engines to
go from an orbit of one eccentricity to another, which puts it on track to higher or lower orbits.

After liftoff, a launch vehicle makes its way to space following a path shown by the yellow line, in the
figure. At the target destination, the rocket releases the payload which sets it off on an elliptical orbit,
following the blue line which sends the payload farther away from Earth. The point farthest away from
the Earth on the blue elliptical orbit is called the apogee and the point closest is called the perigee.

When the payload reaches the apogee at the GEO altitude of 35 786 km, it fires its engines in such a
way that it enters onto the circular GEO orbit and stays there, shown by the red line in the diagram.
So, specifically, the GTO is the blue path from the yellow orbit to the red orbit.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Lagrange points
For many spacecraft being put in orbit, being too close to Earth can be disruptive to their
mission – even at more distant orbits such as [Link] example, for space-based
observatories and telescopes whose mission is to photograph deep, dark space, being next
to Earth is hugely detrimental because Earth naturally emits visible light and infrared
radiation that will prevent the telescope from detecting any faint lights like distant
galaxies. Photographing dark space with a telescope next to our glowing Earth would be
as hopeless as trying to take pictures of stars from Earth in broad daylight.

Lagrange points, or L-points, allow for orbits that are much, much farther away (over a
million kilometres) and do not orbit Earth directly. These are specific points far out in space
where the gravitational fields of Earth and the Sun combine in such a way that spacecraft
that orbit them remain stable and can thus be ‘anchored’ relative to Earth. If a spacecraft
was launched to other points in space very distant from Earth, they would naturally fall
into an orbit around the Sun, and those spacecraft would soon end up far from Earth,
making communication difficult. Instead, spacecraft launched to these special L-points
stay fixed, and remain close to Earth with minimal effort without going into a different
orbit.

The most used L-points are L1 and L2. These are both four times farther away from Earth
than the Moon – 1.5 million km, compared to GEO’s 36 000 km – but that is still only
approximately 1% of the distance of Earth from the Sun.

Satellite
A satellite is a body that orbits around another body in space. There are two different types of satellites
– natural and man-made. Examples of natural satellites are the Earth and Moon. The Earth rotates
around the Sun and the Moon rotates around the Earth. A man-made satellite is a machine that is
launched into space and orbits around a body in space. Examples of man-made satellites include the
Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.

Types of Satellites

1. Astronomical: Deployed for observation of distant planets, stars, galaxies, and objects in-universe. It
is a space Telescope hanging in space to photograph objects in space.

2. Biosatellite : Places animals or plants in space to conduct research on the effects of space on these
living objects.

3. Communication:These satellites support telecommunication. Telecasting, Phone calls, Internet

connectivity, Radio, and much remote connectivity are typical applications.
 Chapter-2 Space Technology
4. Earth Observation: Deployed to study environment, monitor climatic changes and mapping the earth
for non-military purposes.

5. Navigation: Facilitates to trace the exact location of any objects on the Earth. This leads to the
development of new applications, technology, and business cases.

6. Killer (Military) : Deployed to attack enemy satellites and space objects during the war period.

7. Space Stations : Designed for human beings to live and conduct research on objects on planets, stars,
and galaxies.

8. Reconnaissance: Deployed for spying, surveying and scouting enemy territory during the war period.

9. Crewed Spacecraft: These satellites ferry astronauts to space and bring them back to earth. It has
good grounding facilities and helps astronauts in accessing space stations.

10. Recovery: Recovery satellites are mainly used to recover bio, reconnaissance and other satellites
back to earth.

11. Solar Power:Space-based satellites gather energy from the Sun and transmit it to earth for
consumption.

12. Miniaturized: Smaller sized and lower weight satellites are launched at an economical cost used for
the limited purpose of scientific data gathering and radio relay.

13. Tether:Tether satellites are connected to another satellite by the tether. It is used as a secondary
payload to another main satellite mainly used in students and mini-projects.

14. Weather : These satellites are used to measure and report the Earth’s weather, and the reports are
used in a weather forecast.

List of Earth Observation Satellites

Launch Orbit
Launch Date Launch Vehicle Application
Mass Type
Disaster Management System,
EOS-01 Nov 07, 2020 PSLV-C49/EOS-01 LEO
Earth Observation
Disaster Management System,
RISAT-2BR1 Dec 11, 2019 628 Kg PSLV-C48/RISAT-2BR1 LEO
Earth Observation
Cartosat-3 Nov 27, 2019 PSLV-C47 / Cartosat -3 Mission SSPO Earth Observation
Disaster Management System,
RISAT-2B May 22, 2019 615 Kg PSLV-C46 Mission LEO
Earth Observation
HysIS Nov 29, 2018 PSLV-C43 / HysIS Mission SSPO Earth Observation
Cartosat-2 Series PSLV-C40/Cartosat-2 Series
Jan 12, 2018 710 Kg SSPO Earth Observation
Satellite Satellite Mission
Cartosat-2 Series PSLV-C38 / Cartosat-2 Series
Jun 23, 2017 712 kg SSPO Earth Observation
Satellite Satellite
 Chapter-2 Space Technology
Cartosat-2 Series PSLV-C37 / Cartosat -2 Series
Feb 15, 2017 714 kg SSPO Earth Observation
Satellite Satellite
RESOURCESAT-2A Dec 07, 2016 1235 kg PSLV-C36 / RESOURCESAT-2A SSPO Earth Observation
SCATSAT-1 Sep 26, 2016 371 kg PSLV-C35 / SCATSAT-1 SSPO Climate & Environment
Climate & Environment,
INSAT-3DR Sep 08, 2016 2211 kg GSLV-F05 / INSAT-3DR GSO
Disaster Management System
CARTOSAT-2 Series PSLV-C34 / CARTOSAT-2 Series
Jun 22, 2016 737.5 kg SSPO Earth Observation
Satellite Satellite
Climate & Environment,
INSAT-3D Jul 26, 2013 2060 Kg Ariane-5 VA-214 GSO
Disaster Management System
Climate & Environment,
SARAL Feb 25, 2013 407 kg PSLV-C20/SARAL SSPO
Earth Observation
RISAT-1 Apr 26, 2012 1858 kg PSLV-C19/RISAT-1 SSPO Earth Observation
Climate & Environment,
Megha-Tropiques Oct 12, 2011 1000 kg PSLV-C18/Megha-Tropiques SSPO
Earth Observation
RESOURCESAT-2 Apr 20, 2011 1206 kg PSLV-C16/RESOURCESAT-2 SSPO Earth Observation
CARTOSAT-2B Jul 12, 2010 694 kg PSLV-C15/CARTOSAT-2B SSPO Earth Observation
Climate & Environment,
Oceansat-2 Sep 23, 2009 960 kg PSLV-C14 / OCEANSAT-2 SSPO
Earth Observation
RISAT-2 Apr 20, 2009 300 kg PSLV-C12 / RISAT-2 SSPO Earth Observation
IMS-1 Apr 28, 2008 83 kg PSLV-C9 / CARTOSAT – 2A SSPO Earth Observation
CARTOSAT – 2A Apr 28, 2008 690 Kg PSLV-C9 / CARTOSAT – 2A SSPO Earth Observation
CARTOSAT-2 Jan 10, 2007 650 kg PSLV-C7 / CARTOSAT-2 / SRE-1 SSPO Earth Observation
CARTOSAT-1 May 05, 2005 1560 kg PSLV-C6/CARTOSAT-1/HAMSAT SSPO Earth Observation
IRS-P6 /
Oct 17, 2003 1360 kg PSLV-C5 /RESOURCESAT-1 SSPO Earth Observation
RESOURCESAT-1
The Technology
Experiment Satellite Oct 22, 2001 PSLV-C3 / TES SSPO Earth Observation
(TES)
Oceansat(IRS-P4) May 26, 1999 1050 kg PSLV-C2/IRS-P4 SSPO Earth Observation
IRS-1D Sep 29, 1997 1250kg PSLV-C1 / IRS-1D SSPO Earth Observation
IRS-P3 Mar 21, 1996 920 kg PSLV-D3 / IRS-P3 SSPO Earth Observation
IRS-1C Dec 28, 1995 1250 kg Molniya SSPO Earth Observation
IRS-P2 Oct 15, 1994 804 kg PSLV-D2 SSPO Earth Observation
IRS-1E Sep 20, 1993 846 kg PSLV-D1 LEO Earth Observation
IRS-1B Aug 29, 1991 975 kg Vostok SSPO Earth Observation
Earth Observation,
SROSS-2 Jul 13, 1988 150 kg ASLV-D2
Experimental
IRS-1A Mar 17, 1988 975 kg Vostok SSPO Earth Observation
Rohini Satellite RS-D2 Apr 17, 1983 41.5 kg SLV-3 LEO Earth Observation
Earth Observation,
Bhaskara-II Nov 20, 1981 444 kg C-1 Intercosmos LEO
Experimental
 Chapter-2 Space Technology
Rohini Satellite RS-D1 May 31, 1981 38 kg SLV-3D1 LEO Earth Observation
Earth Observation,
Bhaskara-I Jun 07, 1979 442 kg C-1 Intercosmos LEO
Experimental

Satellite Launching Vehicles

SLV
Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) was India’s first experimental satellite launch vehicle, which was an
all solid, four stage vehicle weighing 17 tonnes with a height of 22m and capable of placing 40 kg class
payloads in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The first experimental flight of SLV-3, in August 1979, was only partially successful. Apart from the
July 1980 launch, there were two more launches held in May 1981 and April 1983, orbiting Rohini
satellites carrying remote sensing sensors.

The successful culmination of the SLV-3 project showed the way to advanced launch vehicle projects
such as the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

ASLV
The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) Programme was designed to augment the payload
capacity to 150 kg, thrice that of SLV-3, for Low Earth Orbits (LEO). While building upon the experience
gained from the SLV-3 missions, ASLV proved to be a low cost intermediate vehicle to demonstrate
and validate critical technologies that would be needed for the future launch vehicles like strap-on
technology, inertial navigation, bulbous heat shield, vertical integration and closed loop guidance.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
PSLV
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. It is the first Indian
launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages. After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV
emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively
successful missions by June 2017. During 1994-2017 period, the vehicle has launched 48 Indian
satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. It is the first Indian
launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.

• It is a four stage launch vehicle.

• A large solid rocket motor forming the first stage,
• An earth storable liquid stage as the second stage,
• A high performance solid rocket motor as third stage, and
• A liquid stage with engines as fourth stage.
• The vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and
Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013

Vehicle Variants and Launch Capability

o No. of strap-on motors : Nil

PSLV-
o Payload capability to SSPO (600 km) : 1019 Kg
CA

• No. of strap-on motors : Two

PSLV-
• Payload capability to SSPO (600 km) : 1257 Kg
DL

PSLV- o No. of strap-on motors : Four

QL

o No. of strap-on motors : Six

o Payload capability to SSPO (600 km) : 1673 Kg
PSLV-
o Payload capability to sub GTO (284 x 20650 km) : 1425 Kg
XL
o Payload capability to SSPO (600 km) : 1523 Kg
Chapter-2 Space Technology
GSLV
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) project was initiated in 1990 with the
objective of acquiring an Indian launch capability for geosynchronous satellites.

GSLV uses major components that are already proven in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
launch vehicles in the form of the S125/S139 solid rocket booster and the liquid-fueled Vikas
engine. Due to the thrust required for injecting the satellite in a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
the third stage was to be powered by a LOX/LH2 Cryogenic engine which at that time India did
not possess or had the technology know-how to build one.

Variants
GSLV rockets using the Russian Cryogenic Stage (CS) are designated as the GSLV Mark I while
versions using the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) are designated the GSLV Mark II.[21]
All GSLV launches have been conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) is the largest launch vehicle
developed by India, which is currently in operation. This fourth generation launch vehicle is a three
stage vehicle with four liquid strap-ons. The indigenously developed cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS),
which is flight proven, forms the third stage of GSLV Mk II. From January 2014, the vehicle has
achieved four consecutive successes.

GSLV MkIII, chosen to launch Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle
developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic
upper stage.

• GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous

Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about
twice the capability of the GSLV Mk II.
• The first developmental flight of GSLV Mk III, the GSLV -Mk III-D1 successfully
placed GSAT-19 satellite to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on June 05,
2017 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
• GSLV MkIII-D2, the second developmental flight of GSLV MkIII successfully
launched GSAT-29, a high throughput communication satellite on November 14,
2018 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota
• GSLV MkIII-M1, successfully injected Chandrayaan-2, India’s second Lunar Mission,
in to Earth Parking Orbit on July 22, 2019 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR,
Sriharikota
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Significance

• It strengthens INDIA’s soft power diplomacy

• It reduces our dependency on foreign launch vehicles
• It has multiplier effect on other innovations like chandrayan 2,human space flights etc
• It leads to commercial
• Self reliance

What’s the difference between liquid and solid-fuel rockets?

There are two main types of rockets: liquid-fuel and solid-fuel. Liquid-fuel rockets consist of a fuel
and oxygen (or other oxidizer) in liquid state. They are combined in a combustion chamber and
ignited. The fuel flow to the engine can be controlled, the amount of thrust produced can be
regulated and the engine can be turned off or on as needed. Solid-fuel rockets consist of a fuel
and oxidizer that are pre-mixed in a solid form. Once the solid fuel is ignited, the resulting thrust
cannot be regulated or turned off. This fuel system is simpler, safer, and cheaper—but less
efficient—than that of a liquid-fuel rocket.

Functioning of Engines

Cryogenic Engine:
Rocket engine needs enormous amount of thrust to escape Earth’s gravitational pull. However the
chemicals used for engines are Hydrogen and Oxygen (Hydrogen used as a fuel, while Oxygen as
a oxidiser) that produces a good thrust, found in Earth in the form of gas. Carrying hydrogen and
oxygen in their gaseous form will require a bigger fuel chamber, which not only increase the size
but also weight of the rockets and this will mean undertaking of impossible task to send a launch
vehicle into space. So the solution is to use hydrogen and oxygen in their liquid form or in a
cryogenic form which is easier to transport, as the volume of propellent decrease. As density
increases in liquid form, more thrust can be produce in less burning time. Such engines are called
Cryogenic engine.

Cryogenic fuel is used in rockets, spaceships or satellites because ordinary fuel can not be used in
space due to the absence of an environment that supports combustion. This fuel requires storage
at an extremely low temperature (-253 degree Celsius) to maintain them in a liquid state.

Semi-Cryogenic Engine:
Unlike a Cryogenic engine, a Semi Cryogenic engine uses Refined kerosene instead of liquid
hydrogen. The liquid oxygen is used as a Oxidiser. That’s the advantage of using a Semi Cryogenic
Chapter-2 Space Technology
engine as it requires Refined Kerosene which is lighter than liquid fuel and can be stored in a
normal temperature. Kerosene combined with liquid oxygen provide a higher thrust to the rocket.
Refined Kerosene occupies less space, making it possible to carry more propellant in a Semi
Cryogenic engines fuel compartment. A semi cryogenic engine is more powerful, environment
friendly and cost effective as compared to a cryogenic engine.

IMPORTANCE OF SEMI CRYOGENIC ENGINE

GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite launch Vehicle) uses a three stage launching system.

First Stage:- It is a solid stage which provides lift off to the rocket.

Second Stage:- It is a Liquid Stage.

Third Stage:- The third stage is the Cryogenic stage. This stage provides a good amount of thrust
so that we can put satellites in a geostationary orbit.

India developed the technology of Cryogenic Engine and to develop it further ISRO required to
use a combination of Solid, Semi cryogenic and Cryogenic stage instead of a Combination of Solid,
Liquid and Cryogenic stage. That mean

First Stage:- Solid Stage.

Second Stage:- Semi Cryogenic Stage.

Third Stage:- Cryogenic Stage.

Using a semi cryogenic engine in second stage, GSLV will be able to provide more thrust and carry
more weight into the space. India plan to use Semi Cryogenic Engine in GSLV (Geosynchronous
Launch Vehicle), ULV (Unified Launch Vehicle) and RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicle) in future.

Recent launches
PSLV-C51 launch
PSLV-C51 was successfully launched by ISRO recently.

This was the 53rd flight of ISRO’s launch vehicle and the first dedicated mission of its commercial arm,
NewSpace India Ltd.

The mission was undertaken under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc., U.S.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Satellites onboard:
It carried 19 satellites (Including Brazil’s optical earth observation satellite, Amazonia-1, and 18 co-
passenger satellites — five from India and 13 from the U.S.).

Amazonia-1 is the first fully Brazilian-made satellite, which would help to monitor the Amazon forests.

The Amazonia-1 was injected into its precise orbit of 758 km in a sun-synchronous polar orbit.

The satellites from India are:

The Satish Dhawan SAT (SDSAT) built by Space Kidz India. It has an engraving of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on the top panel.A nano-satellite intended to study the radiation levels, space weather
and demonstrate long-range communication technologies.

The UNITYsat, a combination of three satellites for providing radio relay [Link] satellite
belonging to the DRDO.

CMS-01 satellite
It is a communication satellite launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on board the
PSLV-C50.

CMS-01 is a communications satellite envisaged for providing services in extended C Band of the
frequency spectrum.

Its coverage will include the Indian mainland, and the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands,
ISRO said.

The satellite is expected to have a life of more than seven years.

GSAT 30
GSAT-30 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series and will replace INSAT-
4A in orbit.

GSAT-30 is configured on ISRO’s enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from
Geostationary orbit.

GSAT-30 uses two satellite frequencies:

It gives the Indian mainland and islands coverage in the Ku band, and extended coverage in a wider
area stretching from Australia to Europe in the lower-frequency C-band.

The Ku and C bands are part of a spectrum of frequencies, ranging from 1 to 40 gigahertz, that are
used in satellite communications.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Services:
With a mission life of over 15 years, GSAT-30 will provide DTH [direct-to-home] television Services,
connectivity to VSATs [Very Small Aperture Terminals] for ATM, stock exchange, television uplinking
and teleport services, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and e-governance applications.

EOS-01
What is EOS-01?
It is an earth observation satellite.

EOS-01 is nothing but another Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) that will work together with RISAT-2B
and RISAT-2BR1 launched last year.

Henceforth all the earth observation satellites would be called EOS-series.

What are earth-observation satellites used for?

Land and forest mapping and monitoring, mapping of resources like water or minerals or fishes, weather
and climate observations, soil assessment, geospatial contour mapping are all done through earth-
observation satellites.

Advantages of radar imaging over optical instruments:

Radar imaging is unaffected by weather, cloud or fog, or the lack of sunlight. It can produce high-quality
images in all conditions and at all times.

RISAT-2BR1
 Chapter-2 Space Technology
What is RISAT-2BR1?
It is a radar imaging earth observation [Link] provides services in the field of agriculture,
forestry and disaster [Link] mission life is 5 years.

Other satellites on board:The nine customer satellites were from Israel, Italy, Japan and the
[Link] satellites were launched under a commercial arrangement with New Space India
Limited (NSIL).

Background:The RISAT, which was first deployed in orbit on April 20, 2009 as the RISAT-2, uses
synthetic aperture radars (SAR) to provide Indian forces with all-weather surveillance and
observation, which are crucial to notice any potential threat or malicious activity around the
nation’s [Link] the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the launch of RISAT-2 was prioritised
over RISAT- 1, as its C-band SAR radar was not yet ready and RISAT -2 carried an Israeli-built X-
band radar.

Cartosat-3
Cartosat-3 is a third-generation agile advanced earth observation satellite with high-resolution imaging
capability. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), it will replace the IRS series.

Cartosat-3 has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres making it the imaging satellite with highest
resolution and Mx of 1 metre with a high-quality resolution, which is a major improvement from the
previous payloads in the Cartosat series.

Cartosat-2 was used to plan and execute military operations such as ‘surgical strikes’ across the Line of
Control in 2016 and the operations across Manipur-Myanmar border in 2015. Cartosat-2 has got
resolution of 65 cm.

Applications of Cartosat-3:

It will address the increased user’s demands for large scale urban planning, rural resource and
infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover etc

In its annual report of 2017-18, ISRO laid out a very clear strategy of developing India’s Earth
observation (EO) capabilities that is based on capturing different themes of land, water, cartography,
ocean, atmosphere, and meteorology.

New missions such as the Geo Imaging Satellite (GISAT), which will enable real-time imaging, alongside
the established Resourcesat, Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT), Cartosat, Oceansat and the Indian
National Satellite System (INSAT) constellation make India’s fleet of EO satellites one of the most
comprehensive remote-sensing data sets in the world.
.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
GSAT 29

The Indian Space Research Organisation has marked a big milestone by successfully testing its
heavy-lift launcher while launching an advanced communication satellite.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MarkIII (GSLV MkIII) launched GSAT29, an
advanced communications satellite, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit where the satellite’s
closest approach to earth would be 190 km and the farthest 35,975 km

Work of GSLV-MkIII and GSAT-29:

According to ISRO, the GSAT-29 satellite is intended to serve as a test bed for several new
technologies. It is specifically designed to cater to communication requirements of users from
remote areas of the country. The mission life is about 10 years.

GSLV-MkIII is the fifth generation launch vehicle developed by ISRO and is designed to place
satellites of up to 4,000 kg in [Link] MkIII is the heaviest launch vehicle made in India, and
GSAT29 is the heaviest satellite to take off from Indian [Link] heavy lift launcher is going to be
used for Chandrayaan-II in early 2019.

GSAT- 11
GSAT-11 is ISRO’s heaviest satellite ever built and weighs about 5854 kilograms.

It was launched onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle from French Guiana.

ISRO has revealed that the satellite will be initially placed in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and
will be later raised to Geostationary Orbit. It will be using the Liquid Apogee Motor which will be
onboard the satellite.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
GSAT-11 is part of ISRO’s new family of high-throughput communication satellite (HTS) fleet that will
drive the country’s Internet broadband from space to untouched areas.

According to ISRO, GSAT-11’s multiple spot beam coverage — 32 in Ku band and eight in Ka bands —
will deliver an improved service of 16 gbps over the Indian region and nearby islands.

The satellite will also have VSAT Terminals which basically will ensure that it can handle large capacity
platforms to support a huge subscriber base.

GSAT 11: Why is it important?

GSAT-11 will bring far greater speeds (16 Gbps of it, no less) and capacity to meet growing demand for
mobile and internet in households, businesses, and public organisations.

Large parts of rural areas still remain untouched by the scope of commercial telecom today —
something GSAT-11 is designed to change. Under Digital India’s BharatNet project GSAT-11 will boost
access to voice and video streaming in most, if not all, of rural India.

With India moving fast towards implementing ‘Smart Villages and Cities’, they can be efficiently linked
through a large communication satellite.

GSAT-7A
The GSAT 7 series was launched in 2013 as a dedicated communications satellite for the
Indian Navy, which made the Navy completely independent of relying on foreign satellites
for its blue water capabilities, thanks to GSAT 7 having a 2,000 nautical mile footprint.
This helps in providing real-time inputs to Indian warships, submarines and maritime
aircraft.

GSAT-7A would be placed in the geostationary orbit and this communication satellite is
expected to help the IAF to interlink different ground radar stations, airbases and AWACS
(Airborne Warning And Control System) aircraft. The idea is to improve the IAF’s network-
centric warfare capabilities.

The GSAT-7A is expected to have the Ku-band transponders and two deployable solar
arrays onboard.

The GSAT-7A is also expected to be a big push for drone operations as it will help the
Navy reduce the reliance on on-ground control stations and take satellite-control of
military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) which should help boost the range and endurance
of the UAVs.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
In addition to GSAT-7A, the IAF would also be getting the GSAT-7C in a few years, to
boost the network-centric operations.

NAVIC

Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is an independent regional navigation satellite

system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian
mainland.

IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely Standard Positioning Services available to all users
and Restricted Services provided to authorised users.

Its applications include:

• Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation.

• Disaster Management.
• Vehicle tracking and fleet management.
• Integration with mobile phones.
• Precise Timing.
• Mapping and Geodetic data capture.
• Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers.
• Visual and voice navigation for drivers.

How many satellites does NAVIC consist of?

It is a regional system and so its constellation will consist of seven satellites. Three of these will be
geostationary over the Indian Ocean, i.e., they will appear to be stationary in the sky over the region,
and four will be geosynchronous – appearing at the same point in the sky at the same time every day.
This configuration ensures each satellite is being tracked by at least one of fourteen ground stations at
any given point of time, with a high chance of most of them being visible from any point in India.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Significance
[Link] security

[Link]

[Link]

[Link] management

[Link] Asian and Regional cooperation

NISAR
NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO). NASA and ISRO are providing two radars that are optimized each in their own way to allow the
mission to observe a wider range of changes than either one alone. NISAR will detect movements of
the planet’s surface as small as 0.4 inches over areas about half the size of a tennis court.

About NISAR:
It’s an SUV-sized satellite that is being jointly developed by the space agencies of the US and India.

The partnership agreement was signed between NASA and ISRO in September 2014, according to
which NASA will provide one of the radars for the satellite, a high-rate communication subsystem for
science data, GPS receivers and a payload data subsystem.

ISRO, on the other hand, will provide the spacecraft bus, the second type of radar (called the S-band
radar), the launch vehicle and associated launch services.

The satellite will be launched in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, into
a near-polar orbit and will scan the globe every 12 days over the course of its three-year mission of
imaging the Earth’s land, ice sheets and sea ice to give an “unprecedented” view of the planet.

The goal of NISAR is to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface
changes using advanced radar imaging.

This mission concept and the resulting partnership are in response to the National Academy of
Science’s 2007 survey of Earth observational priorities for the next decade, known as the decadal
survey.

One of the top priorities identified in this survey was to gain data and insight in three Earth science
domains: ecosystems, deformation of Earth’s crust and cryospheric sciences.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Applications of NISAR:

• A dedicated U.S. and Indian InSAR mission, in partnership with ISRO, optimized for
studying hazards and global environmental change.
• Earth’s surface is constantly changing as a result of both natural and human
processes, and humanity’s exposure to natural hazards is increasing. NISAR will
measure these changes, from small movements of the crust up to volcanic eruptions.
• The NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) Mission will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems,
dynamic surfaces, and ice masses providing information about biomass, natural
hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, and will support a host of other
applications.
• NISAR will observe Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day
regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling Earth on average every 6
days for a baseline 3-year mission.
• NISAR’s data can help people worldwide better manage natural resources and
hazards, as well as providing information for scientists to better understand the
effects and pace of climate change. It will also add to our understanding of our
planet’s hard outer layer, called its crust.
• NISAR’s global and rapid coverage will provide unprecedented opportunities for
disaster response, providing data to assist in mitigating and assessing damage, with
observations before and after disasters in short time frames.
• NISAR maps will allow initial damage estimates to guide ground inspections for
damage assessment.

Significance from the point of India-US relations:

Space cooperation has usually not featured prominently in discussions between the two sides.

The joint statement of the third India-U.S. 2+2 strategic dialogue (Oct 2020) noted the agreement
among the four ministers to start cooperation on a specific agenda within the broad space domain –
Space Situational Awareness (SSA).The importance of SSA cannot be overemphasized given its utility
in ensuring safe, secure, and sustainable use of outer space.

There are good reasons for India and the United States to develop a collaborative mechanism to start
sharing SSA data.

Both are major spacefaring nations with significant investment in space; their societies and militaries
are dependent on space for a number of critical functions. Therefore, any disruptions of their space
assets would result not only in social and economic disruption but interference in the effectiveness of
their militaries as well.

Beyond space launches, India and the US have started cooperating in the area of Satellite Navigation
(SatNav).
Chapter-2 Space Technology
The “stellar” partnership between the two nations will be a very useful tool to address the matters
pertaining to disaster preparedness while it will also cater to the need for management of natural
resources across the world.

The U.S. and India also have a deep, cooperative relationship in weather systems and applications,
which rely heavily on space technologies

GAGANYAN
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the first uncrewed mission in
December, as part of the human spaceflight programme ‘Gaganyaan’. It is facing challenges due to the
adverse impact of the COVID-19-induced lockdowns that has disrupted hardware delivery schedules.

As part of the mandate of Gaganyaan, two uncrewed flights are planned to test the end-to-end capacity
for the manned mission.

When was it announced?

Formal announcement of the Gaganyaan programme was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2018.

The initial target was to launch the human spaceflight before the 75th anniversary of India’s
independence on August 15, 2022.

Objectives:
The objective of the Gaganyaan programme is to demonstrate the capability to send humans to low
earth orbit on board an Indian launch vehicle and bring them back to earth safely.

Preparation and launch:

Four Indian astronaut-candidates have already undergone generic space flight training in Russia as part
of the Gaganyaan programme.

ISRO’s heavy-lift launcher GSLV Mk III has been identified for the mission.

Relevance of a Manned Space Mission for India:

• Boost to industries: The Indian industry will find large opportunities through
participation in the highly demanding Space missions. Gaganyaan Mission is
expected to source nearly 60% of its equipment from the Indian private sector.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
• Employment: According to the ISRO chief, the Gaganyaan mission would create
15,000 new employment opportunities, 13,000 of them in private industry and the
space organisation would need an additional manpower of 900.
• Spurs research and development: It will thrust significant research in areas such as
materials processing, astro-biology, resources mining, planetary chemistry,
planetary orbital calculus and many other areas.
• Motivation: Human space flight will provide that inspiration to the youth and also
the national public mainstream. It would inspire the young generation into notable
achievements and enable them to play their legitimate role in challenging future
activities.
• Prestige: India could potentially become the fourth country to launch a human space
mission. The Gaganyaan will not only bring about prestige to the nation but also
establish India’s role as a key player in the space industry.

Project NETRA
An early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites.

What is Project NETRA (Network for space object Tracking and Analysis)?

Under the project, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes;
data processing units and a control centre.

They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km
and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.

Significance of the project:

• The project will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA)
like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian
satellites.
• NETRA’s eventual goal is to capture the GEO, or geostationary orbit, scene at
36,000 km where communication satellites operate.
• The effort would make India a part of international efforts towards tracking, warning
about and mitigating space debris.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
BHUVAN 3.0

About Bhuvan Panchayat Version 3.0:

Bhuvan Panchayat is part of ISRO’s Space-based Information Support for Decentralised Planning
Update project.

Aim: For better planning and monitoring of government projects.

Services: This version of the portal will provide database visualisation and services for the benefit of
panchayat members, among others.

The targeted audiences for this portal are Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram
panchayats.

Features:
Using Bhuvan satellite imagery, a hi-resolution database at 1:10,000 scale is applied to identify land
use, land cover, settlements, road and rail network etc. The portal offers database visualization, data
analytics, generation of automatic reports, model-based products and services for Gram Panchayat
members and other stake-holders.

Implementation:
In the project that will last for at least two years, ISRO will collaborate with the gram panchayat
members and stakeholders to understand their data requirements.
Chapter-2 Space Technology
MASS ORBITER MISSION

Mangalyaan, 2014
a) India joined an exclusive global club when it successfully launched the Mars Orbiter Mission

b) Budget that was at least 10 times lower than a similar project by the US

c) The Rs 450-crore project revolved round the Red Planet and to collect data on Mars’atmosphere and
mineral composition

Mission Shakti
Mission Shakti is a joint programme of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

As part of the mission, an anti-satellite (A-SAT) weapon was launched and targeted an Indian satellite
which had been decommissioned. Mission Shakti was carried out from DRDO’s testing range in
Odisha’s Balasore.

Significance:
India is only the 4th country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability, and Entire effort is
indigenous. Till now, only the US, Russia and China had the capability to hit a live target in space.

Seven mega missions by ISRO

Chandrayaan-2, XPoSat (to study cosmic radiation in 2020) and Aditya-L1(to the Sun in 2021).
Chapter-2 Space Technology
Undefined Missions – which include missions which are still in planning stage namely Mangalyaan-
2 (or Mars Orbiter Mission-2 in 2022), Lunar Polar Exploration (or Chandrayaan-3 in 2024), Venus
mission (in 2023), Exoworlds (exploration outside the solar system in 2028).

About Xposat:
The X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (or Xposat) is ISRO’s dedicated mission to study polarization. It will
launch in 2020.

It will be a five-year mission and will study cosmic radiation.

It will be carrying a payload named ‘polarimeter instrument in X-rays’ (POLIX) made by Raman Research
Institute. POLIX will study the degree and angle of polarisation of bright X-ray sources in the energy
range 5-30 keV.

The spacecraft will be placed in a circular 500-700km orbit.

About Aditya- L1 mission:

What is it? It is India’s first solar mission.

Objectives: It will study the sun’s outermost layers, the corona and the chromospheres and collect data
about coronal mass ejection, which will also yield information for space weather prediction.

Significance of the mission: The data from Aditya mission will be immensely helpful in discriminating
between different models for the origin of solar storms and also for constraining how the storms evolve
and what path they take through the interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth.

Position of the satellite: In order to get the best science from the sun, continuous viewing of the sun is
preferred without any occultation/ eclipses and hence, Aditya- L1 satellite will be placed in the halo
orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the sun-earth system.