ISRO

ISRO working on vehicle for manned space mission

Bangalore, Feb 13, 2009: As a prelude to a manned moon mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working towards a maiden manned Indian space mission vehicle that can carry three astronauts for seven days in a near earth orbit, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said at an international aerospace conference here on Monday.

The manned space mission is expected by the year 2015. “If all goes well it will be followed by a moon mission five to six years later,” Nair said.

The maiden manned space flight will be equipped with modules for emergency and service requirement, the ISRO chairman said. “With the US and Japan planning new manned moon missions by 2020 we cannot be far behind,” he said. The GSLV Mk II rocket launch vehicle will be used to launch the manned mission, he said.

ISRO’s GSLV-Mk III, which will be able to carry satellites of heavy tonnage, is slated for a maiden flight at the end of 2010 and is expected to bring down the launch cost by half, Nair said.

Currently ISRO is dependent on Arianespace in Europe for the launch of its heavy class of satellites. Even after the GSLV development progresses, ISRO will be in collaboration with Arianespace to market the capabilities of its launch vehicle PSLV.

IIT-K satellite 'Jugnu' in final stages, completion till Nov

Kanpur, Feb 13 (PTI) A micro satellite being developed by IIT Kanpur in co-operation with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been christened 'Jugnu'.
The satellite, which is near completion, will be handed over to ISRO in November, who after testing will launch it.

Work on the satellite, which is aimed at gathering prior information regarding flood, drought and disaster management is in the last stage and will be handed over to ISRO in November for further test and launch, IIT Kanpur director Prof Sanjoy Govind Dhande told PTI here today.

Last year in August, both ISRO and IIT-K had inked an MoU to develop a micro satellite dedicated for agricultural purpose.

"A team of mechanical engineering department of the institute has almost finished the work on the satellite. They will need another 6-7 months to give final touch to the project," he said.

Scientists have used indigenous technology to develop 'Jugnu', whose weight and length are 3kg and 34cm respectively, he said, adding an estimated amount of Rs 2.5 crore has been spent to develop the satellite.

The hi-tech cameras fitted in the satellite will send photographs regarding agriculture, weather and soil to the base station, he said.

The satellite can also be used to link other big satellites in the space, he added. PTI

India's space programme poised for big leap: ISRO chief

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 10 (PTI) India's space programme is poised for major strides in the coming years with several missions already in the line-up, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said today.
The ISRO had launched 25 missions and the number would go up to 70 in the next five years, Nair said while speaking at the stone-laying function for the Missile Integration Complex of BrahMos Aerospace Ltd (BATL) here.

Development of aerospace industry in the country was important to support the space programme, he said, adding the local unit of BrahMos had already been supplying several highly complex components to ISRO.

While ISRO would be concentrating on Research and Development, facilities like BrahMos Aerospace should develop capability for supplying components for the space programme, he said. PTI

ISRO satellite develops defect, fails to function

New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Communication Satellite W2M, which is responsible for transmitting radio signals to ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka, has virtually failed in space due to a defect in its power subsystem.

This has happened just within six weeks of its launch. The satellite was successfully launched on December 21,2008 from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana.

It was jointly built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and EADS-Astrium of Europe for Eutelsat.

Just as the W2M Satellite was about to be declared operational, it developed anomalies in its power systems on January 27. ISRO is now analysing the telemetry data to set right the problem.

Director Publicity and PR, S Satish, talked to CNN-IBN over the phone and when asked that the W2M satellite was built commercially with EADS-Astrium of Europe and now Eutelsat says it won't be integrated into it's satellite fleet, and what could have gone wrong?

Satish responded by saying “It is a huge set back for ISRO if the satellite fails; however, counter measures were being taken by ISRO from the ground to try and get the anomaly fixed as soon as possible.”