Astrosat-2

India plans to send a second observatory in space. It will be a follow-up mission of Astrosat-1 — India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space telescope — aimed at looking at the origin of the universe and discover new planets. ISRO is finalizing a plan for the mission. It is expected to launch in 2025.

As a follow-on to AstroSat mission, the first Indian space astronomy observatory, Indian Space Research Organisation has initiated seeking proposals for the next astronomy mission. An observatory in space is advantageous to observe the celestial sources in wavebands that are not accessible from ground.

Several new initiatives / payloads have been considered in the area of X-ray and Gamma ray multi-wavelength astronomy in the next astronomy satellite ASTROSAT-2. These include:

(a) Soft X-ray, high-resolution spectroscopy with focusing optics and bolometer (Time-scale: 5-10 years)

(b) X-ray polarimeter (4-8 years)

(c) A sensitive X-ray sky monitor (~5years)

(d) A black hole monitor (~4-6 years)

(e) High sensitivity hard X-ray experiment (6-8 years)

The combination of payloads for ASTROSAT-2 will have to be decided in due course of time taking into account the development status of the instruments. Provisionally, it is planned to initiate the ASTROSAT-2 development during 11th plan period, though the realization could be only in 12th plan.

AstroSat-2 should have next level of science and engineering which could be anything from Gravitational wave counterpart detection, polarization of GRBs, IR telescopes or multi-wavelength capability, bigger telescope with grazing incidence optics etc. Universities have to be brought into data analysis and in Big data analytics. Formation flying concept with AstroSat 2A, 2B etc. having international competence can be thought of in future.

Astrosat-2 will carry higher resolution imagers, spectroscopes and polarimeter to enhance multi-wavelength observations.

References

Giant Leaps Ahead (Sept 8-14, 2019)

Budget Session of Parliament (Feb-Apr 2018)

AstroSat Science Meet (Sept 26-27, 2017)

11th plan WG report (June 2015)

Spacecraft technology (Dec 25, 2007)

Procurement of a High End Workstation for MOSDAC

Meteorology and Oceanography Data Archival Centre (MOSDAC) is a data center of Space Applications Centre (SAC) and has facility for satellite data reception, processing, analysis and dissemination. MOSDAC is involved in web based software design and development for operationally supplying earth observation data from Indian meteorological and oceanography satellites as well as in-situ observation from AWS (Automatic Weather Station) and DWR (Doppler Weather Radar) stations, to cater to national research requirements.

In March 2019, ISRO proposed a TDP (Technology Development Programme) titled “DWR data visualization”. The TDP was approved for the period of 15 months till July 2020. The budget for procuring Workstation with high end Graphics Card was also approved by the committee. Under the TDP, ISRO proposed the following activities:

- 3D visualization of RADAR data : Development of techniques for volume Rendering

- 2D visualization of RADAR data : Integration of RADAR data in THREDDS and its visualization in LIVE

- Visualization of composite images (Satellite + RADAR)

MOSDAC is currently receiving real-time data sets from three ISRO Doppler Weather Radars namely TERLS, CHEERAPUNJI, and SHAR. At MOSDAC following activities are carried out in real-time for the DWR data archival and dissemination:

• Data sets are converted from raw format to netCDF format
• Metadata is generated in the Oracle database ,
• Data is archived along with the preview images
• Data disseminated to the internal as well as external users
• Real - time Data Visualization on Web

In the near future MOSDAC is expected to receive data from 4-5 more ISRO DWRs.

In the proposed research, ISRO plans to provide a real-time 3D volume rendered visualization on Web of these ISRO Radar datasets. Once the technique is developed, they will implement the same for visualization of Temperature and Humidity profiles from INSAT3D Sounder data sets and Megha-Tropiques SAPHIR Humidity profiles data products. To render such data sets in real time there is a requirement of extremely fast processor, large memory and a high end Graphics card.

Source: ISRO

Communication Cap Specifications that might be used by astronauts (vyomnauts) in Gaganyaan

 

Receivers
Type	Dynamic
Impedance	600 Ω @ 1KHz
Frequency Response	50-3500 Hz
Sensitivity	93-99 dB SPL
Microphone and Amplifier
Type	Noise-cancelling amplified electret
Frequency Response	50-3500 Hz
Sensitivity	-28 dB re: 1V/ubar at 1 KHz, 12 VDC bias
Operating Voltage	8-16 Vdc
ANR (Receives power from boom microphone connection)
Attenuation	Provides up to 15dB of attenuation between 100Hz and 1500Hz
Plug Type	XLR LOCKING 5 PIN CONNECTOR (Male and Female)
Cord Length	6 ft. +/-4 in. (1.8 m +/- 10 cm)
Color	Black and Stainless Steel
Controls	Active Noise Reduction On/Off Switch
	Volume Normal/High Switch

NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis (NETRA) project

• NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis (NETRA) is the first ISRO project with the primary objective as Space Situational Awareness (SSA).

• The prime goal of the project is to establish a network of observational facilities and a control centre, to identify, track and catalogue space objects that threaten the safety of Indian space assets.

• The control centre will process the tracking information from the observational network and provide accurate & timely proximity alerts to mission operations centre.

• The location for establishing the optical telescope facility is identified as Hanle, Ladakh in INDIA.

• It is intended that a one-meter optical telescope with a high-resolution CCD camera should provide capability of detecting space objects of size 30 cm and above in Geo-Synchronous Orbit (GSO).

Location: Hanle, Ladakh

Altitude: 4500m

The facilities are proposed to be remotely operated from BENGALURU, INDIA.

Source: ISRO

ExseedSat-1: India's first fully privately-built satellite

ExseedSat-1 is a 1U CubeSat built by an eight-person team at Exseed Space Innovations Private Limited, based in Hyderabad, India.

The company was founded last year by CEO Kris Nair and CTO Ashhar Farhan, with offices in Mumbai and the Netherlands.

The goal is to provide a multifunction UHF/VHF NBFM (Narrow Band Frequency Modulation) amateur communication satellite. It will have various configurable modes, including UHF to VHF, single channel, narrow band FM transponder with CTCSS, 67 Hz squelch. The power output is selectable between 1 watt and 0.5 watt. It also has a digipeat feature with APRS on UHF uplink and VHF downlink. In melody mode it will play a simple melody of a few notes on special occasions or events.

The satellite is expected to have a life of two years, depending upon how long the battery lasts and when the satellite de-orbits naturally.

The one-kg satellite is to be launched on Spaceflight Industry's SSO-A multi-satellite launch on a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) rocket from Vandenberg Air Force base at California.

The satellite is to be set in polar orbit around the Earth. A 10-cm cube, ExseedSAT-1 is the first Indian attempt at a satellite without any involvement from ISRO.

ExseedSat-1 carries an Amateur Radio FM transponder and APRS digipeater, with a repeater, digipeater, and telemetry downlink of 145.900 MHz FM, and a repeater and digipeater uplink of 435.340 MHz.

ExseedSAT 1, which is expected to provide a major boost to private radio operators after HAMSAT ceased operations about four years ago, was built with the contributions of several Ham operators and with the help small firms in and around Hyderabad, says Farhan, whose brainchild the satellite is.

"We spent almost two years working on it, with Exseed spending about Rs 2 crore, and it is the first such private satellite built without technological or financial support from government agencies like ISRO. Exseed has come up with all the technological components on its own," Farhan said.

Exseed SAT 1 operates on very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) signals and will take UHF signals up and transmit VHF signals back down, thus enabling easy communication for private radio operators.

“The satellite provides a major boost to private radio operators. It is fully functional as a communications satellite to help co-ordinate messaging between ham radio enthusiasts and help the country in time of disasters,” said Nair, who is working towards setting up India’s first contract satellite manufacturing facility that will cater to the demands of manufacturing cubesats, nano-sats and micro-sats.

Exseed Space was funded by a Mumbai finance company named First Cheque, who is also in the early stages of helping 100 new startups over the course of the next five years in India.

ExseedSAT 1 will take the place of HAMSAT, which had stopped functioning four years ago. It will be a great support to ham operators, as it will function on very high and ultra-high frequency signals.

The satellite will provide services and functionality to the amateur (ham) radio community around the world, which would typically be very useful in times of emergencies and natural disasters.

Unlike any other commercially available communication systems, amateur radio is not affected by terrestrial systems that could fail.

India has previously launched a ham radio satellite called HAMSAT by amateur radio operators’ collective Amsat India, in collaboration with both ISRO and the Netherlands.

ExseedSAT-1 is not being launched on an ISRO rocket due to a slot not being available.

Sources:

1. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/exseedsat-1.htm

2.https://theprint.in/science/indias-first-private-satellite-a-small-piece-of-history-on-spacexs-falcon-9-rocket/151254/

3. http://www.arrl.org/news/amsat-s-fox-1cliff-cubesat-ready-for-launch

4. https://telanganatoday.com/hyderabadis-to-launch-1st-private-satellite

5. https://www.deccanherald.com/state/india-s-first-home-grown-703343.html

6.https://www.moneymakers.com/indias-first-homegrown-satellite-by-exseed-space-to-launch-on-tuesday/

7.https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/spacex-will-launch-indias-first-private-satellite-from-usa-on-monday-1.60383307

Videos

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq7VqyHdk40

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2qxEjTRF8Q

3. https://youtu.be/DZ7cWA5Dafw?t=489

IRNSS-1B (PSLV-C24)

India is going to launch IRNSS-1B (Navigation Satellite) on April 4, 2014 around 5:14 pm (IST).

Aim:
To provide navigational services to the region. The satellite will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services.

Payloads:
Navigation payload
CDMA ranging payload
Laser retro-reflector

The satellite is powered by 2 solar arrays, which generate power up to 1,660 watts, and has a life-time of 10 years.

Aditya

India's upcoming space missions are Astrosat and Aditya. The expected launch of Astrosat is in the year 2015 while that of Aditya is 2017-18. In this post, I will briefly describe about the Aditya mission.

Aim:
To study the Sun, the fundamental problems of coronal heating and other phenomena that take place in the Earth's magnetosphere.

Payloads:

1. Advanced Solar Coronagraph

2. Ultraviolet Imager Telescope (to observe the entire solar disc for     solar storms)

3. High Energy X-ray Imager (to scan smaller region of the solar           disc to study flares)

4. Wind Particle Detector (to sample the solar wind)

5. Soft X-ray Spectrometer

6. Variable Emission Coronagraph

Description:
Mass: 400 kg
Cost: 100 crore rupees (estimated)
Orbit: Near Earth Orbit of 800 km

Objectives:

1. To study the coronal mass ejection.

2. To study the crucial physical parameters for space weather such       as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal     magnetic field etc.