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GS-III : S&T Space
  • 07 March, 2021

  • Min Read

Space Related Facts and Data

Space Related Facts and Data

Indian Space Program

  • Started in 2ndFive Year Plan.
  • Vikram Sarabhai is the architect of the INDIAN SPACE PROGRAM.
  • Space program is run byDepartment of Space, PMO.

Quick Facts

  • PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company under the Department of Space.
  • Notable payloads launched by PSLV include India's first lunar probe Chandrayaan-1, India's first interplanetary mission, Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) and India's first space observatory, Astrosat.
  • PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions.
  • PSLV-C37 successfully carried and deployed a record 104 satellites in sun-synchronous orbits.
  • Mangalyaan, 2014- India joined club of USA, Russia, EUwhen it successfully launched the Mars Orbiter Mission. Budget was at least 10 times lower than a similar project by the US, Perseverance.
  • Reusable Launch Vehicle, 2016 -Isro successfully tested the Reusable Launch Vehicle -Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). It will bring down the overall payload delivery cost drastically by almost 80%.
  • GSLV-Mk III: Launching humans into space. It will make India only the 4th nation in the world after Russia, US and China to have the ability to send humans into space.
  • CARE (Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment)will host up to three Indian astronauts for orbital missions.

Initial satellites

  • Aryabhatta launched in 1975to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, economics, and solar physics.
  • Bhaskara-I to collect data on telemetry, oceanography and hydrology.
  • Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to Moon, performed the chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon.
  • AstroSat is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray and UV spectral bands simultaneously.

International launch vehicles used

  • Intercosmos and Vostok of USSR
  • Ariane, Europe
  • Delta, USA

Important Institutions related to Space

  • Vikram Sarabhai Space Center- Thiruvananthapuram
  • Indian Institute of Space ScienceTechnology- country's only Institute on Space Science, Thiruvananthapuram.
  • Liquid Propulsion Test Facilities- at three places in India: Thiruvananthapuram, Mahendragiri and Bangalore.
  • Thumba- 1stsatellite launch pad by ISRO, launched meteorological rockets.
  • Satellite Tracking and Ranging Station- at two places in India Shadnagar, Kavalur.
  • Cryogenic technology- Mahendragiri
  • Ammonium Percolate Experimental Plant- Alappuzha
  • Indian Deep Space Network- Bylalu, Karnataka
  • SDSC,SHAR Center- on pulicat Lake, Sriharikota
  • Launch pads- at three places in the country-Thumba, Sriharikota, Balasoreand New one in 2020 at Kulasekarapatnam(for SSLV)-TUTICORIN.
  • APJ Abdul KalamIsland,Balasore- Meteorological Rocket Launching Station, Missile Testing Site of DRDO.
  • Ahmedabad - Physical Research Laboratory, Space Application Center.
  • Space Application Center- at two places Ahmedabad and Shillong
  • Bangalore:
    • Space Commission,
    • ISRO Headquarters,
    • Department of Space,
    • INSAT program office.
  • National Remote Sensing Agency- Hyderabad.
  • Master Control Facility for CHANDRAYAAN, MOM- Shadnagar.
  • Indian Institute Of Remote Sensing- Chandigarh.
  • Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL) is a Marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.

Major Milestones in India’s Space Programme (D.R.Khullar)

  • 1962 : Department of Atomic Energy forms the Indian National Committee for Space Research Work on Establishing Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).
  • November 21, 1963 : India launches first sounding rocket from TERLS.
  • August 15, 1969 : Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed under Department of Atomic Energy
  • June 1, 1972 : Space Commission and Department of Space (DOS) set-up. ISRO brought under DOS.
  • April 19, 1975 ISRO launches first Indian satellite Aryabhatta.
  • Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE)’ became the forerunner for future communication satellite system.

Planned Missions of ISRO in the coming years

  1. Chandrayan-3:
    1. It is expected to launch in 2021 and is a successor to the Chandrayan-2 mission.
    2. Chandrayaan-3 mission will only send lander and rover. It will not have an orbiter as ISRO scientists will use Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter.
    3. Focus is on specific points like the place of landing, correct navigation, sensors and engineering etc.
  2. Gaganyaan:
    1. India’s first human spaceflight mission is expected to launch in the year 2021.
    2. The Gaganyaan orbital vehicle will carry three Indian astronauts to the low earth orbit for a seven-day journey into space — an orbit of 2,000km or less.
    3. The spacecraft is jointly made by ISRO and HAL.
    4. The Indian Air Force (IAF) team is coordinating with ISRO and looking at aspects of spacecraft design such as life support systems, capsule design, as well as aviation medical cell.
  3. LUPEX:
    1. ISRO’s Lunar Polar Exploration Mission in collaboration with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) will be launched 2024.
    2. The mission aims at obtaining the actual data related to the quantity and forms of water present on the surface of the Moon to determine the feasibility of utilizing such resources for sustainable space exploration activities in the future.
  4. Aditya-L1:
    1. It is India’s first solar mission and was expected to launch in 2022.
    2. The mission aims at studying solar corona in visible and near IR bands.
    3. Carry 400 kg of the payload called Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC).
    4. Earlier, this mission was planned to launch in an 800 km low earth orbit.
    5. But, it was found that a satellite placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian Point 1 (L1) can give a big advantage of viewing Sun. Thus, this mission was renamed Aditya L-1 Mission.
  5. RISAT-1A:
    1. It is expected to launch in the year 2021 by ISRO.
    2. It is a radar-imaging satellite and will be similar to RISAT-1 satellite in terms of configuration.
    3. It is a land-based mission for terrain mapping and analysis of land, ocean and water surface for soil moisture.
  6. NISAR:
    1. NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is expected to be launched in the year 2022 by ISRO in collaboration with NASA (US Space Agency).
    2. It aims at studying global environmental change and natural disasters and will be the first dual-band (L & S) radar imaging satellite.
    3. NISAR satellite is likely to be the world’s most expensive Earth-imaging satellite to date with an expected cost of $1.5 billion.
  7. Mangalyaan-2:
    1. MOM-2is expected to launch in 2024.
    2. ISRO’s 2ndinterplanetary mission to Mars by India and France.
    3. It will consist of an orbiteronly itwill use aerobraking to enter into an orbit more suitable for observations.
  8. Shukrayaan-1:
    1. The inter-planetary mission is expected to launch in the year 2025 by ISRO in collaboration with CNES (National Centre for Space Studies; French Space Agency).
    2. It is a proposed mission to study the atmosphere of the planet Venus—the second planet from Sun and the hottest planet of our solar system.
    3. In the year 2018, India and France issued a ‘Joint Vision for Space Cooperation’.

Types of Orbit

  • Geostationary orbit (GEO)- Satellites in this orbit (GEO) circle Earth above the equator from west to east following Earth’s rotation.
  • Satellites take 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by travelling at exactly the same rate as Earth making satellites in GEO appear to be ‘stationary’ over a fixed position.
  • The orbit is at an altitude 32000 km above earth surface in exosphere.
  • Low Earth orbit (LEO) is, an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface. As low as 100 km above Earth to 1000 km– which is low compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s surface.
  • Polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)- These orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, usually travel past Earth from north to south, passing roughly over Earth’s poles.
  • Sun-synchronous are at altitudes between 600 to 1000 km
  • Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, as they are at low altitudes between 200 to 1000 km.
  • Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)-Special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another.
  • Lagrange points (L-points)- 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.

Supercomputers in India

Organisation

Supercomputer

  • ISRO
  • SAGA220
  • BARC
  • ANUPAM
  • C-DAC
  • PARAM
  • IITM
  • PRATYUSH
  • Advanced Numerical Research and Analysis Group(ANURAG)
  • PACE
  • National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting
  • MIHIR

Space Debris Issue and Technologies that can tackle the problem:

  • Nasa’s Space Debris Sensor orbits the Earth on the International Space Station. It will detect millimetre- sized pieces of debris for at least two years, determining whether the impacting object is from space or a man-made piece of space debris.
  • REMOVE debris, satellite contain two cubesats that will release simulated space debris so that it can then demonstrate several ways of retrieving them.
  • Deorbit mission: Deorbit is a planned European Space Agency active space debris removal mission developed as a part of their Clean Space initiative.
  • Other technologies include moving objects with a powerful laser beam.

India’s Anti Satellite(ASAT) Missile

  • Mission Shakti is a joint programme of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  • An anti-satellite (A-SAT) weapon was launched and targeted an Indian satellite which had been decommissioned. India is only the 4th country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability, after US, Russia and China. Signifying its ability to intercept an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Launch year

Satellite

Importance

1975

Aryabhata

First Indian Satellite. It gave valuable technological know-how about satellites.

1979

Bhaskara-I

First experimental remote sensing satellite that carried TV and microwave cameras.

1982

INSAT-1A

First operational multipurpose communication and meteorology satellite.

1999

OCEANSAT

Earth observation satellite carrying a Multifrequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR)and an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM).

2002

Kalpana-1 (METSAT)

First meteorological satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation.

2004

EDUSAT (GSAT-3)

India’s first satellite exclusively for education

2005

HAMSAT

Microsatellite for radio services to national and international community

2005

CARTOSAT-1

Earth observation satellite

2007

SRE-1 (Space Capsule Recovery Experiment)

Test satellites to show an orbiting platform for performing tests in microgravity conditions

2008

Chandrayaan-1

PSLV c11

Scientific Payloads from India

a) Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)

b) Hyper Spectral Imager (HySIS)

c) Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI)

d) High Energy X - ray Spectrometer (HEX)

e) Moon Impact Probe(MIP)

2009

ANUSAT

Research Microsatellite developed by Anna University

2009

Oceansat-2

Collects oceanographic, coastal and atmospheric data

2011

Youthsat

Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric satellite

2011

Megha-Tropiques

Indo-French collaborative effort to research on water cycle in the atmosphere

2013

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

India’s first Mars orbiter

2015

Astrosat

India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space Observatory

2016

IRNSS-1G

Seventh and final satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

2016

CARTOSAT-2C

Earth observation remote sensing satellite

2016

Miniature satellite to give climate anticipating, tornado expectation, and tracking services to India.

2018

MICROSAT- TD

This satellite is a technology demonstrator and the forerunner of future satellites.

2018

HysIS

PSLV c43

It facilitates Hyperspectral imaging Services for agriculture, forestry, and wide applications.

The primary goal of HysIS is to study the earth’s surface in the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

2019

Microsat-R

This satellite facilitates Earth imaging for defense purposes.

2019

KalamSAT-V2

It is the world’s lightest satellite.

2019

EMISAT

This facilitates Electromagnetic intelligence to track any enemy radars for the IAF.

2019

Cartosat-3

Cartosat-3 is one of the optical satellites with the highest resolutions in the world.

2020

GSAT-30

GSAT-30 is the 41st communication satellite launched by ISRO to replace INSAT-4A. It provides advanced telecommunication services to the entire Indian subcontinent.

2020

EOS-01

PSLV c49

EOS-01 is an earth observation satellite, intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.

2021

Amazonia-1

PSLV c51

Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite.This satellite would further strengthen the existing structure by providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory.

Planets and Their Natural Satellites

No.

Planets

Number of moons

Prominent ones

1.

Mercury

0

2.

Venus

0

3.

Earth

1

Moon

4.

Mars

2

Phobos, Delmos

5.

Jupiter

79

Ganymede(Largest in the solar system)

Europa(Ocean Moon)

Lo(Volcanic moon)

6.

Saturn

82

Enceladus and Titan

7.

Uranus

27

Miranda

8.

Neptune

14

Triton

Telescopes to Study Universe

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

  • Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is an astronomical observatory with an extremely large telescope (ELT). India is a partner in the construction.
  • Funded by scientific organisations of Canada, China, India, Japan and USA.
  • Planned location: Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii in the US state of Hawaii.
  • The TMT is designed for near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared observations, featuring adaptive optics to assist in correcting image blur.

Spitzer space telescope

  • Spitzer space telescope of NASA, Launched into solar orbit in 2003 retired in 2020. Spitzer exploring the cosmos in infrared light.

Kepler Space Telescope

  • Space telescope launched by NASA to discover Earth-size planets

TESS

  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a new planetary system called TESS Object of Interest (TOI). TOI 270 is about 73 light years away from Earth, and is located in the constellation Pictor.
  • TESS, however, will focus on stars that are 30 to 100 times brighter than those Kepler examined.

Copernicus Programme

  • Copernicus is the new name for the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme, previously known as GMES.
  • It will provide accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.

GROWTH

  • India's first robotic telescope, to observe dynamic or transient events in the universe. The telescope is located at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) at Hanle in Ladakh. It’s a joint project of the Bangalore based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and the Indian Institute of Technology
  • Bombay (IITB).
  • Fully funded by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
  • It's highest astronomical observatories at 4,500 meters. The 70 cm robotic telescope Joins other larger facilities at IAO in Hanle- the Himalayan Chandra Telescope, the gamma ray array telescope (HAGAR), and the imaging Cherenkov telescope (MACE).

WORLD MISSIONS to different PLANETS and STARS

Star

Year

Probe/Mission

Launch vehicle

Target

Space Agency

Sun

1970

Apollo telescope

Helios space craft

Study solar wind and solar corona

NASA

1980

Solar Maximum Mission

To observe Gamma rays X rays UV radiation from solar flares during high solar activity and solar luminosity

NASA

Ulysses/ Odysseus

To study Sun’s poles

2006

Solar terrestrial relations observatory

STEREO MISSION

Delta II 7925

Stereoscopic imaging of Sun and Solar phenomena

2015

DSCOVR

Deep Space Climate Observatory

Solar wind and coronavirus ejection monitoring as well as a climate monitoring

Space X

2018

Parker Solar probe

Explores different aspects of the Sun-Earth System.

Delta IV heavy rocket

Closest orbiting man made satellite, flying Low into solar corona

• The probe seeks to gather information about the Sun’s atmosphere.

It is part Of NASA's “Living With a Star” programme

2020

Solar Orbiter

Atlas V

Study Solar Heliosphere Physics

ESA

2022

Aditya-L1

Will be inserted in halo orbit around around L1 point to study dynamics of Solar Corona

ISRO

Mercury

2004

MESSENGER

MErcury Surface Space ENvironment Geo-chemistry and Ranging

Delta II 7925H

To study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit. Specifically the chemical composition geologic history the core and exosphere

NASA

2018

Arrival planned for 2025

Bepi Colombo

Ariane5 rocket

Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter magnetic field and magnetic year of Mercury

ESA, JAXA

Venus

1961-84

Venera

Molniya M

Venus atmospheric probe

Lavochkin, Soviet

Pioneer Venus

Atlas- Centaur

Orbiter and Multi Probe

NASA

1989

Magellan

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Map Surface of Venus by using Synthetic Aperture Radar and to measure planetary Gravitational Field

NASA

2005

Venus Express

Soyuz

Orbiter

ESA

2015

Akatsuki

Venus climate Orbiter to study stratification of Venus atmosphere

JAXA

2010

IKAROS

H-IIA 202

JAXA

Flybys of Venus

(Closest Encounter)

Parker Solar Probe

Solar Orbiter

JUICE (Jupiter)

Galileo (Jupiter)

Cassini (Saturn)

Messenger(Mercury)

BepiColombo(Mercury)

These Use gravity assist at Venus to shrink their elliptical orbit around different planets

Future missions of Venus

Shukrayaan-1

GSLV MKII

Orbiter and Atmospheric Balloon

ISRO

CUVE, VERITAS, VOX , EVE, ENVISION

VICI, VISAGE, VICE, HAVOC

Orbiter

Lander

Crewed Aircraft(havoc)

NASA

ESA

Moon

Surveyor

To demonstrate feasibility of soft landings, Mid course Corrections

NASA

Explorer

Delta 1913 Rocket

Magnetospheric Probe studying Moon and Interplanetary Space

NASA

Lunar Orbiter

Mapping Moon’s Surface to help select Apollo landing sites.

NASA

Project Apollo11

Saturn V launch vehicle

Apollo 11, Human Space flight to Moon. Successful landing of humans on moon. Buzz Aldrin & Neil Armstrong were 1st to land.

NASA

Luna program

Objectives: soft landing, rover, orbiting.

Also study chemical composition, gravity, temperature, radiation.

Soviet Union

Zond Program

Zond 1,2,3- Venus, Mars, Moon

Soyuz spacecraft

To gather information about nearby planets

Soviet Union

2006

Artemis

Orbiter

Delta II 7925

To study effect of lunar wind on lunar surface

NASA

2007

Chang’e

YUTU Rover

Long March

Objective: Soft landing, Rover Exploration

Lunar surface topography geologic survey, material composition survey.

CNSA, China

2008

LADEE

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer

Minotaur V

Determine density, composition of lunar exosphere, Lunar Dust Experiment

NASA

2008

CHANDRAYAAN-1

PSLV XL

Mineralogical, chemical imaging of permanently shadowed North and South polar regions. Discovered water ice on moon.

ISRO

2009

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS Impactor (Lunar Crater Observation and Sending Satellite)

AtlasV 401 launch vehicle

To determine narrow of hydrogen detected at lunar poles, explore presence of water in lunar polar region.

NASA

2018-20

Other missions

Longjiang

Long March

Orbiter

CNSA

Beresheet

Falcon 9

Lunar lander and probe

Space IL and ASI (Israel)

CHANDRAYAAN

GSLV MK 3

Lander,Rover

ISRO

Future Lunar Missions

In 2021

CAPSTONE

Photon

Electron

Orbiter, Technology demonstrator

Gravity assist to interplanetary Space, Technology Demonstrator

NASA

Rocket lab

Mission one

Vulcan Centaur

Peregrine lander

Astrobotic Tech-USA

Spacebit Mission one

Space bit- UK

Colmena

UNAM - Mexico

In 2022

Chandrayaan-3

GSLV Mk 3

Soft landing on moon

ISRO

SLIM – Smart Lander for Investigating Moon

H-IIA 202

Pin point landing, roving

JAXA

Artemis

Falcon 9

Lander technology demonstration

Japan, USA

In 2023

Viper rover

Prospect for lunar resources in South pole region

NASA

Luna

Soyuz

Lander, party of LUNA-GLOB programme

Roscosmos

Destiny+

Epsilon

Lunar fly by towards 3200-Phaethon

JAXA

Future Robotic lunar Space Probes

2022

Garatea L

Orbiter

Air antis

Lunar polar exploration

Lander Robert, part of CHANDRAYAAN

ISRO, JAXA

ISOCHRON

Lunar sample return

NASA

LUNA GLOB

Crewed lunar Orbiter and landing

Roscosmos

Mars

1964

Mariner

Atlas Centaur

Fly by

NASA

1972

Mars 2

Mars 3

Proton K/D

Lander, Rover

Soviet union

1975

Viking 1

Viking 2

Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T

Orbiter, Lander

NASA

2003

Spirit

Opportunity

Delta II 7925

Delta II 7925H

Rover

Rover

NASA

2005

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Atlas V401

Orbiter

NASA

2007

Phoenix

Delta II 7925

Lander

NASA

2011

Curiosity

Atlas V 541

Rover

NASA

2013

Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission)

PSLV-XL

Orbiter

ISRO

Maven( Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution)

Atlas V401

Orbiter

NASA

2018

Insight

Atlas V401

NASA

2020

Hope

H-IIA

Orbiter

MBRSC(Md. Bin Rashid Space Center) – UAE

Tianwen

Long March 5

Orbiter, Lander and Rover

CNSA

Perseverance

Ingenuity

Atlas V 541

Rover

Helicopter( to be deployed by perseverance rover)

NASA

Future missions to Mars

2022

Eco Mars

Lander

SRI RAS, RUSSIA

MOM 2

Orbiter

ISRO

Martian Moons Exploration

Orbiter

JAXA

MELOS

Rover. Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search- MELOS

JAXA

Next Mars Orbiter

(NeMO)

Orbiter

NASA

2030

Deimos and Phobos Interior Explorer

Orbiter

NASA

2026

Mars Sample Reform Mission

Orbiter, Lander, Return vehicle

NASA, ESA

Flybys to different planets

Jupiter, Saturn,

Uranus, Neptune

Pioneer

Atlas Centaur

Flyby to Jupiter

Objective: Outer Solar System and Heliocentric Exploration.

NASA

1977- still in operation

Voyager

Titan III Centaur

Outer Solar System Exploration

NASA

Jupiter

1995-2003

Galileo

Space shuttle Atlantis

Atmospheric Analysis, orbiter

NASA

Juno

Atlas V 551

Orbiter, assessment of gravitational and magnetic field of Jupiter,

NASA

Gravity Assists: Ulysses(Sun)

CassiniHuygens(Saturn)

NewHorizons(Pluto Kuiper belt formation)

These Use gravity assist at Jupiter to shrink their elliptical orbit around different planets

Saturn

1997

Cassini-Huygens

Titan IVCentaur

Cassini Orbiter – To determine 3D structure of rings of Saturn, composition of atmosphere.

NASA

ESA

ASI(Italian Space Agency)

Huygens probe/lander- To characterise Titans surface and study its clouds

Pluto

2006

New Horizons Flyby

Atlas V

Understand, formation of plutonian system, Kuiper belt, transformation of early solar system

NASA

Source: Wikipedia

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