Chandrayaan-I Launched successfully

India has successfully launched its first mission to the Moon.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, impacted the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. In 1969, Project Apollo first successfully landed people (Neil Armstrong commander of the Apollo 11) on the Moon. They placed scientific experiments there and returned rocks and data that suggested the Moon is of a similar composition to the Earth.

Chandrayan launch

Today, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched Chandrayaan-1, an unmanned lunar orbiter. The lunar probe will revolve around the Moon for 2 years taking high resolution images of the lunar surface and also mapping its chemical and mineralogical content. One of the primary objectives of the mission is to map the lunar surface for helium-3. It is believed that the Moon has vast quantities of the mineral which could be used to fuel future nuclear fusion reactors.

Fig.01: Chandrayaan-I: an unmanned lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation
Fig.01: Chandrayaan-I: an unmanned lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation

The primary objectives of Chandrayaan-1 / India moon mission are:

  1. To place an unmanned spacecraft in an orbit around the moon
  2. To conduct mineralogical and chemical mapping of the lunar surface
  3. To upgrade the technological base in the country

More About Chandrayaan Mission and history

  • Chandrayaan means moon vehicle in sanskrit. However, it was earlier named Somayaana.
  • Chandrayaan-I is India’s first unmanned mission to moon.
  • It was first proposed by ISRO in 1999.
  • Government of India nod in 2003.
  • The 3,86,000 KM journey is expected to completed in 5 1/2 days.
  • Chandrayaan-I will spend two years circling moon and it will remain 100KM away from the moon surface.
  • It is launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV). PSLV-C11 launched a 1304 kg remote sensing satellite (five satellite from ISRO and six from other space agencies [three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from NASA]) as part of the Chandrayaan lunar exploration mission. The launch was successful and the satellite was placed in the earth’s orbit and will reach the Moon in 5.5 days after reaching its lunar transfer orbit.
  • Over a 1000 space scientists and engineers working on the project.
  • Chandrayaan-1 was built at ISRO’s Satellite Centre, Bangalore, with contribution from various wings of the space agency, including the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
  • Total cost of the project: Rs 386 CR:
    • RS 53 CR for payload
    • RS 83 CR for spacecraft bus
    • Rs 100 CR for PSLV-C11
    • Rs 50 Cr for Scientific data center

Specific areas of study

  • High resolution mineralogical and chemical imaging of permanently shadowed north and south polar regions.
  • Search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the moon, specially at lunar pole
    Identification of chemical end members of lunar high land rocks
  • Chemical stratigraphy of lunar crust by remote sensing of central upland of large lunar craters, South Pole Aitken Region (SPAR) etc., where interior material may be expected
  • To map the height variation of the lunar surface features along the satellite track
  • Observation of X-ray spectrum greater than 10 keV and stereographic coverage of most of the moon’s surface with 5 m resolution, to provide new insights in understanding the moon’s origin and evolution.

India To Undertake 70 Space Missions by 2012

India’s massive space vision is all set to unfold as Isro planning to undertake 70 space missions in next five years.

Indian Space Research Organisation Logo

The Indian Space Research Organization develops technologies related to space and their application to India’s development. ISRO announced to undertake 70 space mission by 2012. This is three times more than the numbers of mission undertaken in the past five years. ISRO have proposed 70 mission in the 11th plan – April 1 2007 to March 31, 2012.

Also the 2008-09 annual budget has gone up to INR. 4072 crore – a 25% increase over the last financial year.

India launches Israeli Spy Satellite in Boost to Space Business

India successfully launches an Israeli spy satellite, from Sriharikota (island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh in India) space station, AP. Sriharikota is used by the Indian Space Research Organisation to launch satellites using multi-stage rockets such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. This clear shows that India is eager to compete in the world space technology market which is worth multi-billion-dollar industry.

The launch of the Tecsar satellite by an Indian-made rocket was carried out in clear weather at 9:15 am local time from the Sriharikota space station in southern India, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.

ISRO launches Israeli satellite

The 300-kilogramsatellite, sometimes referred to as the Polaris, was steered into orbit about 20 minutes later, said Antrix Corporation, the marketing arm of the Bangalore-based space agency. It is the second commercial launch of a foreign satellite by India, which sent into space an Italian satellite in April last year.

India wants to join and compete with the United States, Russia, China, the Ukraine and the European Space Agency in offering commercial satellite launch services, a market worth up to 2.5 billion dollars a year.

=> More information available here.

Insat 4A put into orbit successfully

Finally on Thursday Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) latest satellite, Insat-4A put into orbit (Click to view Insat 4A image/picture) successfully. It was launched from Kourou, French Guiana. According to official ISRO statement:

  • It is India’s first communication satellite
  • It can provide upto 150 DTH channels via 12 Ku-band transponders
  • It will boost countries television capacity
  • It will cover India, Asia Pacific and the Gulf

INSAT-4A is launched into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by Ariane-5 launch vehicle. The satellite is subsequently manoeuvred to 36,000 km high Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) by firing the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) on-board the satellite. In GSO, INSAT-4A will be co-located with INSAT-2E and INSAT-3B satellites at 83 deg East longitude. INSAT-4A is designed for a life of 12 years.

For more information, see ISRO official web site.