Following are the significant
achievements and details of the Innovative Programmes launched by the
Department of Space during the year 2015:
1.
MARS Orbiter Mission:
India's Mars Orbiter
Spacecraft has successfully completed its mission objective as planned and has
completed one year around Mars orbit on September 24, 2015. It was successfully
placed into an elliptical orbit around planet Mars on September 24, 2014. The
Mars Orbiter successfully came out of the solar conjunction (a phase of
communication blackout) in July 2015 using the On-board autonomy built in the
spacecraft. The Spacecraft is in good health and all the five scientific payloads
are providing valuable data about the Mars surface features and Martian atmosphere.
The images of Mars captured by the Mars Colour Camera have been found to be of
very good quality. The increased duration of observation of Mars by five
scientific payloads beyond the designed life of six months is enabling enhanced
coverage of Mars in different seasons. A book titled ‘From Fishing Hamlet to
Red Planet’, India’s space Journey, with series of articles from luminaries
from ISRO, was released on November 05, 2015, on the second anniversary of Mars
Orbiter spacecraft launch.
By successfully placing Mars
Orbiter Spacecraft around Mars, ISRO has become the fourth space agency to
successfully send a spacecraft to Mars orbit and India became the first country
in the world to do so in its first attempt. The mission has benefited the
country by (i) Upgrading the technological capabilities in spacecraft design including
onboard autonomy, miniaturization, optimization of onboard resources (ii)
providing excellent opportunities in planetary research for the scientific
community and (iii) generating interest in youth of the country towards science
and technology.
Mars Orbiter Mission has been
awarded “Space Pioneer Award” for science and engineering category for
the year 2015 by the US based National Space Society. The Indira Gandhi
Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development has been awarded to ISRO in recognition
of its path-breaking.
2.
Successful launch of GSLV with
Indigenous Cryogenic Stage:
On Aug 27, 2015,
Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D6), equipped with the
indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), successfully launched GSAT-6, the
country's advanced communication satellite, into a Geosynchronous Transfer
Orbit (GTO). This was the second consecutively successful flight of GSLV with
the indigenous CUS, which underscores the success of ISRO in mastering the
highly complex cryogenic rocket propulsion technology. This launch also
signifies a major step forward in achieving the self reliance in launching 2
Ton class communication satellites into GTO.
3.
Development of Next Generation Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle Mk III:
The
first experimental flight of heavy lift next generation launch vehicle, GSLV-Mk
III, was successfully conducted on December 18, 2014 from Sriharikota. This
flight has validated the complex atmospheric regime of flight and demonstrated
the Integrity of design of GSLV Mk III.
During the
experimental flight of GSLV Mk III, the unmanned Crew module Atmospheric
Re-entry Experiment (CARE) has also been successfully tested for its re-entry
performance. Crew module splashed down over Andaman Sea with the help of its
parachutes and was recovered from the sea with the help of Indian Coast Guard
as per the mission plan.
Endurance
hot test of High Thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) of GSLV-Mk III was successfully
conducted on July 20, 2015. The test was conducted for 800 seconds as compared
to its nominal burn duration of 635 seconds during flight. This engine will be
used for powering the Cryogenic stage (C25) of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle. Another
short duration (5.7 s) hot test on the CE20 engine has been carried out on Aug
10, 2015 to demonstrate the successful engine ignition with tank pressure conditions
as in flight.
GSLV Mk III is designed to
launch 3.5 to 4 Ton class communication satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer
Orbit.
4.
Navigational Satellite System:
Indian Regional Navigational
Satellite System (IRNSS) is designed as a constellation of seven satellites to
provide satellite based navigational services in the country.
IRNSS-1C, the third
Navigational satellite of India, was successfully launched on-board Polar
Satellite launch Vehicle PSLV-C26 on October 16, 2014. IRNSS-1D, the fourth satellite
in this series was successfully launched on-board PSLV-C27 on March 28, 2015.
The first two satellites viz. IRNSS 1A &1B were launched on-board PSLV
earlier on July 01, 2013 and April 04, 2014 respectively.
With the operationalisation
of four navigational satellites in orbit, it is now possible to provide
Position, Navigation and Timing services. The IRNSS constellation of seven
satellites is expected to be completed by 2016.
The IRNSS
System will benefit the country by providing positioning services over Indian
Land Mass and a region extending to the about 1500 Kms around India. The
convergence of communication, earth observation and navigation satellite technologies
will prove to be a boon in coming years for location based services and informed
decision making.
GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO
Augmented Navigation), which is primarily being used in aviation sector for
precise position information services, has been certified by DGCA for
Navigation Performance level of Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV-1) over
India. With this, India becomes the Third country in the world, after USA and European
Union, to offer Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) based precision
approach services to civil aviation sector. The GAGAN System jointly developed
by ISRO and AAI is a giant leap forward in the development of GNSS services in
India and will redefine navigation in both aviation and non-aviation
application areas.
5.
Augmenting the Satellite
Communications infrastructure:
GSAT-15, a 3 ton class
communication satellite (carrying 24 Ku band transponders & GAGAN payload)
has been successfully launched on November 11, 2015 at 3.04 hrs IST. GSAT-15
will further augment the INSAT/GSAT system capacity for DTH, TV broadcasting,
Digital Satellite News Gathering and VSAT services and other societal
benefits.
GSAT-6, the country's
Advanced Communication Satellite (carrying S-Band payload with 5 spot beams
& C-Band Payload with one beam) was successfully launched on Aug 27, 2015
into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. S-Band Unfurlable Antenna of 6 meter
diameter was successfully deployed on August 30, 2015. The satellite has now
been positioned in its designated orbital slot of 83 degree East longitude.
GSAT-6 is intended to be used for satellite based mobile communications with
hand held terminals for strategic applications.
6.
India’s first multi-wavelength
Observatory in Space:
ASTROSAT
satellite, India’s first dedicated astronomy satellite was successfully
launched by PSLV-C30 on September 28, 2015. ASTROSAT enables simultaneous
Ultraviolet to X-Ray observations to study Stars and Galaxies. It will also
provide opportunity to task observations for the scientific community.
ASTROSAT is
a unique mission with combination of scientific instruments covering near
ultra-violet, far ultra-violet and x-ray bands for multi wavelength observations.
The ultra-violet imaging telescope of ASTROSAT has a best resolution of 1.8 arc
second combined with large field of view. ASTROSAT is a vital contribution of India
to the Global research community in the area of Astronomy.
7.
Commercial Launch of PSLV:
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has
launched 17 foreign satellites from seven countries (Canada, Indonesia,
Singapore, UK, and USA) during 2015 as given below:
(a) India's Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C28, successfully launched five satellites from United
Kingdom viz. DMC3-1, DMC3-2, DMC3-3, CBNT-1 and De-orbitsail from Satish Dhawan
Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota on July 10, 2015 from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
(b) PSLV-C30, along with
ASTROSAT has successfully launched six co-passenger satellites, 4 LEMUR
Satellites (USA), Lapan-A2 (Indonesia) ; NLS-14 (Canada) on September 28, 2015.
(c) PSLV-C29 has successfully
launched six satellites of Singapore. Of these six satellites, TeLEOS-1 is the
primary satellite whereas the other five are co-passenger satellites which
include two microsatellites (VELOX-CI, Kent Ridge-1) and three nano satellites
(VELOX-II, Athenoxat-1, Galassia)
During the year 2015, a total
of 17 foreign satellites were successfully launched from India which takes the
total number of foreign satellites launched to 57.
8.
National Meet on promoting Space Technology based tools and
Applications on Governance & Development:
The one day
National Meet on promoting Space Technology based tools and Applications on
Governance & Development was organized on September 07, 2015 at Vigyan
Bhavan, New Delhi to deliberate on the action plans of various Ministries/Departments.
The National Meet received an overwhelming response with participation of more
than 1200 delegates across 60 Central Ministries/Departments, 28 States and 5
Union Territories. Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries to Government
of India, Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries of the States and senior
functionaries of Central and State Governments, officials from Prime Minister
Office & Cabinet Secretariat, young administrators (the fresh batch of 2013
IAS officers), experts from academia and institutions have actively participated
in this Meet.
The National Meet comprised
of Nine theme sessions (Agriculture, Energy & Environment, Infrastructure
Planning, Water Resources, Technology Diffusion, Developmental Planning, Communication
& Navigation, Weather & Disaster Management and Health & Education)
addressing different domains of national development. Secretaries of 58
Ministries/Departments have presented the joint action plans to enhance
functional effectiveness, facilitate planning and decision making. Chief
Secretaries/ Principal Secretaries of 9 States have also made presentations on
use of space technology in specific sectors.
A Special
Session was conducted in the presence of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for new initiatives in
all the areas of governance, using the space technology and applications. He
asserted that technology is the most powerful medium that the Government has to
utilize to ensure good governance, transparency and accountability.
9.
Initiatives
on Satellite for SAARC Region:
ISRO/DOS,
with active support from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), hosted a
Conference on “Satellite for the SAARC region and Space Technology Applications”
on June 22, 2015 at New Delhi. The conference deliberated on configuration and
ground Infrastructure requirements for the proposed ‘Satellite for the SAARC
region’ as well as other space technology applications. Representatives from
all SAARC member countries have participated.
10.
Disaster Management Support:
The Indian
Remote Sensing, Meteorological and Communication satellites have immensely
helped in the management of recent events of disasters witnessed by the country
viz. J&K Floods, HudHud Cyclone and J&K Landslides. These satellites
have provided near real time support in terms of early warning, assessment of
damages, emergency communication. The massive landslides blocking Sun Koshi
River in Northern Nepal in August 2014 and Phuktal River in Zanskar region of
J&K in January-March 2015 were monitored regularly using Indian Remote
Sensing Satellites. Flood inundation maps and information on their progression
& recession were disseminated on daily basis to concerned agencies.
During the recent earthquake
in Nepal, remote sensing data obtained from Indian and foreign satellites was
analyzed in near real time to identify the collapsed structures and new
landslides resulted due to earthquake in parts of Nepal. The processed
information derived from satellite data was provided to National agencies viz.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
and National Disaster response Force (NDRF) and also to international agencies
viz., British Army, UK; International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD), Nepal; National Intelligence Agency of US, and UNOSAT and
other relief teams of Nepal, Korea, Russia, France, Germany etc. for unifying
the efforts and coordinating rescue operations.
Innovative Programmes launched and
its expected positive impact on the general public:
1.
Identifying the water bodies in tribal dominated districts, which
could be
developed to
culture fisheries
Tribal inhabitants require
regular income mechanisms, instead of current assistance protocols delivering
resource only in periodical fashion. Ministry of Tribal Affairs has programme
on identifying existing and potential water collection spots which could be
developed for fish culture using Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MNREGA). This scheme is for 168 Tribal dominated districts (>
25 % tribal population) in 24 States/UTs.
ISRO has provided maps for small
water bodies generated using satellite data. In order to use these satellite
based maps, capacity building for the state level officials has been done in
Odisha, West Bengal, North-East, Gujarat and Jharkhand. This enables
identifying existing water bodies and identifying new sites, wherein Runoff can
be harvested for fish cultivation along with conventional farming.
Water body
database will be used to plan enhancement of fishery as livelihood alternative
or livelihood augmentation in tribal areas. Small water body based fishery can
help tribal inhabitants to get regular nutrition as well as income.
2.
Monitoring and evaluation of developmental activities in the
watersheds
Department
of Land Resources programme on Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP)
is for restoring the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and
developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.
ISRO is
providing online satellite data, tools and mobile app through Bhuvan geoportal
for monitoring of watershed developmental activities for about 52,000 micro-watersheds
in 10 States and 50 identified districts across the country. Capacity building
is also being provided to DoLR officials in utilizing the Bhuvan tools for
satellite data, GIS and mobile apps. The effective implementation of the IWMP
will ensure Optimal soil & water conservation and assured crop irrigation
due to water resources harvesting which help to provide sustainable livelihoods
to the people residing in the watershed area.
Farmers get
their livelihood on sustainable basis due to biomass improvement also.
De-silting of tanks and other watershed activities that provide employment generation
under MNREGA are also being evaluated using satellite data.
3.
Space Based Information Support for Decentralized Planning:
Using high
resolution satellite data, state-wise natural resource database is being
generated for the entire country at 1:10000 scale. This spatial data base integrated
with field level information and traditional wisdom helps in preparation of
locale-specific action plans for land & water management for development of
their locality. The availability of such information at grass root level
enables decentralized planning and empowering panchayats in decision making.
Bhuvan
Panchayat Portal provides functionalities required to carry out the decentralized
planning process at grass-root level. Citizens in general and three tiers of
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) (Gram Panchayat, Block Panchayat and District
Panchayat) in particular are the users of the Portal. It helps PRIs in tracking
the progress of work undertaken by citizens under various schemes.
4.
Conservation
of heritage sites
The conservation of world
heritage sites, ancient monuments and archaeological sites is of national
importance and helps in development and promotion of Tourism, which is one of
the major engines of economic growth. The systematic database of heritage sites
and Site Management Plans generated using space technology will help to take
informed decisions in conservation, preservation and monitoring activities of
the site. The space based technology tools are also being planned for mapping
and identification of vulnerability of each monument and preparation of plans
to track and mitigate environmental or weather changes that may have an adverse
impact on fragile monuments.
5.
Automated warnings at unmanned level crossings
Pilot studies for automatic
warnings at unmanned level crossings have been carried out using GAGAN,
Rail-Navigator tools; MSS based tracking system and Bhuvan. It comprises of a
geospatial database on the accurate locations (geographical coordinates) of
unmanned level crossings and GAGAN enabled devices mounted on the train
engine. A train mounted with such a device would know the location of unmanned
level crossing and train’s hooter will automatically start when it approaches
near to an unmanned crossing. Expert committees/ Councils are setup by Railways
to discuss and finalize the modalities of implementation.
6.
Weather and Climate
Indian
meteorological satellites provide synoptic measurement and derivation of
various weather parameters such as cloud motion vectors, cloud top temperature,
water vapour, humidity, rainfall at frequent intervals to aid in improved
weather forecasting, including the genesis of cyclones, their track and
landfall prediction.
The data products are
disseminated through web based services for the needs of scientific community
in the country. Also, Android Application has been developed for viewing 3
hourly weather forecasts.
7.
Bhuvan Geoportal
It is
providing seamless high resolution remote sensing data (1m to 2.5m) for visualization,
terrain data and thematic layer overlays of Indian region along with host of
services in the areas of disaster, weather, land and ocean for general public.
It has about 51,000 registered users and has served more than 2.8 lakhs downloads.
On 12th August 2015, the Union
Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region
(DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and
Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, released New services of Bhuvan. The new application
services include – 1 m images of over 300 Cities of the country and host of
visualization applications for common man.
8.
Data
Connectivity to Rural India
DOS/ISRO has
fast-tracked the realization and launch of GSAT-11 communication satellite.
GSAT-11 is an advanced communication satellite with Ku and Ka Band communication
payload capable of providing upto 10 Gbps throughput. With such capacity, this
satellite is expected to provide high bandwidth data connectivity for rural
India as envisaged under Digital India. Satellite structure is already
realized and payload fabrication is in progress. Initiatives have been taken
to accelerate the development and realization of other critical subsystems of
thesatellite. The satellite is targeted for launch in the year 2017.
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