Defense Technology International - June 2008 - (Page 31)

GIANT PAYLOAD ISRO puts 10 satellites in orbit with one launch NEELAM MATHEWS•NEW DELHI ndia’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C9) lifted o from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Apr. 28, with a multiple-satellite payload that included the 690kg. (1,518-lb.) remote-sensing Cartosat-2A satellite (prototype for a military reconnaissance spacecraft), 83-kg. Mini Satellite (IMS-1) and eight “nanosatellites” for international customers. The launch was the twelfth consecutive successful flight from the space center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It was a testament to the rapid progress India is making with its space program, and to the technical competence that made a multiple satellite launch possible. The country has already launched 16 satellites for international customers, as well as 13 Indian payloads for remote sensing, amateur radio communications and the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment, also known as SRE-1, which demonstrated India’s ability to launch and recover an orbiting capsule. The PSLV C-9 has proven to be a reliable and versatile launch vehicle, and will be used to launch the Chandrayaan1 spacecraft for India’s ﬁrst mission to the Moon, around September. The technological challenges of the multiple-satellite launch were formidable. “It was critical that 10 satellites separating at the same orbit not collide,” says P.S. Sastry, ISRO launch vehicle program director. The eight nanosatellites were built by universities in Canada, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Called NLS-4 (a cluster of six), NLS-5 and Rubin-8, their combined weight is 50 kg. India’s Mini-Satellite 1 (IMS-1) has miniaturized subsystems. Apart from a multispectral camera, it is testing a INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION PHOTOS I PSLV rocket launched 10 satellites in one payload. MiniSatellite 1 will test special cameras during its two-year life. hyperspectral camera operating in the visible and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. “The data from this mission will be made available to interested space agencies and student communities from developing countries,” according to ISRO. IMS-1 is designed to last for two years. While ISRO continues to pursue civil applications of space, Cartosat-2A is expected to be the first in a series of military satellites. Its advanced imaging capabilities include radar imaging, which experts say could qualify it as a reconnaissance satellite (DTI November 2007, p. 43). ISRO can only launch military payloads with government authorization. Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said last year that ISRO is a business and will launch satellites for customers. When asked who the customer was for the Cartosat-2A, however, he refused to comment. Some believe it is India’s military. The Cartosat-2A has a five-year life and replaces the Technology Experiment Satellite (TES), which was launched in 2001. It carries a panchromatic camera to provide scene-specific spot imagery with spatial resolution of 0.8 meters (2.6 ft.) and covers a swath of 9.6 km. (6 mi.). ISRO will soon submit its project report for a manned mission in 2014-15 to the government for approval and budgeting. The project is expected to cost $2.5 billion. The organization plans to use a structurally improved Mark 2 geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle, the Insat-class rocket, for the mission. This is a threestage rocket with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages that can place 2,200 kg. in geostationary transfer orbit. A joint working group was formed with Russia for cooperation in training and crew selection. The report on ISRO’s plans outlines 70 missions in the next ﬁve years as compared with 26 in the past ﬁve years. “The proposed missions will be a combination of satellite launches with transponders for enhancing communications, education, health, remote sensing, observation and exploration,” says Nair. “In addition to lunar and manned missions, we will undertake projects for reentry vehicles and recovery capsules.” I 31 AviationWeek.com/dti JUNE 2008 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL http://AviationWeek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - June 2008 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Basic Black Self-Defense Fire-Resistant Perfezione Hyperspeed Trial Big Sky Cashing In Digital Links Hang Ten Sea Change Programs Update Two Steps Back Direct Hit Staying Power Potent Stinger Do No Harm Guard Duty The Net Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - June 2008

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