Satellites: India
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Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
GSLV has had a chequered past The Times of India 2013/08/20 Arun Ram TNN
India’s efforts to power Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle with indigenous cryogenic engine continue to be jinxed.
The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) in Aug 2013 called off the launch of the GSLV-D5 after scientists detected a leak in the second stage liquid propellant tank.
The GSLV-D5 launch is crucial as it would demonstrate the country’s ability to develop and use cryogenic engines that are a requisite for the launch of big telecommunication satellites and Isro’s ambitious projects, including manned missions. PSLVs, which India has mastered, can only carry satellites weighing less than 1,500kg.
History
Postponing GSLV flights at the last moment is not new to the somewhat-jinxed three-stage rocket.
The first mission of this rocket was scrubbed following a technical snag and a fire when the countdown hit the zero mark at Sriharikota 12 years ago on March 30, 2001. The countdown was progressing smoothly, and since it was the maiden flight of a new rocket, foreign countries were keenly watching the mission.
The mood was a mixture of excitement and nervous apprehension, till the countdown hit the zero mark and an Isro official announced ‘fire, fire’ over the public address system and declared that the launch was scrubbed. The rocket was back on the launchpad within two weeks and was launched on April 18, 2001. It was only a partial success because the satellite, GSat-1, failed to achieve its orbit. The postponement of the launch on Monday has also raised serious questions about the schedule of India’s second lunar mission, Chandryaan-2, which will use this rocket. Provisionally, it is slated for lift off in 2016.
If this rocket had maintained a good track record, India would not have depended upon Arianespace to launch its two to 2.5-tonne communication satellites. Of the seven flights between 2001 and 2010, only two have been fully successful.
Rukmini (GSAT-7): India's first military satellite
India's first military satellite successfully launched
Rajat Pandit, TNN | Aug 30, 2013
NEW DELHI: India's first military satellite GSAT-7 or " Rukmini", which will boost the Navy's blue-water combat capabilities with a 2,000-nautical mile footprint over the crucial Indian Ocean Region (IOR), was successfully launched from Kourou Island in French Guiana in the early hours on Friday.
Injected into the "geosynchronous transfer orbit" by European space consortium Arianespace's launch rocket around 2am, GSAT-7 promptly deployed its solar panels to generate 2,900 watt, even as ISRO master control facility at Hassan in Karnataka began acquiring its signals.
The naval communication and surveillance satellite will now undergo "three orbit-raising operations" over the next five days to place it in the geostationary orbit of almost 36,000-km above the equator. Once positioned in its orbital slot of 74 degree East Longitude by September 14, its all-important UHF, S, Ku and C-band transponders will begin beaming signals after they are switched on.
It will then become "a potent force-multiplier", networking all Indian warships, submarines and aircraft with operational centres ashore through high-speed encrypted data-links. This is the first time a high-power UHF (ultra high-frequency) transponder forms part of an Indian communication satellite like INSAT or GSAT.
The Navy has been leasing transponders of domestic and foreign satellites over the years for reconnaissance, navigation, communication and other purposes. Now, it will have a "dedicated" satellite of its own to keep tabs over almost the entire IOR — stretching from the African east coast to Malacca Strait, where China is assiduously expanding its strategic footprint.
From the individual "I see, I kill" operation, the entire Navy will now be "seamlessly" networked to get "a composite, clear picture of all the actors" in the IOR. It will transform from "a platform-centric" Navy to "a network-enabled" force. Shorn of military lingo, this means the ability to detect and share emerging maritime threats "in real-time" so that a counter to "neutralise" them can be swiftly launched, said sources.
The Navy has already tested the "ship-end" for "network-centric operations" through the massive Tropex (theatre-level readiness and operational exercise) manoeuvres, with both the eastern and western fleets accompanied by fighters, spy drones and helicopters out at sea.
India might not want "militarisation of space" but effective use of this final frontier for reconnaissance and communication missions to keep tabs on enemy troop movements, missile silos, airbases and the like across land and maritime borders cannot be overstressed. "Satellites can also help in missile early-warning, delivery of precision-guided munitions and jamming enemy networks," said an official.
- GSAT-7 launched from French Guiana, off Pacific Coast, on Friday morning. Will become fully-operational by mid-September, networking all 140 Indian warships, 14 submarines and 200 aircraft, among other platforms. Its footprint will cover almost the entire IOR.
- Satellite delayed by almost a decade. Absence of operational GSLV to launch the 2.6-tonne satellite a major factor. Overall cost, including manufacture and launch, of GSAT-7 around Rs 950 crore. GSAT-7A for IAF and Army to follow by 2014-15.
- India is a late starter in military space arena despite expansive civil programme. Armed forces forced to depend on civilian "dual-use" satellites or leasing foreign transponders. Government reluctant to approve a full-fledged Aerospace Command.
- Around 300 dedicated or dual-use military satellites currently in orbit, with the US owning 50% of them, followed by Russia and China. Beijing even testing ASAT (anti-satellite) weapons since January 2007, apart from active kinetic and directed-energy laser weapons as well as nano-satellite programmes. Wants space station with military applications by 2020
