RISAT-1 inside Thermo-vacuum chamber for pre-launch tests

4

CITIZENS' CHARTER OFDEPARTMENT OF SPACE

Department of Space (DOS) has the primary responsibility of promoting the development of space science,

technology and applications towards achieving self-reliance and facilitating in all round development of the nation.

With this basic objective, DOS has evolved the following programmes:

• Indian National Satellite (INSAT) programme for telecommunication, television broadcasting, meteorology,

developmental education, societal applications such as tele-medicine, tele-education, tele-advisories and

similar such services.

• Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) programme for management of natural resources and various developmental

projects across the country using space based imagery

• Indigenous capability for design and development of satellite and associated technologies for communications,

navigation, remote sensing and space sciences

• Design and development of launch vehicles for access to space and orbiting INSAT, IRS satellite and space

science missions

• Research and development in space sciences and technologies as well as application programmes for

national development

The Department of Space is committed to:

• Carrying out research and development in satellite and launch vehicle technology with a goal to achieve

total self reliance

• Provide national space infrastructure for telecommunications and broadcasting needs of the country

• Provide satellite services required for weather forecasting, monitoring, etc.

• Provide satellite imagery required for the natural resources survey, management of natural disasters, public

good services and monitoring of environment in the country

• Provide satellite imagery and specific products and services required for the application of space science and

technology for developmental purposes through Central Government, State Governments, Quasi

Governmental Organisations, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and the private sectors

• Undertake proof of concept demonstration of space applications

• Promote research in space sciences and development of applications programme as per national needs

While implementing the above objectives, the Department of Space will:

• Provide the required satellite transponders and facilities to meet the communications, television broadcasting

and security requirements of our country

• Provide adequate earth observation capability in spectral, spatial and temporal domains

• Provide launch services to meet national requirements and commercial needs

• Provide its products and services in a prompt and efficient manner to all the users/clients

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CONTENTS

Highlights 7

Organisation 12

Communication, Navigation and Meteorological Satellite System 23

Earth Observation System 31

Space Applications 38

Space Transportation System 59

Space Sciences 67

Sponsored Research 79

Indian Space Industry 81

Space Commerce 86

System Reliability and Safety 87

Human Resources 89

International Cooperation 96

'Space' in Parliament 99

Space Programme Publicity 100

Right to Information 103

Audit Observations 104

Milestones 107

Acronyms 112

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7

HIGHLIGHTS

The year 2011 saw remarkable achievements in the Indian Space programme with three successful launches of

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota that orbited an Indian Remote Sensing Satellite

RESOURCEAT-2, a science Satellite YOUTHSAT, an Indo-French Satellite MEGHA-TROPIQUES for study of

tropical climate and an Indian Communication Satellite GSAT-12. Another advanced Indian Communication

Satellite GSAT-8 was launched from French Guyana using the European Launch vehicle ARIANE-V. These five

satellites are functioning well and they have significantly enhanced our national capabilities for space applications

and scientific studies

• RESOURCESAT-2, launched on April 20, 2011, is a follow on mission to RESOURCESAT-1 to provide

data continuity to Indian and global user community. It has three optical Remote sensing payloads, Linear

Imaging Self Scanner-3, Linear Imaging Self Scanner-4 and Advanced Wide Field Sensor, as in

RESOURCESAT-1. The satellite also carries an additional payload, known as Automatic Information

System for ship surveillance in Very High Frequency band to derive position, speed and other information

of ships. Compared to RESOURCESAT-1, Linear Imaging Self Scanner-4 multi-spectral swath is enhanced

to 70 km. Suitable changes including miniaturisation in payload electronics have been incorporated in

RESOURCESAT-2.

• Youthsat, an Indo - Russian collaboration, is India’s first small satellite carrying two Indian instruments for

scientific studies of terrestrial upper atmosphere along with one Russian instrument for measuring solar

radiation.

• Megha-Tropiques (Megha means cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques means tropics in French) is a joint

Indo-French satellite mission for understanding the life cycle of convective systems and their role in the

associated energy and moisture budget of the atmosphere in the tropical regions. The satellite was

launched by PSLV-C18 on October 12, 2011.

• GSAT-12 satellite with 12 Extended C band transponders is designed for a mission life of 8 years and is

placed in 830 East longitude. In-orbit testing of the Payload has been completed and the satellite has been

declared as operational. GSAT-12 will enhance space based applications in the area of telemedicine, tele-

education and disaster management support.

• India's advanced communication satellite, GSAT-8, carrying 24 high power transponders in Ku-band and

a two-channel GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands

was placed in the intended geostationary orbital slot of 550 East longitude. The transponders have

augmented the capacity in the INSAT system while the GAGAN payload provides the Satellite Based

Augmentation System through which the accuracy of the positioning information obtained from the GPS

Satellites is improved.

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• After decommissioning of INSAT-2E in November 2011, ISRO is currently having a constellation of 8

communication satellites, 2 Meteorological satellites, 10 Earth observation satellites and 1 science satellite.

• Further, it is noteworthy that two satellites JUGNU (from IIT, Kanpur) and SRMSat (from SRM University,

Chennai) made by Indian students and two foreign satellites X-SAT and VesselSat-1 were also successfully

launched by PSLV as co-passengers in the year 2011.

Launch Vehicle Programme

• Activities for the realisation of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II with indigenous cryogenic

engine and stage for launching communication and meteorological satellites of two ton class into

Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and GSLV-Mark III capable of launching four ton satellites are progressing

satisfactorily.

• The S200 solid booster for GSLV Mark III, the heaviest built so far by the ISRO has undergone static test

successfully. The 110 ton liquid core stage of GSLV Mark III has also been successfully static tested for the

full flight duration.

• Activities for the launch of PSLV-C19 carrying the first Indian microwave Radar Imaging Satellite

(RISAT-1) are in advanced stage. RISAT-1, using an active radar sensor system, namely a C-band Synthetic

Aperture Radar imager, is an important microwave complement to its optical IRS series of observation

missions. It is planned to be launched in the second quarter of 2012 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre,

Sriharikota.

• Research and development activities in semi-cryogenic propulsion engine, air breathing propulsion and

re-usable launch vehicle technology are also being pursued vigorously in an effort towards reducing the

cost of access to space. Development of critical technologies for undertaking human spaceflight has also

made progress.

Satellite Programme

• GSAT-7 envisaged as a multi-band satellite carrying payloads in Ultra High Frequency (UHF), S-band, C-

band and Ku-band, is planned to be launched onboard a procured launcher during 2012.

• GSAT-10, carrying 12 Ku Band, 12 C Band and 12 Extended C Band transponders, envisages to augment

the growing need for Ku and C band transponders It also carries a GAGAN payload.

• INSAT-3D is a state-of-the art meteorological satellite with 6 channel Imager and 19 channel Sounder

payloads. The satellite will be located at 820 E longitude in geostationary orbit. The satellite is planned to

be launched onboard a procured launcher during 2013.

• GSAT-14 satellite, envisaged to enhance extended C band and Ku band communication transponder

capacity, carries 6 Extended C band, 6 Ku band Transponders and 2 Ka Band Beacons and is planned to be

launched in the forthcoming of GSLV – D5 in 2012.

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• Chandrayaan-2 is a follow on mission to Chandrayaan-1 with an Indian Orbiter and Rover and Russian

Lander. Chandrayaan-2 is designed to collect samples of lunar soil and conduct in-situ studies of chemical

and mineralogical content of the lunar soil. Towards this, India and Russia have signed a Memorandum of

Understanding. Chandrayaan-2 mission is targeted for launch on GSLV during 2014.

Societal Applications

• The hallmark of Indian space programme has been the application-oriented efforts and the benefits that

have accrued to the country. The societal services offered by INSAT satellites in the area of tele-education

and telemedicine were continued during the year. Today, tele-education network has more than

55,000 class rooms connected to various academic institutions and universities. Telemedicine network

facilities cover 382 hospitals connecting 306 rural hospitals and 16 mobile vans to 60 super speciality

hospitals providing health care to citizens, especially in rural areas.

• Village Resource Centre (VRC), a single window agency providing the services offered by INSAT and

IRS satellites to provide information on natural resources, land and water resources management,

telemedicine, tele-education, adult education, vocational training, health and family welfare programmes,

has been established. Already more than 473 VRCs in 22 states and union territories have been established

in the country.

Infrastructure development

• During the current year, ISRO built a supercomputer, which is considered to be India's fastest supercomputer

in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second. The

supercomputing facility, named as Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility, is located at Vikram Sarabhai

Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and is being used for solving complex aerospace problems.

Space Commerce

• Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of Department Of Space, has been marketing the space products

and services in the global market. Under a commercial contract with Antrix, in the year 2011,

two commercial satellites, namely, X-SAT of Singapore and VessalSat-1 of Luxemburg, have been launched

on board PSLV-C16 and PSLV-C18 missions respectively.

• Antrix has signed a commercial agreement with M/s EADS-Astrium for launch of a remote sensing satellite

SPOT-1 weighing 800 kg using our PSLV during 2012.

Indian Space Industry

• Involvement of Indian space industry continued during the year and has made significant contribution

towards the realisation of subsystems required for Indian space programme. Department Of Space has

associated more than 500 small, medium and large scale industries while implementing its various

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programmes. So far, Department Of Space has transferred 298 technologies to Indian industries for

commercialisation and undertaken technical consultancies in various fields. Presently, ISRO has 254 patents,

39 copyrights and 10 trademarks.

International Cooperation

• International cooperation is an integral part of space activities, and ISRO continues to lay importance on

bilateral and multilateral relations with space agencies and space related bodies with the aim of taking up

new scientific and technological challenges, defining international frameworks for exploitation and utilisation

of outer space for peaceful purposes, refining space policies and building and strengthening existing ties

between countries. This year has been highly significant for ISRO’s international cooperation pursuits, as

two satellites jointly developed with other nations were launched from India. Megha-Tropiques Satellite,

a joint Indo–French mission, was launched on October 12, 2011 and YOUTHSAT, jointly built with

Russia, was launched on April 20, 2011 respectively.

Human Resources

• The achievements of Indian space programme are a result of the commitment, dedication and expertise

of its personnel who continue to play a key role. Recognising the importance of talented and motivated

personnel, the department has laid stress on recruitment, training and career progression features.

Department Of Space has complemented and continues to strive for providing its personnel with facilities

such as housing, medical, canteen and schooling for their children. In addition, the personnel have been

provided with additional compensation packages and rewarded with several incentives on the successful

realisation of space missions.

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

• Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), a deemed university, was established towards

capacity building in human resources and to meet the growing demands of the Indian Space Programme.

The Institute has started functioning from its permanent campus at Valiamala in Thiruvananthapuram.

The annual intake of the Institute is about 150-200 students. The first batch of fresh graduates from the

institute has been inducted to various ISRO Centres/Units in August 2011.

Public Awareness on Space Programme

• During the year, ISRO organised 41 exhibitions at national and international conferences, important

public congregations like cultural festivals, trade fairs and events and also at academic institutions. Exhibitions

were also organised in association with Non-Governmental Organisations in various places for keeping

the public abreast of the Indian space programme.

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Right to Information – Ensuring Transparency

• Strict compliance to the requirements of Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005 is practiced in the department.

Department Of Space has implemented RTI Act 2005 by identifying the Central Public Information

Officers, Assistant Public Information Officers and the Appellate Authority for stage one appeals. As required

under the Act, Department Of Space has published the requisite information on ISRO website

(www.isrio.gov.in). During the year, 518 applications were received under RTI on which appropriate

responses have been given. 73 appeals were received by the First Appellate Authority and 34 appellants

approached the Second Appellate Authority, i.e., Central Information Commission.

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ORGANISATION

The space activities in the country were

initiated with the setting up of Indian National

Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)

in 1962. In the same year, the work on

Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station

(TERLS) near Thiruvananthapuram was also

started. Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) was established in August 1969.

Government of India constituted the Space

Commission and established the Department

of Space (DOS) in June 1972 and brought

ISRO under DOS in September 1972.

Space Commission formulates the policies and oversees the implementation of the Indian space programme

to promote the development and application of space science and technology for the socio-economic benefit

of the country. DOS implements these programmes mainly through, ISRO, Physical Research Laboratory

(PRL), National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), North Eastern-Space Applications Centre

(NE-SAC) and Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL). Antrix Corporation, established in 1992 as a government

owned company, markets the space products and services.

The establishment of space systems and their applications are coordinated by the national level committees,

namely, INSAT Coordination Committee (ICC), Planning Committee on National Natural Resources

Management System (PC-NNRMS) and Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS).

The DOS Secretariat and ISRO Headquarters are located at Antariksh Bhavan in Bangalore. Programme offices

at ISRO Headquarters coordinate the programmes like satellite communication, earth observation, launch

vehicle, space science, disaster management support, sponsored research scheme, international cooperation,

safety, systems reliability, publications and public relations, budget and economic analysis and human resources

development. The major establishments of DOS and their area of activities are given in the following paragraphs:

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram is the lead centre for the design and development of

launch vehicle technologies for the Indian Space Programme. The Centre pursues research and development

in the fields of Aeronautics, Avionics, Composites, Computer & Information, Control, Guidance & Simulation,

Launch Vehicle Design, Materials, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanisms, Vehicle Integration & Testing, Propellants,

Antariksh Bhavan - Headquarters of ISRO/DOS

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Polymers, Chemicals, Propulsion, Space

Ordnance, System Reliability and Space

Physics. Services like Programme Planning

& Evaluation, Technology Transfer &

Industrial Coordination, Human Resources

Development, Safety, Personnel and

General Administration support the

Centre’s core functions. Apart from this,

the Construction & Maintenance Group

carries out planning, execution and

maintenance of all civil works related to

the Centre.

VSSC has extension Centres at Valiamala, housing the major facilities of Mechanisms and Vehicle Integration

and Testing and at Vattiyoorkavu for the development of reinforced plastics and composites (Reinforced Plastics

Facility). VSSC also supports the (i) Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, the International sounding

rocket range (ii) Rohini Sounding Rocket Programme. An Ammonium Perchlorate Experimental Plant has

been set up by VSSC at Aluva near Kochi.

The major programmes at VSSC include the development of: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV),

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), Rohini Sounding Rockets, Space-capsule Recovery Experiment,

Reusable Launch Vehicles, Air Breathing Propulsion, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle – Mark III

and the development of critical technologies in the area of advanced launch vehicle systems.

ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)

ISRO Satellite Centre, located at Bangalore is in the forefront of satellite building starting right from

conceptualisation, design, development, fabrication, testing, launch and in-orbit management of satellite.

As sequel to its mandate of satellite realisation, the Centre is engaged in the development of cutting-edge

technologies of relevance to its activities, and infrastructure set-up for design, development, fabrication and

testing of satellite.

ISAC is functionally organised in six major areas: Mechanical Systems Area, Digital and Communication Area,

Integration and Checkout Area, Power Systems and Avionics Production Area, Controls and Missions Area and

Reliability and Components Area. Electronic and mechanical fabrication facilities, environmental test facilities

support the centre in fabrication and testing activities. Programme Planning and Evaluation Group is responsible

for all planning, acts as the central coordinating agency and technical secretariat of Director of the Centre.

Space Astronomy and Instrumentations Division has been involved in optical, X-ray and Gamma ray astronomy

research with strong emphasis on instrumentation. Computer and Information Group is responsible for

establishment and management of centralized IT infrastructure in ISAC. Avionics Production Division is the

VSSC main building on Veli Hills

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nodal agency for production of standardised

electronic packages. Three Programme

Management Offices coordinate the

implementation of the INSAT, IRS and small

satellites and satellite navigation programmes.

Construction and Maintenance Group is

responsible for planning, execution and

maintenance of all civil works related to centre.

ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment

(ISITE) is equipped with state-of-the-art clean

room facilities for satellite integration and test

facilities including 6.5m thermo vacuum chamber, 29T vibration facility and Compact Antenna Test Facility

under one roof. Assembly Integration and Testing of all Communication and Navigation satellite is carried out

at ISITE. A dedicated facility for productionisation of standardised sub-systems is established at ISITE.

Since its inception in 1972, the Centre has built and launched earth observation, communication and space

science missions that encompass a wide spectrum of technologies and applications for satellite communication,

remote-sensing for natural resources monitoring, survey and management, meteorology and navigation.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR

Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota,

with two launch pads, is the main launch

centre of ISRO which carries out launch

operation. The mandate for the centre is

(i) to produce solid propellant boosters for

the launch vehicle programmes of ISRO,

(ii) to provide the infrastructure for qualifying

various subsystems & solid rocket motors

and carrying out the necessary tests, (iii) to

provide launch base infrastructure and (iv)

for assembly, integration and launching of

satellites and launch vehicles. The Centre

is augmenting the infrastructure to meet the

requirements of increased launch frequency

of five to six launches per year.

SDSC-SHAR has a separate launch pad for launching the sounding rockets. The centre provides necessary

launch base infrastructure for sounding rockets of ISRO and for assembly, integration and launch of sounding

rockets and payloads.

ISRO Satellite Centre

Administrative Block at SDSC SHAR

1 5

As part of GSLV-Mark III Project, the Centre has created new facilities/augmented some of the existing facilities

viz. solid motor production facilities for processing S200 motor, launch vehicle integration facilities, new radars,

mission control centre, static testing facilities, liquid propellant and cryogenic propellant storage and stage

servicing facilities and satellite preparation facility for preparing various satellites.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC)

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO is the lead Centre for the development and realisation of advanced

propulsion stages for Launch Vehicles and also the propulsion systems for satellite.

LPSC is vested with the responsibility

of design, development and system

engineering of high performance Space

Propulsion Systems employing Earth

Storable and Cryogenic Propellants for

ISRO Launch Vehicles and Satellites.

Development of fluid control valves,

transducers, propellant management

devices and other key components of

Liquid Propulsion Systems are also

under the purview of LPSC.

LPSC, Valiamala is responsible for

research and development, system

design/engineering and project management functions. The fluid controls components entity and the materials

and mechanical engineering entities are located here apart from the earth storable and cryogenic propulsion

entities, handling the core tasks of the centre.

LPSC Mahendragiri is the nodal agency for assembly, integration and testing of liquid stages for launch vehicles.

Liquid Hydrogen production plant and earth storable propellant storage are situated here. High Altitude Test

Facility at Mahendragiri caters to test requirements of launch vehicle upper stage engines and satellite thrusters.

LPSC Bangalore focuses on satellite propulsion systems. Design and realisation of propulsion systems, integration

of satellite propulsion systems for remote sensing and communication satellites, Electric Propulsion Systems

and Plasma Thrusters for Geosat missions. Development and production of transducers / sensors are other

major activities at LPSC.

Space Applications Centre (SAC)

Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad is a unique centre dealing with a wide variety of activities from payload

developments to societal applications, thereby creating a synergy of technology, science and societal applications.

A view of the picturesque LPSC Valiamala campus

1 6

The Centre is responsible for the

development, realization and qualification of

communication, navigation, earth

observation, planetary observation,

meteorological payloads and related data

processing and ground systems. It is playing

an important role in harnessing space

technology for a wide variety of applications

for societal benefits.

SAC has also been involving industry,

practicing outsourcing, indigenous

development of technology and developing vendors. Due to this, the in house activities are increasingly being

focused on system related aspects, specialised development and fabrication – which are difficult to be done

outside. The organizational structure continues to remain dynamic, responding to the needs of the Indian space

programme.

National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)

National Remote Sensing Centre at Hyderabad was converted into a full-fledged centre of ISRO from September

1, 2008. NRSC was an autonomous body

earlier, called National Remote Sensing

Agency (NRSA) under DOS. The Centre is

responsible for remote sensing satellite data

acquisition and processing, data

dissemination, aerial remote sensing and

decision support for disaster management.

NRSC has set up data reception station at

Shadnagar near Hyderabad for acquiring data

from Indian remote sensing satellites as well

as others. The Centre is also engaged in

executing remote sensing application projects

in collaboration with the users.

Regional Remote Sensing Centres (RRSCs) support various remote sensing tasks specific to their regions as well

as at the national level. RRSCs are carrying out application projects encompassing all the fields of natural

resources like agriculture and soils, water resources, forestry, oceanography, geology, environment and urban

planning. Apart from executing application projects, RRSCs are involved in software development, customisation

and packaging specific to user requirements and conducting regular training programmes for users in geospatial

technology, particularly, digital image processing, Geographical Information System (GIS) and applications.

Panoramic view of SAC campus

A view of NRSC campus

1 7

1 8

1 9

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS)

The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, a unit of ISRO, at Dehradun is a premier education, training and

research institute for capacity building in the field of Remote Sensing, Geo-information, positioning and navigation

technology and its applications. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), formerly known as Indian

Photo-Interpretation Institute (IPI), was set up in 1966 under the aegis of the Survey of India to provide

comprehensive training with hands on experience of the emerging technology. Institute was merged with

National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) in July 1976, and in the year 1980, NRSA came under the umbrella

of Department of Space (Government of India). Since September 1, 2008, IIRS, as part of NRSC was inducted

under the ISRO umbrella, and presently IIRS is reorganized as a separate entity of ISRO with effect from

April 30, 2011.

IRS endeavor has been to train thematic experts from user community including academic institutions in

Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System technology / applications at Post Graduate level with the

overall goal of 'technology transfer' and user awareness. The Institute has evolved many programs that are tuned

to the different needs of various target groups.

Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU)

Development and Educational Communication Unit, Ahmedabad is involved in the system definition, planning,

implementation and socio-economic research/evaluation of satellite-based societal applications. The major

activities of DECU include: Tele-education, Telemedicine, Training and Development Communication Channel

(TDCC), Village Resource Centres (VRC) and Disaster Management Support Program, etc.

ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)

ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network provides satellite Telemetry Tracking and Command (TTC)

and mission control support to major Launch Vehicle and satellite missions of ISRO. This includes: carrying out

mission operations of all operational remote sensing and scientific satellites, providing TTC services from launch

vehicle lift-off till injection of satellite into orbit and to estimate its preliminary orbit in space and hardware and

software developmental activities that enhance the capabilities of ISTRAC for providing flawless TTC and Mission

Operations services.

ISTRAC has established a network of ground stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius, Sriharikota, Port Blair,

Thiruvananthapuram, Brunei and Biak (Indonesia) and the Deep Space Network Stations DSN-32 and

DSN-18. The Mission Operations Complex located at Bangalore carries out round-the-clock mission operations

for all the remote sensing and science satellites. All network stations of ISTRAC are connected to the Mission

Operations Complex through dedicated high-performance satellite links along with terrestrial links.

ISTRAC has also been mandated to provide space operations support for Human Spaceflight and Deep Space

Missions of ISRO, undertake development of radar systems for launch vehicle tracking and meteorological

applications, establish and operationalise the ground segment for Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System,

provide Search and Rescue and Disaster Management Services and to host socially useful space based services

like telemedicine, VRC and tele-education.

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Master Control Facility (MCF)

Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka, and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh monitor and control all the

Geostationary satellites of ISRO i.e., INSAT, GSAT and Kalpana series of satellites. MCF is responsible for Orbit

Raising of satellites, In-orbit payload testing, and On-

orbit operations all through the life of these satellites.

MCF activities include round-the-clock TTC operations,

and special operations like Eclipse management,

station-keeping manoeuvres and recovery actions in

case of contingencies. MCF interacts with user agencies

for effective utilisation of the satellite payloads and to

minimise the service disturbances during special

operations.

MCF currently controls ten On-orbit satellites, i.e.,

INSAT- 2E, 3C, 3A, 3E, 4A, 4B, 4CR, Kalpana-1,

GSAT-8 and GSAT-12 (eight from Hassan and two

from Bhopal). To carry out these operations effectively, MCF-Hassan is having an integrated facility consisting of

Seven Satellite Control Earth Stations with associated

Electronics.

ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU)

ISRO Inertial Systems Unit at Thiruvananthapuram

carries out research and development in the area of

inertial systems and actuators and meet the demands

of various launch vehicles and satellite projects. The

technology of inertial sensors, systems, actuators and

mechanisms has been upgraded several times to

provide increased life, better performance and

reliability.

Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS)

Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems is situated at Peenya Industrial Estate, Bangalore where the first Indian

Satellite Aryabhata was fabricated in 1975. LEOS is responsible for design, development and production of

Electro-Optic sensors and camera optics for satellites. The sensor system includes earth sensors, star trackers,

sun sensors, magnetic sensors, fiber optic gyro, temperature sensors and processing electronics. Optics system

includes both reflective and refractive optics for remote sensing and metrological payloads. Other special

elements developed by LEOS include optical masks for sun sensors, star sensor optics, optical filter, encoder and

optical coatings.

The technology development programs of LEOS include development of miniature sensors for ongoing and

Panoramic view of the Earth Station at MCF, Bhopal

A view of IISU campus

2 1

future satellites, high resolution camera optics, optical coatings and development of Micro Electro Mechanical

System devices.

Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)

Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad, is an autonomous unit of DOS and a premier research institute

engaged in basic research in the areas of

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Solar Physics,

Planetary Science and Exploration, Space

and Atmospheric Sciences, Geosciences and

Theoretical Physics. Apart from the main

campus at Ahmedabad, there are two other

campuses at Mt. Abu and Udaipur, hosting

the Infrared Telescope and Solar Telescope

respectively. The Multi-Application-Solar

Telescope will be soon added at the Udaipur

campus. The planetary exploration

programme and the astronomy group are

housed in the fourth campus at Thaltej, close

to Ahmedabad. A dedicated space instrumentation facility is being added to this campus.

National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL)

National Atmospheric Research Laboratory at Gadanki near Tirupati, an autonomous society supported by

DOS, is a centre for atmospheric research. The Centre carries out its research activities under three major

categories, viz., (i) research and development of advanced technology for atmospheric studies and transfer of

the same to Indian industries, (ii) carrying out fundamental research on Earth’s atmosphere using a variety of

state-of-the-art equipments such as the Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere Radar, lidars, wind profilers,

GPS balloon sonde, automatic weather station

etc. and (iii) Modeling and prediction of weather

and climate.

The facilities at NARL are available for national and

international scientists to conduct atmospheric

research.

North Eastern-Space Applications Centre

(NE-SAC)

North Eastern-Space Applications Centre, located

at Shillong, is a joint initiative of DOS and North

PRL Main Campus, Ahmedabad

A view of NE-SAC campus

2 2

Eastern Council to provide developmental support to the North Eastern Region using space science and

technology. The centre has the mandate to develop high technology infrastructure support to enable North

Eastern states to adopt space technology inputs for their development. At present, NE-SAC is providing

developmental support by undertaking specific projects by utilising space technology inputs from remote sensing,

satellite communication and space science.

Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL)

The administrative control of Semi-Conductor Complex Limited, Chandigarh, a public sector undertaking

under Ministry of Communications and Information Technology was transferred to Department of Space during

March 2005. DOS has re-structured SCL Company and has registered SCL as a research and development

society in November 2005. SCL is entrusted with design and development of Very Large Scale Integration

(VLSI) devices and development of systems for telecommunication and space sectors. SCL has facilities

for fabrication of micro-electronic devices in 0.8 micron range and Micro Electro Mechanical Systems.

The Up-gradation of CMOS Fab and commensurate facilities and utilities to 0.18 micron is the major project

being carried out at SCL.

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST)

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology,

Asia’s first Space University, has been established at

Thiruvananthapuram during 2007 with the objective

of offering high quality education in space science

and technology to meet the demands of Indian Space

Programme. The institute offers Bachelors Degree

in Space Technology with specialisation in Avionics

and Aerospace Engineering and Integrated Masters

Programme in Applied Sciences with special

emphasis on space related subjects.

The first batch of 117 students out of 125 students who graduated meeting the academic requirements were

placed as scientist/engineer in DOS/ISRO Centre/units. Research in IIST is built on the foundations of various

academic programmes run by the Departments of Aerospace, Avionics, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and

Humanities. The Institute has faculty strength of 84; about 584 students are pursuing undergraduate studies,

29 students are in masters courses and 52 students are pursuing doctoral studies.

Antrix Corporation Limited

The Antrix Corporation Limited, Bangalore is the marketing agency under DOS with access to resources of

DOS as well as Indian space industries. Antrix markets subsystems and components for satellites, IRS data

products and geospatial services, undertakes contracts for building satellites to user specifications, provides

launch services and tracking facilities and organises training of manpower and software development.

The new campus of IIST

2 3

COMMUNICATION, NAVIGATION ANDMETEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE SYSTEM

Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system, established in 1983, is the largest domestic communication satellite

system in the Asia Pacific Region with ten satellites in operation INSAT-2E, INSAT-3A,

INSAT-3C, INSAT-3E, KALPANA-1, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-8 and GSAT-12. The overall

coordination and management of INSAT system rests with INSAT Coordination Committee.

SATELLITES IN SERVICE

INSAT-2E

The last of the five satellites in INSAT-2 series, located at 83ºE longitude has completed

twelve years of satisfactory service. INSAT-2E launched in 1999 carries seventeen

C-band and lower extended C-band transponders providing zonal and global coverage

with an Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of 36 decibel Watt (dBW). The

satellite reached its End Of Life during December 2011 and all the users of INSAT-2E

have been shifted to other satellites.

INSAT-3 Series

INSAT-3A

The multipurpose satellite, INSAT-3A launched in April 2003, has satisfactorily

completed eight years of operation. It is located at 93.5ºE longitude along with

INSAT-4B. The payloads on INSAT-3A are as follows:

• 12 Normal C-band transponders (9 channels provide expanded coverage from

Middle East to South East Asia with an EIRP of 38 dBW, 3 channels provide India

coverage with an EIRP of 36 dBW)

• 6 Extended C-band transponders provide India coverage with an EIRP of 36 dBW

• 6 Ku-band transponders provide India coverage with an EIRP of 48 dBW

• Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) with imaging capability in the Visible (0.55-0.75 micron), Thermal

Infrared (10.5-12.5 microns) and Water Vapour (5.7-7.1 micron) channels, provide 2x2 km and 8x8 km

ground resolutions, respectively.

• A Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera provides 1x1 km ground resolution, in the

Visible (0.63-0.69 micron), Near Infrared (0.77-0.86 micron) and Shortwave Infrared (1.55-1.70 micron)

bands.

• A Data Relay Transponder having global receive coverage with a 400 MHz uplink and 4500 MHz downlink

for relay of meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data from unattended land and

ocean-based automatic data collection-cum-transmission platforms.

INSAT-2E

2 4

• A Satellite Aided Search and Rescue payload having global receive coverage with

406 MHz uplink and 4500 MHz downlink with India coverage, for relay of signals from distress beacons in

sea, air or land.

INSAT-3C

Launched in January 2002, INSAT-3C is positioned at 74ºE longitude. INSAT-3C payloads include

24 Normal C-band transponders providing an EIRP of 37 dBW, six Extended C-band transponders with an EIRP

of 37 dBW, two S-band transponders to provide BSS services with 42 dBW EIRP, and an Mobile Satellite Service

(MSS) payload. All the transponders provide coverage over India. The satellite is continuing to provide satisfactory

service.

INSAT-3E

Launched in September 2003, INSAT-3E is positioned at 55ºE longitude along with

GSAT-8 and carries 24 Normal C-band transponders that provide an edge of coverage EIRP of

37 dBW over India and 12 Extended C-band transponders provide an edge of coverage EIRP of

38 dBW over India. The satellite is operating with reduced capacity due to onboard

power related anomaly.

KALPANA-1

KALPANA-1 is an exclusive meteorological satellite launched by PSLV in

September 2002. It carries Very High Resolution Radiometer and Data Relay

Transponder payloads to provide meteorological services. It is located at

74ºE longitude. Although the satellite has completed its designed life

of seven years, it continues to provide satisfactory and useful service from its

inclined orbit.

INSAT-4 Series

INSAT-4A

Launched in December 2005 by the European Ariane launch vehicle, INSAT-4A is

positioned at 83ºE longitude along with GSAT-12. It carries 12 Ku-band 36 MHz

bandwidth transponders employing 140 Watts TWTAs to provide an EIRP of 52 dBW at the edge of coverage

polygon with footprint covering Indian mainland and 12 C-band 36 MHz bandwidth transponders to provide an

EIRP of 39 dBW at the edge of coverage with expanded radiation patterns encompassing Indian geographical

boundary and area beyond India in Southeast and Northwest regions.

INSAT-4B

Configured with payloads identical to that of INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B was launched onboard the European

ARIANE-5 launch vehicle on March 12, 2007. INSAT-4B carries 12 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders to

provide an EIRP of 52 dBW and 39 dBW respectively. Two Transmit/Receive dual grid offset fed shaped beam

KALPANA-1

2 5

reflectors of 2.2 m diameter for Ku-band and 2 m diameter for C-band are used. INSAT-4B has augmented the

high power transponder capacity over India in Ku-band and over a wider region in C-band. INSAT-4B has been

co-located with INSAT-3A at 93.5ºE longitude. Due to a power anomaly the satellite is operating to half its

capacity.

INSAT-4CR

INSAT-4CR was launched on September 2, 2007 on GSLV from Sriharikota. INSAT-4CR with

12 high power Ku-band transponders with an EIRP of 51.5 dBW has been positioned at 74ºE longitude

co-located with INSAT-3C and KALPANA-1. INSAT-4CR is the third satellite in INSAT-4 series. INSAT-4CR is

designed to provide Direct-To-Home (DTH) television services, Video Picture Transmission and Digital Satellite

News Gathering.

HYLAS

Highly Adaptable Satellite (HYLAS) developed in partnership between EADS Astrium and Antrix for

M/s Avanti Communications Ltd. UK carries 2 Ku-band

and 8 Ka-band transponders. The bus platform is based

on stretched I-2K Bus structure with the power handling

capability of around 3.2 kW and the satellite has a lift off

mass of 2542 kg. The I-2K satellite bus and mainframe

elements was developed by ISAC and the advanced

communication payload was developed by prime

contractor EADS Astrium.

The satellite was successfully launched onboard Ariane

5 V198 launcher on 27th November 2010. After the

post launch orbit maneuvers, frequency-filing operations

were carried out at 61ºE and 31ºE before moving to its final slot of 33.5ºW. The In-Orbit Testing of the satellite

was carried out successfully at 33.5ºW locations and subsequently handed over to the users in March 2011.

The satellite is being used to provide broadband Internet access and to distribute and to broadcast High Definition

Television (HDTV) that will cover 22 countries in Western and Central Europe.

GEOSAT SERIES

GSAT-8

GSAT-8 is a communication satellite configured around I-3K bus with a lift off mass of 3093 kg and 6 kW power

generation capacity with mission life of more than 12 years. This satellite carries 24 Ku Band transponders

covering Indian main land and Andaman and Nicobar Islands and two channel GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO

Augmented Navigation) payloads.

HYLAS

2 6

The satellite was launched onboard Ariane VA 202 on

May 21, 2011. The orbit raising operations were successfully

carried out and the satellite was placed in the intended

Geostationary Orbit at 550E longitude. All deployments were

successfully carried out and the satellite was 3 axis stabilised. In

Orbit Testing of payloads was carried out in June 2011. Testing of

the GAGAN navigational payload was conducted from the new

Navigation Control Centre at Kundanahalli near Bangalore. The

satellite has subsequently been declared operational.

GSAT-12

GSAT-12 satellite

was configured

around I-1K bus

with 12 Ext C

band Solid

State Power

Amplifier based transponders. The satellite was successfully

launched onboard PSLV C-17 on July 15, 2011 with a lift-off

mass of

1410 kg. The satellite is designed for a mission life of 8 years and

is placed in 83ºE longitude. In-orbit testing of the Payload has

been completed and the satellite has been declared as operational.

Satellites Under Development

INSAT-3D

INSAT-3D is a state-of-the art meteorological satellite with 6 channel Imager and 19 channel Sounder payload.

The satelliteis built around I-2K platform with dry mass of 965 kg and lift-off mass of 2100 kg providing a mission

life of about seven years. The satellite will be located at 82ºE longitude in geostationary orbit. The satellite has

many new elements like the star sensor which is being flown for the first time in Geo-Stationary Earth Orbit,

micro stepping Solar Array Drive Assembly to reduce the telecommand / telemetry function of the satellite.

It also incorporates new features of bi-annual rotation and Image and Mirror motion compensations for improved

performance of the meteorological payloads.

All the subsystem packages, both meteorological and communication payloads have been realised.

The assembly, integration and testing of the satellite is progressing well. The satellite will be ready for shipment

for launch during the second quarter of 2013.

GSAT-12 at clean room at ISAC

GSAT-8 before its mating with thelaunch vehicle

2 7

GSAT-7

GSAT-7 is envisaged as a multi-band satellite. The satellite employs the standard 2.5 ton bus platform with the

power handling capability of around 2600 W and lift off mass of 2550 kg.

All the mainframe elements and the Payload elements have been delivered. The satellite will be ready for

shipment for launch during 2012.

GSAT-10

GSAT-10 is a 3 axis body stabilized geostationary satellite based on ISRO’s 3 ton structure to provide

communication services/augment the existing services.

It carries 12 Normal C band, 6 Extended C band,

12 Ku band transponders along with GAGAN payload.

The lift-off mass of the satellite is 3400 kg and it generates

6.0 kilo Watt of Power. The satellite will be located at

83ºE and will have a minimum operational life of 15

years.

The satellite after completing all the integrated tests, is

undergoing thrmo-vacuum test. The satellite will be ready

for launch during the second quarter of 2012.

GSAT-6

This satellite with a lift-off mass of 2200 kg, is primarily configured with CxS and SxC transponders. The S-band

up and down links are having high G/T and Effective Isotropic Radiated Power to be able to communicate with

mobile instruments. This is achieved using five numbers of high power 235 W Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers

and an indigenously developed high gain 6m Unfurable Antenna.

The mainframe structure has been delivered. Payload and mainframe subsystems are ready for Assembly Integration

and Testing activities. Integration of propulsion system has been completed. The disassembled mode – Integrated

Satellite Test has been initiated. The flight model of Unfurable Antenna has been realised. Final tests are

under progress.

The subsystem level Comprehensive Design Reviews have been completed. The satellite will be ready for

shipment for launch onboard GSLV during 2013.

GSAT-11

GSAT-11 is an advanced communication satellite, employing a new Bus with 32 Ka x Ku Band – Forward Link

Transponders and 8 Ku x Ka Band Return Link Transponders. The satellite is having a lift off mass of 5000 kg and

the power handling capability of around 14 kilo Watt.

Artist’s concept of GSAT-10

2 8

Subsystem level Preliminary Design Review has been completed. The

qualification program for all new elements onboard GSAT-11 has been

initiated. The GSAT-11 satellite is planned for shipment for launch during

2014.

GSAT-9

GSAT-9 satellite is configured exclusively with high power Ku band payload,

owing to the increased demand from the user community for Ku band

transponders. The satellite provides 12 Ku band transponders employing

12 numbers of radiatively cooled 140 W traveling wave tube amplifiers

covering Indian mainland and a Ku-band beacon transmitter. The lift-off

mass of the satellite is 2113 kg and it generates 2787 Watt of Power.

The satellite will be positioned at 48ºE longitude in GSO.

The satellite layout studies are under progress. The satellite readiness for launch onboard GSLV-Mark II is

planned for third quarter of 2015.

GSAT-14

GSAT 14 satellite is a communication satellite that has been envisaged as the payload onboard the second

development flight of GSLV. This satellite is slated for launch during 2012. The satellite will be located in

74ºE longitude and will have a mission life of 11 years.

GSAT-14 is planned to have 6 national coverage Ku band channels and 6 extended C band India coverage

channels. In addition, the satellite will carry two Ka band beacons transmitting the signals at 20 and 30 GHz

which will be used for Ka band propagation studies. Fibre optic gyro, active pixel sun sensor, round type bolometer

and field programmable gate array based earth sensors and thermal control coating experiments are the new

technologies to be flown as experiments.

The satellite lift-off mass is around 2020 kg and generates a power of around 2.6 kilo Watt. It is planned to use

the existing structure and several mechanical and electrical components procured as spares during earlier projects.

Design reviews related to various subsystems are completed. Realization of all the subsystems is progressing

satisfactorily.

Satellite Navigation Programme

Satellite Navigation (SATNAV) has been identified as one of the important activities in the department. ISRO and

Airports Authority of India have jointly taken up GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) Technology

Demonstration System as a forerunner for the operational Satellite based Augmentation System over the Indian

Airspace. The operational phase of “GAGAN” has an indigenously developed satellite navigation system to cater

to the requirements of critical National applications in addition to providing a back up to the present global

GSAT-11 with solar panels instowed condition

2 9

Satellite Navigation system being used by our commercial and other establishments in the country. In order to

organize and implement the above activities effectively, a Satellite Navigation Programme was constituted.

To implement the Satellite Navigation Programme, the organizational structure in various ISRO Centres has

been created and activities such as GAGAN Technology Demonstration System and Final Operational Phase and

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) will be part of this programme. ISAC is identified as the lead

centre for Satellite Navigation Programme activities.

GAGAN

With the successful launch of GSAT-8 satellite, the validation of Ground segment (mission control centre,

reference stations, uplink stations and ground network) is in progress. Fine tuning of the system will be completed

shortly and the users can use this service immediately after the fine tuning of the system.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System is an independent regional navigation satellite system.

It is designed to provide position accuracy of better than 10m over India and the region extending about

Gagan system Architecture

3 0

1500 km around India. It is designed to provide an accurate real time Position, Navigation and Time (PNT)

services to users on a variety of platforms with 24x7 service availability under all weather conditions. The IRNSS

system mainly consists of three components viz: Space Segment (Constellation of Satellites and

Signal–In–Space), Ground Segment and User Segment. IRNSS constellation consists of seven satellites.

Three Satellites will be placed in the Geostationary orbit (at 34ºE, 83ºE & 131.5ºE) and two satellites each will

be placed in the Geosynchronous orbit (GSO) with an equator crossing at 55ºE and 111.5ºE with an inclination

of 29º. IRNSS will have two types of signals in L5 & S-band and S-band. Both L5 and S-band consists of two

downlinks. IRNSS provides two basic services such as Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for common civilian

users and Restricted Service (RS) for special authorised users.

3 1

EARTH OBSERVATION SYSTEM

The Indian Remote Sensing satellite system has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in

operation in the world today. Currently, eleven operational satellites are in orbit – TES, RESOURCESAT-1,

CARTOSAT-1, CARTOSAT-2, CARTOSAT-2A, CARTOSAT-2B, IMS-1, RISAT-2, OCEANSAT-2,

RESOURCESAT-2 and MEGHA-TROPIQUES. The IRS series of satellites provide data in a variety of spatial,

spectral and temporal resolutions which are effectively used for resource management purposes. With these

in-orbit satellites and the planned missions of RISAT-1, SARAL and INSAT-3D during 2012, the Indian

Earth Observation (EO) system will be further strengthened to continue providing high quality diversified satellite

data products and services to the user community and hence enabling a host of applications for national development.

Earth Observation Missions accomplished in 2011

RESOURCESAT-2 is a follow on mission to RESOURCESAT-1 to provide data continuity to Indian and global user

community. It was launched by PSLV-C16 into 817 km Sun synchronous circular orbit on April 20, 2011. It has three

optical Remote sensing payloads, LISS-3, LISS-4 & AWIFS, as in RESOURCESAT-1. It also carried an additional

Announcement of Opportunities payload, known as AIS (Automatic Information System) from COMDEV, Canada as

an experimental payload for ship surveillance in Very High Frequency (VHF) band to derive position, speed and other

information of ships. Compared to RESOURCESAT-1, Linear Imaging Self Scanner-4 (LISS-4)

multi-spectral swath is enhanced to 70 km. Suitable changes including miniaturization in payload electronics have been

incorporated in RESOURCESAT-2.

Megha-Tropiques (Megha means cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques means tropics in French) is a joint

ISRO - CNES mission in understanding the life cycle of convective systems and their role in the associated energy

India as seen by RESOURCESAT-2

3 2

and moisture budget of the atmosphere in the tropical regions. The satellite was launched by PSLV-C18 on

October 12, 2011 into an 867 km orbit at an inclination of 20º with respect to the equatorial plane. Following

four scientific instruments were carried by the satellite:

• Microwave Analysis and Detection of Rain and Atmospheric Structures (MADRAS), an Imaging Radiometer

developed jointly by CNES and ISRO

• SAPHIR, a six channel Humidity Sounder

• SCARAB, a four channel Scanner for Radiation Budget Measurement

• GPS-ROS, a GPS Radio Occultation System to provide vertical profiles of temperature and humidity of the

earth’s atmosphere

All the payloads are performing satisfactorily and are providing useful scientific data for Research and analysis.

Earth Observation Satellites currently operational

CARTOSAT-1 was launched into a 617 km polar sunsynchronous orbit on May 5, 2005 on board PSLV-C6

from SDSC, SHAR, Shriharikota. Two panchromatic cameras, PAN (Fore) and PAN (Aft), with 2.5 m spatial

resolution and swath of 30 km is providing high quality images. The cameras are mounted with a tilt of +26º

and -5º along track with respect to nadir that provide stereo pairs for the generation of Digital Elevation Model

(DEM). Data from CARTOSAT-1 is being used for cartographic applications, cadastral level mapping,

Digital Elevation Model generation and other high resolution geospatial applications.

CARTOSAT-2 was launched on January 10, 2007 by PSLV-C7

carries a single panchromatic camera with capability to provide

better than 1 m spatial resolution imagery and a swath of 9.6 km.

It was placed in a sun synchronous polar orbit of a nominal altitude

of 630 km with a re-visit of 4-5 days and can be brought to a

special orbit of 560 km with a revisit period of 1 day. The satellite

is highly agile with capability of steering along and across the track

of up to ± 45° to facilitate frequent imaging of any specific area.

The satellite is functioning well and providing operational services

to the user community for cartographic applications, cadastral level

mapping, urban and rural applications.

CARTOSAT-2A was launched on April 28, 2008 by PSLV-C9 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

This is similar to CARTOSAT-2 and is an advanced remote sensing satellite with similar capabilities as in CARTOSAT-

2 with similar application capabilities.

CARTOSAT-2B was launched onboard PSLV-C15 on July 12, 2010 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR,

Sriharikota. The CARTOSAT-2B satellite, a follow on of CARTOSAT-2A, weighing 694 kg, is configured to

provide multi-scene imaging capabilities during a pass. This also has a single panchromatic (PAN) camera and is

also providing scene specific spot imagery for cartographic and a host of other applications.

CARTOSAT-2

3 3

RESOURCESAT-1 was launched by PSLV-C5 on October 17, 2003. It was placed in 820 km polar

Sun Synchronous Orbit. The satellite carries three cameras, namely,

• Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-4) in 3 spectral bands of Visible and Near Infrared Region (VNIR) with

5.8 m spatial resolution, 23 km (multi-spectral) and 70 km (mono) swath and steerable up to ±26º across

track to achieve five day revisit capability

• LISS-3 camera in 3 spectral bands in Visible and Near Infrared Region and one in Short Wave Infrared

(SWIR) band with 23.5 m spatial resolution and 141 km swath

• Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) in 3 spectral bands in Visible and Near Infrared Region and one band

in SWIR with 56 m spatial resolution and a swath of 730 km.

IMS-1 was launched along with CARTOSAT-2A on April 28, 2008 by PSLV-C9 from SDSC, SHAR, Sriharikota.

The two payloads are Multi Spectral (MX) camera with 37 m spatial resolution with

151 km swath and a unique 64 channel Hyper Spectral imager (HySi) with 505 m spatial resolution and

130 km swath.

OCEANSAT-2, a follow on mission to OCEANSAT-1, was launched on September 23, 2009 onboard

PSLV-C14 from SDSC, SHAR, Shriharikota. OCEANSAT-2 was placed into a polar sun synchronous orbit at an

altitude of 720 km, with equatorial crossing of 1200 hrs+10 minutes. OCEANSAT-2 carries three sensors

onboard, viz., Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM), Ku-band pencil beam Scatterometer and a payload called

Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies (ROSA) developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

• The 8 band Ocean Colour Monitor onboard Oceansat-2 provides Local Area Coverage (LAC) with a

spatial resolution of 360 m covering swath of 1420 km with a two-day repetivity. It also provides Global

Area Coverage (GAC) with 1 km resolution and 1420 km swath with 8 day coverage cycle.

• The pencil beam Scatterometer works in Ku-band with a ground resolution cell of 50 km x 50 km,

scans the earth surface conically with a swath of 1400 km. It provides the wind vector in the range of 4 to

24 m/ second with better than 10% accuracy in speed and 20º in wind direction. The Scatterometer data

is being used for deriving the global wind velocity (magnitude and direction) over ocean surface, which is

used as an input for weather forecasting, monitoring of cyclones and hurricanes and their trajectory, monitoring

of Polar Sea Ice changes and ocean state forecasting. Scatterometer is a unique instrument in space and

there is a significant demand for the data by the global community for ocean related applications. Orbit wise

Scatterometer data is downloaded, processed and the data products is disseminated through National

Remote Sensing Centre/ ISRO web portal and also through EUMetCast system of EUMETSAT, Darmstadt

to the global users in Europe, Africa, U.S and a few Asian countries within 160 minutes of data acquisition.

• ROSA Payload is designed and developed by ASI, Italy and was flown in OCEANSAT-2 to study temperature

and humidity profile of the atmosphere.

RISAT-2, the Radar Imaging Satellite, with all weather capability and ability to penetrate through clouds

was realised in association with Israel Aerospace Industries and launched onboard PSLV-C12 from

3 4

Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on April 20, 2009. RISAT-2 has enhanced country’s capability in the

management of disasters.

TES, Technology Experiment Satellite, was launched on board PSLV-C3 on October 22, 2001.

The satellite was intended to demonstrate and validate technologies that could be used in the future cartographic

satellite missions. Some of the technologies demonstrated in TES were: attitude and orbit control system, high

torque reaction wheels, new reaction control system with optimised thrusters and a single propellant tank, light

weight satellite structure, solid state recorder, X-band phased array antenna, improved satellite positioning system,

miniaturised TTC, power system and two-mirror-on-axis camera optics. TES carries a panchromatic

camera with a spatial resolution of less than 1m. The satellite continues to function well beyond the intended

mission life.

Forthcoming Earth Observation Missions

RISAT-1

Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1) carries a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating at

5.35 GHz in multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode (ScanSAR, Strip and Spot modes) to provide images

with coarse, fine and high spatial resolutions

respectively. SAR, being an active radar sensor,

operating in the microwave region of

electromagnetic spectrum, has the unique

capability of imaging in all weather conditions.

The Synthetic Aperture Radar payload is based

on an active phased array technology using

Transmit/Receive modules, which would

provide necessary electronic agility for

achieving the multi-mode capability, providing

spatial resolutions of 1 m to 50 m, and a

swath of 10 to 240 km caters to different

applications. The local time of RISAT-1 will

be 06:00 Hrs in the descending node. The satellite weighs around 1851 kg and has the power handling capacity

of 4.8 kW. RISAT-1 is slated for launch by PSLV-C19 (XL) during March - April 2012 into a 476 km orbit. After

3-axis attitude acquisition, the orbit will be raised to 536 km with 25 days repetitivity with an added advantage

of 12 days inner cycle for Coarse Resolution ScanSAR mode.

The development of many complex technologies including phased array antenna has been the feature of this

indigenous microwave remote sensing satellite mission. The satellite is in the final phase of testing and getting

ready for launch.

RISAT-1 being lowered into Thermo-vacuum Chamber at ISAC

3 5

SARAL

The Satellite for ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint ISRO - French Space Agency (CNES) mission, and will

be launched by the PSLV-C20 into a sun-synchronous orbit with a local time of 6 pm descending node

at an altitude of around 800 km. The Ka band altimeter, ALTIKA, provided by CNES, operates at

35.75 Giga Hertz (GHz) for ocean applications. A dual frequency total power type microwave radiometer

(23.8 and 37 GHz) is embedded in the altimeter to correct tropospheric effects on the altimeter measurement.

Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) on board enables precise

determination of the orbit. A Laser Retroreflector Array helps to calibrate the precise orbit determination

system and the altimeter system several times throughout the mission.

SARAL/ ARGOS Data Collection System is a joint contribution of ISRO and CNES to the development and

operational implementation of the global ARGOS Data Collection System for a variety of data from ocean

buoys to transmit the same to the ARGOS Ground Segment for subsequent processing and distribution.

In addition, ARGOS Payload allows the transmission of short messages directly to Data Collection Platforms,

equipped with a receiver. SARAL payload will be accommodated in the mini-satellite bus, which weighs

400-450 kg class and a power generation of 800 Watt, named as SSB-1 (Small Satellite Bus).

SARAL will provide Data Products to the operational and research user communities, in support

of marine meteorology and sea state forecasting; operational oceanography; seasonal forecasting; climate

monitoring; ocean, earth system and climate research. Mainframe systems have been fabricated and are in the

advanced stage of testing. The satellite is scheduled for launch during last quarter of 2012.

Future Earth Observations Missions

India’s Future Earth Observation Programme will ensure the continuity of the thematic series of satellites,

viz., Resourcesat, Cartosat and RISAT series for land and water resources including all weather capability; Oceansat

series for study of ocean resources; INSAT and Megha-Tropiques for meteorology and atmosphere with specific

improvements in payloads. The advanced high resolution satellite Cartosat-3 with a spatial resolution of 0.25 m in

Panchromatic mode and 1 m in Multispatial mode will enhance high resolution mapping capabilities for meeting

future needs of RS application projects. The aim is to provide the continuity and enhanced services to the operational

workhorse missions; adapt and assimilate advances in technologies in the future missions; develop innovative

technologies both for on-board, ground systems and to partner with other space agencies to derive mutual benefits.

Ground Segment

ISTRAC provides TTC (Telemetry, Tracking and Command) and satellite control services for

11 remote sensing satellites in-orbit. The oldest satellite TES has completed 10 years in-orbit as on October

22, 2011 and the latest satellite Megha-tropiques, launched on October 12, 2011 is well-stabilised and the

payloads are under evaluation phase. Nominally, with eleven satellites in orbit (current scale of operations under

3 6

multi-mission scenario) ISTRAC tracks

more than 52,000 passes per annum

from its own Telemetry, Tracking and

Command network and Kongsberg

Satellite Services (KSAT) Svalbard,

Norway. In addition, about

12,000 payload operations per

annum are enabled by the multi

mission scheduling system. Routine

orbit maintenance and calibration

operations have been carried out as

per the requirements of each mission.

A full-fledged second control centre,

Mission Operations Complex, has been established in order to provide capability for dual launch support during

Launch and Early Orbit Phase operations and supported Resourcesat-2 and Megha-Tropiques missions.

Aerial Remote Sensing

The aerial remote sensing facility of NRSC/ ISRO offers value-added services like aerial photography and digital

mapping, infrastructure planning, scanner surveys, aeromagnetic surveys, large scale base map, topographic and

cadastral level mapping, etc.

Aerial Photography and ortho photo generation using Large Format Digital Camera was carried out for

• 10 towns of Chhattisgarh state at 10 cm Ground Sample Distance

• 10 coal mines covering an area of 14300 sq. km at 30 cm Ground Sample Distance

Using Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) and Digital Camera data, a project was taken up under Disaster

Management Support Programme to generate orthophotos with 50 cm Ground Sample Distance, Digital

Elevation Model and spatial database at 1:5,000 scale with close contour intervals of flood plains and coastal

areas for inundation modeling of vulnerable areas.

Using Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper and Digital Camera data, Topographic mapping of coastal areas of Indian

National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) was also taken up to generate close contour maps of

coastal areas with 2 km inland for establishment of Tsunami warning centres. The study deliverables include

orthophotos with 50 cm Ground Sample Distance, Digital Elevation Model and spatial database in 1:5,000

scale with 1m Contour Interval.

As per new Directorate General of Civil Aviation regulations for Aircraft Operations, an operations office was

created for NRSC/ISRO aircraft operations with appropriate structure, focal points and responsibilities.

Mission Operations Complex-2 building at ISTRAC

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Satellite Data Acquisition and Processing

The National Remote Sensing Centre , Hyderabad is the nodal agency for satellite remote sensing data reception,

archival, processing and dissemination in the country. NRSC Shadnagar Ground station acquires data from

various Indian remote-sensing satellites and a few foreign satellites. As per the Remote Sensing Data Policy,

NRSC is the national agency identified for acquisition and distribution of all the satellite data within India.

Accordingly, NRSC is disseminating satellite data from Indian and foreign satellites to Indian users.

Remote Sensing Data Policy of 2011 has been positioned and implemented to provide data up to one meter

spatial resolution to all users on request basis. The data better than 1 m resolution is disseminated as per

policy guidelines. During the year, more than 51,000 data products were disseminated to Indian as well as

foreign users.

Integrated Multi mission Ground segment for Earth Observation Satellites was successfully established by re-

engineering all processes under integrated environment at Shadnagar and was commissioned in

Nov 2011. Integrated multi mission data reception, processing, products, services, and archival chain was

established at a new location by exploiting advanced data reception systems, high speed processing, multi level

storage, high bandwidth network technology and successfully achieved automation of operations in data process

work flow and user services with in-house developed application software.

NRSC is establishing Antarctica Ground Segment to exploit the frequent visibility of satellites (at poles) to download

satellite-data from on-board recorder and use the data for emergency services and in near real-time applications.

The configuration of Antarctica Ground Station consists of a data reception ground station at Antarctica and a

two way communication link between Antarctica and India (NRSC, Shadnagar and National Centre for Ocean

and Antarctic Research) using Geo satellite link. During the 30th expedition to Antarctica, site identification and

pile foundation laying works were completed successfully. During 31st Antarctica Expedition, the installation of

infrastructure for Electrical power system is planned. During 32nd Antarctica Expedition, commissioning of

ground station facility is planned in 2012-13 time frame.

Operationalisation of the Oceansat-2 Scatterometer data processing software at Meteorological and Oceanographic

Satellite Data Archival Centre (MOSDAC) has been done. The data processing software was also installed at

Shadanagar and European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), while the

data dissemination to global users is automated with a turnaround time of less than three hours. Similarly for

Megha-Tropiques, installation is done for Level-1 software and Quick Look Display at Indian Space Science Data

Centre and Level-2 software at Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre for MADRAS,

SAPHIR, SCARAB and ROSA payloads and achieved near real time processing capability for data products

generation.

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SPACE APPLICATIONS

INSAT Applications

Tele-Education (EDUSAT Programme)

‘EDUSAT’, the India's first thematic satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services, has been used extensively

to cater to a wide range of interactive educational delivery modes like one-way TV broadcast, video conferencing,

computer conferencing, web-based instructions, etc. EDUSAT had manifold objectives - to supplement the

curriculum-based teaching, imparting effective teachers training, providing access to quality resource persons

and new technologies, thus finally resulting in taking education to every nook and corner of India. EDUSAT has

provided connectivity to schools, colleges and higher levels of education and also supported non-formal education

including development communication.

EDUSAT programme has been implemented in three phases, pilot, semi-operational and operational phases.

Pilot projects were conducted during 2004 in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh with 300 terminals.

The experience of pilot projects were adopted in semi-operational and operational phase. During semi-operational

phase almost all the states and major national agencies are covered under EDUSAT programme. Presently, the

networks are being expanded under operational phase with funding by state governments and other user agencies.

The networks implemented under EDUSAT programme comprises of two types of terminals, namely, Satellite

Interactive Terminals and Receive Only Terminals. So far, a total of 80 networks have been implemented

connecting to about 55000 schools and colleges (4209 Satellite Interactive Terminals and 51165 Receive Only

Terminals) covering 25 States and 3 Union Territories of the country. Uttarakhand and Jharkhand EDUSAT

networks were the latest additions of the current year. About 15 million students are getting benefited through

EDUSAT programme every year.

The EDUSAT (GSAT-3) satellite service was discontinued since September-2010 partially affecting the

Tele-education, Telemedicine and VRC projects of ISRO. After de-commissioning of GSAT-3, the traffic of

Tele-education networks is being migrated to other ISRO satellites. The department has already completed

about 80 percent migration of tele-education networks operating in Ku-band from GSAT-3 to INSAT-4CR and

partially migrated Extended C-band networks to INSAT-3A and INSAT-3C.

A ‘Technical Support and Training Centre’ is established at Guwahati, Assam to provide technical support on

continuous basis to all the Remote Sites, Hubs and Teaching-Ends of various state networks in the North East

Region. In future, it is planned to setup similar Technical Support and Training Centre for Northern parts of the

country namely, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, etc.

Around 366 Satellite Interactive Terminals of national users like Indira Gandhi National Open University, Central

Institute of Educational Technology, All India Council for Technical Education, Vigyan Prasar/Department of Science

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and Technology and Centre for Education and Communication were upgraded with classroom peripherals and

Learning Management System for better Audio-Visual interaction.

Also, established is a ‘Network Monitoring Facility’ at Development and Educational Communication Unit,

Ahmedabad to obtain the feedback on the utilisation and assess the quality of programs transmitted on EDUSAT

networks in INSAT-4CR (Ku Band). Presently, the overall monitoring capacity is for 30 tele-education networks;

however, at a time, any 10 networks can be monitored simultaneously by selection.

ISRO has also set up networks for users’ with special requirements like:

a) Blind People’s Association of Gujarat – for Visually challenged

b) Rehabilitation Council of India

c) Network of Central Institute of Mentally Retarded in Kerala

d) A network of Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) for mentally challenged

in Kerala

Training and Developmental Communications Channel (TDCC)

TDCC is a service that has been operational since 1995 and provides 1-way video and 2-way audio system of

interactive education. The teaching-end includes a studio and an uplink facility for transmitting live or

Tele-education network activities

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pre-recorded lectures. The participants at the classrooms located nationwide receive lectures through simple

dish antennas called Direct Reception Systems and have facility to interact with lecturers using telephone lines.

Several state governments and universities use the Training and Developmental Communication Channel system

extensively for Distance Education, Rural Development, Women and Child Development, Panchayat Raj, Health,

Agriculture, Forestry, etc.

Under Training and Developmental Communication Channel project, during FY 2010-11, a total of 948

Interactive Training Programmes were conducted with an average utilisation of about 23-26 days a month. On

an average, around 75-80 ITPs per month were conducted by around 39 departments of the various states.

However, from April 2011 only 39 ITPs could be conducted due to shortage of satellite bandwidth.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine is one of the unique applications of Space Technology for societal benefit. Telemedicine programme,

which started in 2001, has been connecting remote/rural/medical college hospitals and Mobile Units through the

Indian satellites to major specialty hospitals in cities and towns. Telemedicine network covers various states/regions

including Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Lakshdweep Islands, North Eastern States and

other mainland states. Many tribal districts of states like Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, West Bengal,

Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Rajasthan are covered under Telemedicine Programme.

Presently, the Telemedicine network of ISRO covers about 382 hospitals with 60 specialty hospitals connecting

to 306 remote/rural/district/medical college hospitals and 16 Mobile Telemedicine units. The Mobile Telemedicine

units cover diverse areas of Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Radiology, Diabetology, Mammography, General

medicine, Women and Child healthcare.

While Department Of Space provides Telemedicine systems software, hardware and communication equipment

as well as satellite bandwidth, state governments and the speciality hospitals have to allocate funds for their part

of infrastructure, manpower and facility support. In this regard, technology development, standards and cost

effective systems have been evolved in association with various state governments, Non Governmental

Organisations, specialty hospitals and industry. Department Of Space interacts with state governments and

specialty hospitals for bringing an understanding between the parties through an Memorandum Of Understanding.

Due to de-commissioning of GSAT-3 (EDUSAT), some of these network operations were partially affected due

to shortage of satellite bandwidth. During the year, the activities under telemedicine involved migration and

operationalisation of nodes across the country. The traffic is being transferred to other satellites and already

168 nodes have been re-operationalised with maximum nodes (38 nodes) in Rajasthan. ISRO also provides

technical support for operations and maintenance of telemedicine nodes.

Television

INSAT has been a major catalyst for the expansion of television coverage in India. Satellite television now covers

100% area and 100% population. The terrestrial coverage is over 65 percent of the Indian land mass and over

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90 percent of the population. At present 40 Doordarshan TV channels including news uplinks are operating

through C-band transponders of INSAT-3A, INSAT-4B, and INSAT-3C (Additionally INTELSAT IS-10 and

IS-906 leased). All of the Satellite TV channels are digitalised.

The following satellite television services are being operated by Doordarshan:

• National networking service (DD-1), DD News (DD-2), DD-Sports, DD-Urdu, DD-India and

DD-Bharati and DD-HD.

• Regional services in States of Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal,

Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, UP, Assam, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Orissa,

Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), Haryana, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and

Lakshadweep Islands.

As on Nov 30, 2011, 1415 transmitters of Doordarshan are working in INSAT system out of which

1134 transmitters [131 High Power Transmitters (HPT), 725 Low Power Transmitters (LPT), 260 Very Low

Power Transmitters (VLPT) and 18 Transposers] are working in the DD-1 network and 169 TV Transmitters

(73 HPTs, 79 LPTs and 17 VLPTs) are working in the DD-News network. 108 Regional service transmitters

(6 HPTs, 8 LPTS and 94 VLPTs), 4 HPTs with digital transmissions are also operational in the Doordarshan

Network. Out of these 4 transmitters one located at Delhi is carrying 16 mobile TV services for experimental

purpose. 59 DD and Private TV channels are operational through Direct To Home (DTH) service

(“DD Direct+”). 10 channel DTH planned in C-Band for Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been commissioned

on Sept 17, 2009. Doordarshan High Definition Service has been started on October 3, 2010 with the start of

Common Wealth Games 2010.

Satellite News Gathering and Other Events

Satellite News Gathering using INSAT system enables on-the-spot real-time news coverage and important

events at different locations for transmission to a Central Station at Delhi or to State Capitals for rebroadcast

over respective Doordarshan channels. Prasar Bharati has 13 C-band and 18 Ku-band Digital Outdoor-Broadcast

Digital Satellite News Gathering terminals operating through INSAT. 9 more Digital Satellite News Gatherings

in C-Band are proposed to be introduced in the network.

Radio Networking

Radio Networking through INSAT provides a reliable high-fidelity programme channels for national as well as

regional networking. At present, 237 All India Radio (AIR) stations have been equipped with S-band receive terminals

out of which 185 AIR stations have been equipped to receive C-band Analogue and Digital Radio Networking

carriers. Remaining 52 stations are going to be equipped with digital C-band Radio Networking Terminals by the

end of 11th FYP.

A total of 85 Radio Networking channels are being up-linked at present. For this AIR is utilising one S-band

transponder (S2) and one C-band transponder (C-11) of INSAT-3C. A total of 90 carriers in CxC band are

being envisaged for up-linking by utilising full one transponder of INSAT-3C.

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In AIR network, a total of 32 earth stations are equipped with facility to uplink in both CxS and CxC band.

The Central earth station at Broadcasting House, New Delhi, has been augmented to up-link 26 Radio Networking

carriers in CxS and CxC band.

At present AIR has 22 radio channels on Direct To Home platform in Ku-band being uplinked with TV carriers

from Todapur, New Delhi on INSAT-4B. Efforts are underway to augment this to 40 channels, and efforts are

also being made to uplink 6 nos. radio channel on Direct To Home C-Band to cover Andaman Nicobar areas.

Telecommunications

887 Satellite Earth Stations (BSNL - 103, Govt Users - 231, Closed User Group and Commercial Users - 553)

of different sizes having the capabilities of Telecommunication / Broadcasting applications are operating in Satellite

Network. 1,44,383 VSATs Telecommunication Terminals (Govt Users – 435, Closed User Group and Commercial

Users – 1,43,948) of various sizes and capabilities, working in Star / Mesh connectivity (excluding National Informatic

Centre Network, and Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Micro Terminals), are operating in Satellite Network.

9577 circuits providing transmission backhaul point to point connectivity by BSNL. 25 Single Channel per

Carrier Very Small Aperture Terminals and 42 Multiple Channels per Carrier Very Small Aperture Terminals and

5491 Ku Band Very Small Aperture Terminals under Digital Satellite Phone Terminal are working with BSNL.

Captive satellite-based networks for National Thermal Power Corporation, Gas Authority of India Ltd, Oil and

Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., National Fertilizers Limited, Coal India Limited, Education and Research Network,

Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum

Corporation Limited, Jai Prakash Industries Ltd., Indian Railway Project Management Unit, Indian Council of

Agricultural Research and Infotel Satcom are operational in INSAT system. The Networks of National Stock

Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in Extended C-Band are operational INSAT system.

A number of other Captive Government Networks are also working with INSAT Satellites.

BSNL started services through IPSTAR Gateways working on Ka / Ku Band. Total no. of 5832 Very Small ATs

connectivity has been provided across the country.

Mobile Satellite Services

An S-band Mobile Satellite Service was added to INSAT system with the launch of INSAT-3C in 2002 and

GSAT-2 in 2003. The following two classes of services were identified for MSS:

INSAT Type-D Service

A small portable satellite terminal that works with INSAT for voice/data communication has been developed

with the participation of Indian industries. The terminal is useful for voice communication especially during

disasters when other means of communication break down. It can be used from any location in India for

emergency communication. Transmit and receive frequencies of the terminal are in S-band. This service is

mainly used by government users.

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The portable terminal is connected to the Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange (EPABX) at central hub

station through satellite channel and hence could be considered as an extension of EPABX and call could be

made between any satellite terminals and local phones on EPABX. Central hub station is located at Delhi Earth

Station, New Delhi.

INSAT Reporting system

This consists of low bit rate one-way reporting service using shared channels with portable and hand-held

terminals. This unique one-way messaging from a remote location to user-headquarters operates with the

Delhi Earth Station of Department Of Space as the hub. This is an experimental service. Short messages from

user terminals are relayed through the satellite to the hub and are automatically forwarded to the respective user

headquarters via facsimile or data links. This reporting service is provided using small hand-held terminals.

There is a provision to attach a GPS receiver to the reporting terminal for position information.

MSS services are being support through INSAT-3C only, as the GSAT-2 completed its mission life.

Meteorology

The meteorological data of INSAT system is processed and disseminated by INSAT Meteorological Data Processing

System of India Meteorological Department (IMD) which is installed by M/s Antrix Corporation through an

Memorandum Of Understanding with India Meteorological Department. At present Kalpana-1 and INSAT-3A

satellites are operational. Kalpana-1 is the main operational satellite and 48 scans of this satellite, every half hour are

taken daily. The products derived from the satellite data include: cloud images in visible, infra-red and water vapour

channel, cloud motion vectors, water vapour winds, sea surface temperature, outgoing long-wave radiation,

quantitative precipitation estimates, upper tropospheric humidity and normalized difference vegetation index. The

satellite images and products are now a vital component of weather forecasting, both for synoptic and numerical

weather prediction. The monitoring of cyclone intensity, its location, and various other weather systems such as

Fog, Thunderstorms, Western disturbances and Norwesters, etc., are done by satellite images and data. A satellite

bulletin is prepared every 3–hourly describing the images and products generated by the data. In case of a cyclone

the special satellite bulletins are issued every hourly. All images and products generated by satellite data are

displayed on India Meteorological Department website satellite page for users in real-time.

INSAT-Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) imageries are used by Doordarshan during news coverage

and by newspapers as part of weather reporting. INSAT VHRR images and data is made available in near real-

time at 40 Digital Meteorological Data Dissemination (DMDD) stations in various parts of the country as well

as in neighboring countries Nepal, Maldives and Srilanka through the C x S transponder on INSAT-3C. With the

commissioning of this direct satellite service for processed VHRR data, DMDD type of data can be provided at

any location in the country.

IMD has installed 649 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) and other agencies have installed about 1000 AWS

all over the country. IMD has also installed 456 Automatic Rain Gauge (ARG) Stations. AWS and ARG services

are operational by using the Data Relay Transponders (DRT) of INSAT-3A. ISRO has taken up indigenous

development of low cost automatic weather station for deployment in the country in large numbers. The data

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collection is mostly carried out in Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) mode instead of the old

random access mode.

For quick dissemination of warnings against impending disaster from approaching cyclones, specially designed

receivers have been installed at the vulnerable coastal areas in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West

Bengal and Gujarat for direct transmission of warnings to the officials and public in general using broadcast

capability of INSAT. India Meteorological Department’s Area Cyclone Warning Centres generate special warning

bulletins and transmit them every hour in local languages to the affected areas. Three hundred and fifty two such

receiver stations have been installed by IMD. Out of these 100 are Digital Cyclone Warning Dissemination

System based on advanced technology. Efforts are on to replace the network of CWDS/DCWDS by the ISRO

developed Direct To Home modified type CWDS. An MOU has been signed among ISRO, India Meteorological

Department and Doordarshan for replacement of the existing network of CWDS by new DTH modified type

Cyclone Warning and Dissemination System designed by ISRO.

Satellite Aided Search and Rescue (SAS and R)

India is a member of the international COSPAS-SARSAT programme for providing distress alert and position

location service through LEOSAR (Low Earth Orbit Search And Rescue) satellite system. Under this programme,

India has established two Local User Terminals (LUTs), one at Lucknow and the other at Bangalore. The Indian

Mission Control Centre (INMCC) is located at ISTRAC, Bangalore.

INSAT-3A located at 93.50E is equipped with 406 MHz Search and Rescue payload that picks up and relays alert

signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land users. INSAT and Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellite (GOES) systems have become an integral part of the COSPAS-SARSAT system and they

complement the Low Earth Orbit Search And Rescue system.

Indian LUTs provide coverage to a large part of Indian Ocean region rendering distress alert services to Bangladesh,

Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The operations of Indian Mission Control Centre/

Local User Terminals are funded by the participating agencies, namely, Coast Guard, Airports Authority of India

(AAI) and Directorate General of Shipping and Services.

INSAT GEOSAR Local User Terminal (Geostationary Earth Orbit Search and Rescue LUT) is established at

ISTRAC, Bangalore and integrated with INMCC. The distress alert messages concerning the Indian service area,

detected at INMCC are passed on to Indian Coast Guard and Rescue Coordination Centres at Mumbai, Kolkata,

Delhi and Chennai. The search and rescue activities are carried out by Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force.

INMCC is linked to the RCCs and other International Mission Control Centres (MCCs) through Aeronautical

Fixed Telecommunication Network. The Indian LUTs and MCC provide service round the clock and maintain

the database of all 406 MHz registered beacons equipped on Indian ships and aircraft.

Development of indigenous search and rescue beacons has been completed, and is now in qualification phase.

Shortly it will be released to the Indian fishermen community.

During the year 2011, Indian Mission Control Centre provided search and rescue support to 4 distress incidents

in Indian service area through Indian system and contributed in saving 15 lives (within INSAT coverage).

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During 2011, about 743 new radio beacons have been added in Indian database (234 on ships/boats, 406 on

aircraft, 103 Personal). Till date, there are about 600 registered user agencies (Maritime and Aviation) in India

with Indian beacon population more than 10200 in our database.

The Indian Mission Control Centre system at ISTRAC is under up-gradation, and will be in operation by end of

December 2011. Migration from Low Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (LEOSAR) and Geostationary Earth Orbit

Search and Rescue (GEOSAR) to Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) system has been undertaken.

Standard Time and Frequency Signal Dissemination Services

A Standard Time and Frequency Signal Dissemination Service using a Radio Networking type CxS carrier on

INSAT-3C is being operated by the National Physical Laboratory. This service is available round-the-clock in a

broadcast mode at a downlink frequency in S-band and is receivable on a set up consisting of a 2.4 m diameter

antenna, a front-end converter, an Frequency Modulation (FM) demodulator and a microprocessor controlled

signal decoder. The service consists of a train of 5 kHz bursts signal, which is frequency modulated on the carrier.

The time has a precision of better than one microsecond and accuracy of better than 20 microseconds.

GPS AIDED GEO AUGMENTED NAVIGATION (GAGAN)

The Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System, GAGAN is in the Final Operational Phase and is expected to

be ready for operation and certification by June 2013.

In the GAGAN-FOP, all the ground elements, viz., 15 Indian Navigation Reference Earth Stations (INRES),

2 Indian Navigation Master Control Centres (INMCC) and 2 Indian Navigation Land Uplink Stations (INLUS)

are established and integrated. In addition to the existing Optical Fibre Cable Data Communication Network,

VSAT link is also established between almost all INRES sites and INMCC. The establishment of third INLUS at

New Delhi and second Optical Fibre Cable network are in progress and expected to be completed by

March 2012.

The major milestone activity of Preliminary System Acceptance Test was conducted successfully after installation

and integration of all the ground elements.

The ISRO GIVE Model-Multi Layer Data Fusion (IGM-MLDF) algorithm developed by ISAC is selected through

technical consensus. The development and incorporation of this model with INMCC software is in progress.

After the launch of GSAT-8, the In-Orbit Test and Test and Evaluation of GAGAN navigation payload was carried

out and the integration of payload with Bangalore INLUS-West is completed. After completion of stability test

which is in progress now, the GAGAN signal without certification will be available for users.

The next major milestone events in the GAGAN are the launch of GSAT-10 and its integration with Bangalore

INLUS-East, integration of New Delhi INLUS with GSAT-8 and conduct of Final System Acceptance Test

during June 2012 followed by system certification during July 2013.

INDIAN REGIONAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM (IRNSS)

IRNSS constellation consists of seven satellites. Three satellites will be placed in Geostationary orbit (GEO) at

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32.5°E, 83°E and 131.5°E and two satellites each will be placed in the Geosynchronous orbit (GSO) with

equatorial crossing at 55°E and 111.5°E with an inclination of 29° to the equator. Two spare satellites are also

planned. IRNSS provides two services, viz., Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for common civilian users and a

Restricted Service (RS) for special authorised users on L5 and S bands.

The satellite configuration has been finalised and the satellites of the constellation are being configured identically

with each satellite weighing 1425 kg. Efforts are on to productionise the standard subsystems. First flight model

structure has been ready for assembly and integration. Clearance has been given for the fabrication of

2 more structures. Design reviews of major sub-systems of IRNSS satellites like satellite structure, Thermal

control systems, Propulsion systems, Power System, Telemetry, Tracking and Command, Deployment

mechanisms, Pyrotechnic devices, Composite elements, Check-out and Integration, etc., has been completed.

The satellite is basically configured with I-1K Bus to be compatible for launch onboard PSLV.

Incremental Preliminary Design Review of payload has been completed. The qualification model and flight

model subsystems of the navigation payload are under realisation. Prototype flight model and flight models of

Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standards along Atomic Clock Monitoring Units have been delivered. The Flight

models of Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standards are tested at Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahemdabad and

the performance has been found satisfactory. Signal Structure document has been completed and circulated.

The Telecommand Simulator to test the Navigation Signal Generation Unit has been delivered to SAC by

ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore.

Civil works of Satellite Control Facility at Hassan is in progress. Four 7.2 m antennas and one 11m antenna has

been installed. The associated servers, data archival systems, communication units, work terminals have been

procured and are under installation. The civil works and internal finishing of the IRNSS Navigation Centre at

Byalalu has been completed. Contract has been signed with M/s NovaTel for delivery of Indian Ranging Integrity

and Monitoring Station Reference receivers, whose preliminary design review is completed. Factory Acceptance

Test for IRNSS Network Timing elements has been completed. All the elements of Timing centre have been

shipped to Bangalore and integrated. Discussions with National Physical Laboratory have been done to exchange

IRNSS timing information for traceability to Co-ordianted Universal Time (UTC). Antennas for Code Division

Multiple Access (CDMA) ranging have been received at respective stations and installation is under progress.

IRNSS Network Control Centre (INC) at IDSN, Byalalu

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The navigation software for IRNSS is being indigenously developed at ISRO Satellite Centre. Software Requirement

Specifications for IRNSS is circulated and reviewed by the committee. Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of

Navigation Software is completed and Comprehensive Design Review is scheduled shortly. As a part of this

activity, many analysis modules have been developed and used in various studies like coverage studies, error

analysis, uplinking scheme for Navigation Parameters, CDMA Ranging Analysis, etc.

In-house development of single channel SPS and RS dual frequency receiver to facilitate the testing of Navigation

payload is under progress. The PDR of the User receiver has been completed. Efforts are on to realise the

IRNSS Signal Simulator. ISRO is collaborating with National Physical Laboratory to realise space qualified Rubidium

Atomic Frequency Standard.

Discussions with Scientific Analysis Group, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have

been held to look into certification aspects for the Restricted Service. Frequency Coordination activities like

Frequency filings, discussions with other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) service providers, participation

in International Committee for GNSS meet etc., are being pursued.

Technical Review Executive Board meetings and project management board meetings are held to monitor the

progress, schedule and resolve various technical issues.

Disaster Management Support (DMS) Programme

The Disaster Management Support Programme of ISRO provides continued support towards disaster management

in the country through products and services emanating from the space and airborne systems. The DMS-

Decision Support Centre (DMS-DSC) established at National Remote Sensing Centre is engaged in monitoring

natural disasters such as flood, cyclone, agricultural drought, landslides, earthquakes and forest fires. The information

generated from aero-space systems are disseminated to the concerned in near real-time for aiding in decision

making.

Floods: All the major floods in the States of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and Kerala states

were monitored and about 245 maps were disseminated to the concerned departments. The Flood Management

Information System (FMIS) developed for Bihar state was supported by providing software and database layers.

Development of FMIS for Orissa is in progress. The Assam flood hazard zonation atlas was released by Hon'ble

Chief Minister of Assam on July 18, 2011. Similar work on Bihar is on-going. Research and Development

(R&D) activities on flood inundation modelling using 0.5 m contour interval from Light Detection and Ranging

(LIDAR) data, and development of a flood alert system is being attempted for Godavari basin.

Drought: The prevalence and severity of agricultural drought in 13 states in the country is assessed at district and

sub-district level on a monthly basis, using satellite data and ground information, during the kharif season. Area

Favourable for Crop Sowing, derived from Shortwave Angle Slope Index (SASI) images from Moderate Resolution

Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data is being operationally disseminated. Area Favourable for Crop Sowing

is a direct indicator of early-season agricultural situation.

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Forest Fire: Near real-time active forest fire alerts were generated twice a day during the fire season (February

to June). The information was disseminated to ~400 nodal officers of all state forest departments across the

country through Decision Support Centre-Indian Forest Fire Response and Assessment System website and

web-posting on Bhuvan. Software development for automated production of fire alerts and dispatch of products

to Forest Survey of India (FSI) is in progress. Fire damage assessment and fire danger rating over 4 major

geographic regions is progressing.

Landslides and Earthquake: Immediately after the Sikkim Earthquake in September 2011, pre and post-earthquake

satellite data were obtained to assess the damages caused by the earthquake. Using the cloud free data available

after September 29 and the microwave data, around 1196 new landslides triggered due to the earthquake

were mapped in and around Sikkim.

National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM): NDEM conceived as a Geographical Information

System (GIS) based repository of data to support disaster/ emergency management for the country is being

realised. The NDEM building at National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) Shadnagar is nearing completion.

Area Favourable for Crop Sowing, Kharif 2011 (based on Satellite derived SASI and Water Balance model)

Pre & Post Earthquake images

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The database already collected from ISRO and few other organisations were organised into the interim server.

Decision Support Systems (DSS) development for flood, drought, Landslides and radiological disasters are

under progress. Mobile based applications for Geo-spatial database generation disaster and Relief Management

were developed and demonstrated.

Aerial Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) Development: The flight model of the C-band ASAR integration is

completed and tested. On-board test flights are planned soon. The X-band ASAR integration is in progress for a

flight demonstration in 2012. The Near Real Time Processing system is upgraded with new generation TS201

@500 MHz Digital Signal Processing processors to improve the turn-around time.

Aerial Laser Terrain Mapping: The processing of Aerial Laser Terrain Mapping-Digital Camera (ALTM-DC)

data of 870 sq. km of Sabari Basin, AP and 12130 sq. km of Bihar is completed in 2011. Further data collection

of 3000 to 4000 sq. km of Assam is planned in this flying season.

Emergency Communication: INSAT Type-D terminals (two way portable voice communication terminal

operating in S-band) are continued to be used by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for emergency operations.

1000 numbers of Distress Alert Transmitter - a low cost satellite transmitter for emergency communication of

alert messages from fishing boats – have been procured and distributed through Coast Guard in 2011.

The Direct To Home based Digital Disaster Warning System developed and demonstrated by ISRO is being

established in 500 locations in association with India Meteorological Department and Doordarshan.

International Initiatives: The Disaster Management System programme is supporting the disaster management

globally, by sharing data and information for the specific events through International Charter and Sentinel Asia

projects. ISRO has provided about 19 Indian Remote Sensing Satellites scenes in support of 9 disasters during

2011, including floods in Algeria, Cambodia and Bangkok, and earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.

Remote Sensing Applications

Remote sensing application projects at National, State and local levels are being carried out through well-

established multi-pronged implementation architecture of National Natural Resources Management System

(NNRMS) in the country. Major ISRO Centres, namely, National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad and

Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad spearheads all such applications development and implementation

initiatives from ISRO/ DOS. Regional Remote Sensing Centres (RRSCs) of NRSC, North-Eastern Space Application

Centre (NE-SAC), Shillong, State Remote Sensing Application Centres play a major role in implementation and

reaching out to the grass- roots for effective utilisation of the technology. User Ministries of State and Central

Government departments and others institutions play a major role in utilising remote sensing technology in their

own departments. In addition, private sector, Non-Governmental Organisations and academia also play a

major role in the usage of this technology in different developmental sectors of the country. Some of the major

application projects carried out during the year 2011-12 are highlighted below:

Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land based observations (FASAL) is a

countrywide project, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, executed by ISRO/DOS along with

various State Remote Sensing Applications Centres, State Departments of Agriculture and Agricultural Universities

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to provide country wide crop area and production forecasts. Under this project, during 2010-2011, three

forecasts for national wheat, kharif rice and rapeseed/ mustard, two forecasts for winter potato at national level

are provided. At district level, pre-harvest forecasts of cotton, sorghum, sugarcane, wheat, rape seed/ mustard

crops in major growing district of 15 states are operational.

Analyses of remote sensing data, acquired during crop season, using limited field observations for crop identification

with 15-20% sample size for acreage estimation are taken up. In addition, agromet model, time trend and crop

simulation models are also used for crop yield prediction.

Crop growth simulation model was upgraded to 5 x 5 km spatial grid, as compared to the existing 25 x 25 km,

to capture the spatial variability of yield at state level. Following pre-harvest forecasts are provided.

Pre-harvest forecasts of crops 2010-11

Crop Area (M ha) Prod. (Mt.) Date of forecast

Wheat 28.89 83.96 Apr 25, 2011

Kharif Rice 32.79 69.85 Dec 31, 2010

Mustard 6.01 7.10 Mar 08, 2011

Winter Potato 1.34 25.4 Feb 25, 2011

FASALSoft software package has been developed, which is a distributed software tool consisting of three major

sub-systems, viz., (i) Computing System (ii) Central Geo-Spatial Archival System and (iii) Online Geo-Spatial

Query System.

Groundwater Prospects Mapping: Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission is funded by the Department

of Drinking Water Supply of the Ministry of Rural development. This project addresses the preparation and

distribution of ground water prospects maps at 1:50,000 scale pertaining to ground water prospects. After

successful completion of Phase I, II, III A & III B of the project covering 13 States in the country. Phase-IV activities

covering the remaining 13 states (Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry,

Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, part of UP and West Bengal) and 5 union territories (Andaman and Nicobar

Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep) are in progress. The “Ground

Water Prospects User Manual” was released on November 15, 2011 by Hon`ble Union Minister Shri Jairam

Ramesh in the National Workshop on ‘Drinking Water Quality’ held at New Delhi.

Water Resources Information System: A major project on “Web Enabled Water Resources Information System

(India- WRIS)” in collaboration with Central Water Commission (CWC), New Delhi has been taken up.

India-WRIS is envisaged to provide a comprehensive, credible, and contextual view of India’s water resources

data along with allied natural resources data and information. India - WRIS is hosted on www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in.

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The present version is a ‘Single Window’

solution for all water resources and related

information in a standardised Geographical

Information System (GIS) format using

national GIS framework for water resource

assessment and monitoring. It provides web

tools to search, access, query and visualise

data to understand the context and study the

spatial patterns. The information system has

four key elements namely (1) Data collection

system, (2) Data storage, analysis and

information, (3) Interactive system for geo-

visualisation and analysis and (4) Information

dissemination system for value addition and

customisation. The beta version of the tool is already functional and is planned to be updated in first quarter of

2012 and shall be fully developed by end of year 2012.

Hydrologic Modeling for basin-wise water resources assessment: As a part of re-assessment of national

water resources, a pilot study was executed for Godavari, Brahmani and Batarani Basins, jointly with Central

Water Commission. Annual runoff was computed using distributed hydrological modelling approach for the 20

years (1988-89 to 2007-08) using meteorological and hydrological data obtained from India Meteorological

Department, Central Water Commission and Central Ground Water Board. This was also validated with field

data of CWC. Water Resources availability was computed by integrating runoff, groundwater and reservoir flux

as well as domestic and industrial consumption. In addition, monthly water balance was computed to generate

grid-wise water balance components. Land Use/Land Cover, Elevation, Leaf Area Index, Albedo, Soil and field

hydro-meteorological observations (Rainfall, Temperature, etc.) were integrated in a grid based Variable Infiltration

Capacity Hydrological Model. Daily water balance at grid level was used to quantify evapo-transpiration, surface

Homepage of India-WRIS website ISRO/DOS

3min x 3min Grid-wise water balance components (ET and Runoff) in Mahanadi river basin for 2004-05

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runoff, base-flow and depth-wise soil moisture storage. The model has provided vital inputs for studies on

climate change.

Natural Resources Census: The Natural Resources Census project aims at the generation of a set of thematic

maps through systematic inventory and mapping using Resourcesat data and creation of a Geographical Information

System database for the whole country. The project uses satellite data at different spatial resolutions to prepare

natural resources information layers, viz., land use/ land cover, land degradation, wetlands, vegetation, snow and

glaciers, geomorphology at 1:50,000 scale. Also, land use/ land cover at 1:250,000 scale is periodically monitored

as part of natural resources census on annual basis.

(i) Land Use/ Land Cover: National Level land

use/ land cover maps at 1:250,000 scale for

the years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07,

2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11

have been completed using multi-temporal

IRS Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS)

datasets and the same are hosted on web

portal of NRSC/ISRO as ‘Bhoosampada’. The

seventh cycle (2010-11) assessment of net

sown area along with Land use / land cover

was completed for 2010-11. The total kharif

cropped area during 2010 was estimated at

120.18 Million Ha, comprising 36.56% of

the total geographical area of the country.

Major increase in kharif crop area was observed in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu

and Rajasthan.

The first cycle of the nation-wide land use/land cover mapping on 1:50,000 scale was completed for the

entire country. Spatial databases were organised and state level seamless database was generated.

Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) Atlas has been prepared depicting maps and statistics at state and district

level. The second cycle of the project consisting of monitoring with respect to earlier cycle is initiated.

A National Workshop on the results of the first cycle and finalisation of classification for second cycle has

been organised. Project Execution Plan is under preparation.

(ii) Land Degradation: After successful completion of the Land degradation mapping at national level on

1:50,000 scale, further improvements in these maps was done with incorporation of soil information available

from soil maps prepared by National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning. The digital database of

land degradation maps were harmonised with urban areas, water bodies and wetlands for the entire country.

Atlas preparation is in progress.

(iii) Geomorphological Mapping: Nationwide geomorphological and lineament mapping at 1:50,000 scale

has been initiated jointly with Geological Survey of India. A genetic algorithm based classification system is

Increase in mustard crop area (Rajasthan)

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being adopted with about 360 landform units under 8 genetic classes. Nationwide geomorphological and

lineament mapping (1:50,000 scale) has been initiated jointly with Geological Survey of India with the

participation of partner institutes and around 700 maps are completed.

(iv) National Wetland Inventory: The mapping of wetlands of India at 1: 50,000 scale was a major highlight

of the year and the National Wetland Atlas and State-wise wetland atlases prepared under the

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) sponsored project “National Wetland Inventory and Assessment”

were released officially by the then Hon’ble Minister of Environment and Forests, on June 8, 2011 at SAC.

(v) Glacier Inventory: Glacier inventory was carried out in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins on

1:50,000 scale using recent images of Indian Remote Sensing Satellite for the first time in the country in a

Geographical Information System environment. The study has shown that there are 32392 glaciers covering

78040 sq km. Advance and retreat of Himalayan glaciers has been mapped and area computed. Work has

been taken up as Phase-II for Snow and Glacier Studies. In addition, an inventory of glacial lakes and water

bodies in the Himalayan region was carried out using Resourcesat-1 Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS)

data. Study reveals that there are 2028 glacial lakes and water bodies in the Himalayan region. Of these, 503

are glacial lakes and 1525 are water bodies. Brahmaputra basin has 294 glacial lakes and 1099 water bodies,

whereas Indus basin has 31 glacial lakes and 321 water bodies. There are 178 glacial lakes and 105 water

bodies under Ganga basin. It was observed that around 1600 glacial lakes/water bodies have water spread

area less than 50 ha, 200 water bodies have water spread area between 50 and 100 ha and 14 water bodies

cover an area over 10,000 ha.

(vi) Based on the expertise gained in the area of forestry using remote sensing, NRSC/ ISRO was invited to

present approaches to strengthen national forest cover change monitoring to the Planning Commission,

New Delhi on May 20, 2011. A project titled "Indian Forest Cover Change Alert System using

IRS multi-sensor data" has been initiated with the specific objectives of developing a semi automated sub

annual forest cover change detection methodology using multi temporal AWiFS data. Further, capacity

building and technology transfer for operational implementation by Forest Survey of India is also planned.

Wastelands Change Analysis: At the behest of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) of Ministry of Rural

Development, wasteland change analysis was completed using Resourcesat data of 2008-09. Results reveal that

there is a decrease of wastelands by 3.2 million hectares spread over 1,12,057 locations, while there is an

increase in wastelands by 2.7 million hectares in 42,886 locations. Thus, there is an overall decrease in

wastelands to the tune of 0.5 million hectares from 2005-06 to 2008-09 in the country. District and state-wise

wastelands change dynamics are presented in the form of Wastelands Atlas of India – 2011.

Space based Information System for Decentralised Planning (SIS-DP): This unique project was initiated at

the behest of Planning Commission, to prepare district resource atlases using remote sensing and Geographical

Information System techniques to strengthen various aspects of decentralised planning at district level through a

coordinated approach. The salient aspects of the project includes generation of natural resources database at

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1:10,000 scale, village cadastral overlay, wherever possible; linking state line-department data; developing

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enabled geospatial platform; providing space inputs for

planning and development at panchayat level. The sub-components of the project include satellite data, thematic

maps, such as, land use, infrastructure, slope, settlements and so on. In the prioritised component of the

project, five states (AP, Kerala, Haryana, WB and Assam) have been selected for end-to-end solution. However,

the thematic map preparation has been taken up for all the remaining states. Dissemination of information is

planned through digital resource atlases, web-based applications, Decision Support System, Management

Information System, etc., up to the grassroot level (national, state, district, taluk, gram panchayat etc.) to facilitate

decentralised planning. The proposed deliverables are meant to be used for some of the popular central

government schemes, like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA), Integrated

Watershed Management Programme, etc., for planning and development. Presently, MoU is signed with 24

states for generation of high spatial resolution data at 1:10,000. The satellite data is distributed to nearly all the

nodal centres and the data (ortho image) preparation is completed for Kerala, Haryana, Goa, Delhi, Bihar,

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and UP, and is in advanced stage for other states.

National Urban Information System: ISRO/DOS participated in realising the National Urban Information

System of the Ministry of Urban Development.

NUIS enables creation of Urban Spatial

Information System to meet the preparation of

Development Plans, Transportation Plans, Urban

Site Suitability Analysis and Urban Environmental

Planning. Phase-I of the project, aims at

preparation of Master Plan and Urban

Environmental Plans for 152 cities/ towns across

the country. NRSC/ ISRO is generating thematic

geo-database for 152 towns on 1:10,000 scale

besides acquiring aerial data for mapping at

1:2,000 scale. The project is being executed in

association with 25 Partner Institutions. Presently,

125 towns are mapped.

GCPL Phase-2: The project was initiated to

collect Ground Control Points (GCPs) to cover

the gap areas of the country as well as to improve

density of GCPs collected in phase-1. It is envisaged to collect about 1000 GCPs with an accuracy of better than

15 cm, revisit the zeroth order stations to compute plate movements and update GCPL reference frame to be

compatible to International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) 2005 (global standard), improve density of first

order points and use 17 Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and 8 GPS and GEO Augmented

Navigation (GAGAN) stations to cater to the airborne surveys. Densification of Ground Control Points (GCPs)

NUIS – Surat, Urban Landuse

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was carried out through GPS surveys (Data collection and processing) spread over North East, J&K, East coast

and West Coast regions, Andaman and Lakshadweep islands. Zeroth order points were revisited to compute

plate movements and GCPL reference frame work was updated.

CartoDEM: Cartographic Digital Elevation Model

(CartoDEM) is one of the mission goals of Cartosat-1

stereo data utilisation. The project on CartoDEM was taken

up for generation of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a

posting of 1/3 arc-sec (~10m) interval and corresponding

ortho-image for the entire country, essentially to facilitate

large scale mapping and terrain modelling applications.

CartoDEM and ortho images for the entire country has

been generated. These datasets are realised in topographic

map tiles of 7.5’ x 7.5’ at 1:25000 scale in World Geodetic

System (WGS-84) system with vertical elevation

accuracies of 8m, and plannimetric accuracy of 15 m. 1

arc second CartoDEM has already been posted onto Bhuvan

geoportal for the benefit of researchers and for user

community.

Cal/Val Activities: As part of this activity, five sites - two in Thar desert and three in Kutchh salt lakes - were

identified for land applications using optical sensors. Ground characterisation for radiometric and temporal

stability, atmospheric characterisation for aerosol and radiative transfer modelling are in progress. Development

of an in-house Calibration site at Shadnagar is also in progress.

Natural Resources Database (NRDB): Natural Resources Database project has been successful in establishing

Geospatial data infrastructure with central node and seven regional nodes that are populated with national level

thematic database elements, generated under the National Natural Resources Management System Programme.

The repository is operational and provides necessary services to meet the needs of different user community.

The metadata for the entire database is posted on the NNRMS Web site for users to access, visualise and query

the same. The entire metadata is also made available to National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and is

hosted on NSDI portal of the Department of Science and Technology.

Bhuvan: Bhuvan, ISRO’s Geoportal and Gateway to Indian Earth Observation Data Visualisation Services,

showcases Indian Earth Observation data up to 5.8 m spatial resolution seamlessly for the nation and 1 m spatial

resolution for selected towns. The Bhuvan Portal (www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in) which has completed more than

2 years has added a host of new functions and services including data download facilities. Bhuvan facilitates the

users to select, browse and download satellite data through NRSC Open EO Data Archive (NOEDA). Presently,

users can download Elevation data of Cartographic Digital Elevation Model (CartoDEM – 1) arc second and

CartoDEM

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Advanced Wide Field Sensor data (56m) of the Indian region. It is also planned to provide the thematic services

and online geo processing services to the user community in the near future. Distinct achievements made in the

last year include implementation of Open Source Content Management System with

Multi-Lingual capability (English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil), Central Authentication Service towards single sign on,

Online Discussion Forum to facilitate interaction with public for improvements, Indigenous Bhuvan-2D, Mobile

compatibility, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Services towards interoperability, OGC Services to

Andhra Pradesh School Information System, Indian Forest Fire Response and Assessment System, India Geo-

portal (NSDI), Online Shape File Creation and User Data sharing, NRSC Open EO Data Archive (NOEDA),

High Resolution Data for 102 Cities and Bhuvan awareness workshops at 5 major cities covering about 2000

students in Shillong, Delhi, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Capacity Building: The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, which has become a unit of ISRO, is a premier

institute imparting professional training and education in the field of Remote Sensing, Geoinformation technology

for Natural Resources and Disaster Management. In addition, NRSC and SAC also conduct training programme

as per the requirement of the user community. The technical support and training for various Central/State line

departments, academic institutions, Research and Development institutions towards better utilisation of space

inputs and geospatial technologies is being carried out regularly. Also, as a part of human resources development,

special training programs/workshops as well as setting up/ augmentation of computing infrastructure/ facilities at

various academic institutions in many states across the country has been carried out.

ISRO Geosphere Biosphere Programme

The ISRO Geosphere Biosphere Programme (ISRO-GBP) addresses questions related to the extent to which

anthropogenic forcing (e.g., aerosols, trace gases) interacts with the natural variability of Earth system in producing

abrupt changes that threaten sustainable development. The ISRO-GBP also provides inputs to policy makers in

the context of international protocols and conventions. Since the answers for these issues require multi-institutional

research effort, this programme is being implemented in a coordinated manner involving many ISRO/DOS

Centres and national laboratories and academic institutions.

Images of Bhuvan Web Portal

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The Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) is implementing four projects, namely, Aerosol Radiative Forcing over

India, Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases, and Radiation Budget, Regional Aerosol Warming Experiment

and Atmospheric Boundary Layer-Network and Characterisation. The Physical Research Laboratory is

implementing three projects, namely, Atmospheric Trace gases Composition and Transport Modeling ,

Atmospheric Dust Composition and Transport Modeling and Multi-proxy Quantitative Paleomonsoon

Reconstruction for past 21,000 years. The Sapce Applications Centre is studying the Energy and Mass Exchanges

in Vegetative Systems. The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing is investigating the Land Use Land Cover Dynamics

and Impact of Human Dimensions in the Indian River Basins over the last 30 years. The National Remote

Sensing Centre is focusing on understanding the terrestrial Carbon Cycle through a ‘National Carbon Project’.

One of the significant achievements of this programme is that we are able to generate the primary data from a

nationwide network of observational sites to provide a better understanding of regional climate and atmospheric

composition. The programme has brought out several new findings: the persistence of the elevated aerosol

layers; the lower atmospheric warming due to aerosols and its meridional gradient., the role of natural processes

unique to tropics and frequently overlooked in models, the anomalous high absorption of Asian dust; the large

fraction of water soluble iron; the high Organic Carbon/Black Carbon ratio; significant contribution of sea-salt

aerosols and the resulting long wave radiative forcing, long-range transport of mixed aerosols from the west

Asia, east Africa and Europe to the Indian mainland (which contributes as much as 50% of the aerosol loading

during pre-monsoon) and the fine anthropogenic dominated aerosols from East Asia across Bay of Bengal during

winter. Another important result, from the climate perspective and national importance, has come from the

study of long-term trends at some locations (e.g., Thiruvananthapuram) where the aerosol optical depth has

been increasing consistently over the last 25 years but the concentration of black carbon, normally considered as

a tracer for human impact, shows a decreasing trend.

Under the project Atmospheric Dust Composition and Transport Modeling, the major research findings have

direct relevance to the international efforts that are directed to improve our understanding of the chemical

composition of troposphere, processes controlling the transport and transformation of chemical species within

the troposphere, and fluxes of chemical species into and out of the troposphere. The Sources and spatial

variability of mineral and anthropogenic aerosols over western India and Arabian Sea- atmospheric boundary

layer were studied and found that the water-soluble species account for 35% of total suspended particulate

(TSP) with dominant contribution of Ca2+ and SO42– followed by Na+ and minor contributions of K+, Mg2+,

Cl–, and NO3

–. On average, mineral dust accounts for 44% of TSP. The study also shows uptake of anthropogenic

SO4

2– by mineral dust (CaCO3). These results have implications to downwind transport of dust and pollutants

to the marine atmospheric boundary layer.

High-resolution monsoon reconstruction for the last 331 years, for the west coast of India has been completed.

Years of extreme events (drought/flood) occurred before instrumental period are identified. In this reconstruction

solar cycle (~21 year-magnetic cycle) is found which suggests significant association between sun and Indian

monsoon. Indian monsoon is found to have increasing trend during the Holocene period (last 10 k yr).

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A multi-institutional national phytomass observation program consisting of 54 institutions and 74 principal

investigators was carried out under National Carbon Project. Several field plot data from forests and trees

outside forests was collected with defined sampling protocols. Many permanent sample plots (one at each

cluster) were identified for further monitoring as well as for quality assurance. Pilot studies in 16 test-sites in

different ecological regions in the country have been taken to test the methodology for biomass estimation and

spectral modeling using optical and microwave data in forest ecosystem. Estimation of seasonal crop biomass

and net primary production (NPP) using remote sensing and modeling and crop NPP (above and below ground)

from historical agricultural statistics data were carried out. As part of network to support flux estimation, ground

based CO2 sensors have been installed at many stations to monitor diurnal and seasonal measurements in

support of atmospheric CO2 retrieved from Atmospheric Infra Red Sounder on board Advanced Sounding Unit.

Analysis suggests that atmospheric CO2 concentration has increased linearly during the past

6 years with strong seasonal variation over the land and relatively weaker seasonal variability over the ocean.

Out of the planned network of 24 Agro-Met Stations (AMS), 19 AMS have been established under Energy Mass

Exchange project. Arrangements for evaluating the primary data and intermediate products have been made.

Integrated science plan for crop canopy characterisation through in-situ measurements on phenology, Leaf Area

Index, soil moisture, photosynthesis, biomass etc. are being carried out. The studies indicate a decrease in

albedo by 9% during 1981-2000 while there is an increase in the Net Primary Productivity in Maharashtra and

Karnataka. The project emphasizes on the NPP in the dominant agricultural areas. The project is developing a

methodology of up-scaling the in-situ observations to satellite sensor-based observations.

Creation of Land Use/Land Cover database at decadal interval (1985, 1995 and 2005) for all the 14 major

river basins (entire country) based on satellite image interpretation and legacy data was completed; validation in

progress. Creation of biophysical (topographic and climatic) and socio-economic (Population density; number of

households; infrastructure, drinking water, health and education facility, etc.) database was completed for two

river basins (Pennar and Narmada); work is in progress for the remaining basins.

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SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

The Indian Space Programme started in a humble way with the launch of modest Rohini sounding rockets from

Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram in the early 1960s. Initially, these sounding rocket launches were aimed at

conducting scientific investigations over the geomagnetic equator passing over Thumba. Since then, India has

made rapid strides in launch vehicle technology to achieve self reliance in satellite launch vehicle

programme with the operationalisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite

Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

Major Accomplishments

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

PSLV, the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO proved its reliability and versatility with three successful launches in

2011, viz., PSLV-C16, C17 and C18. The launches have taken place

in 3 variants – generic version with six S9 solid strap-on motors, core

alone version and XL version with six extended length S12 solid

strap-on motors. Of these, C17 was a sub-Geosynchronus Transfer

Orbit mission to place the communication satellite GSAT-12 into the

intended orbit. PSLV is a four stage vehicle with alternate solid and

liquid propulsion systems.

PSLV-C16/Resourcesat-2 mission had PSLV vehicle in the generic

configuration and was

successfully launched on

April 20, 2011. It carried

Resourcesat-2 (1206 kg)

along with two auxiliary

satellites Youthsat (92 kg)

and XSAT (105 kg) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore,

which were placed into a Sun Synchronous Polar orbit of 809 x 822

km with an inclination of 98.7º.

PSLV C17/GSAT-12 mission was the second mission of PSLV with

PSOM-XL strap-on configuration and was successfully launched on

July 15, 2011. This mission placed the communication satellite

GSAT-12 into a sub-GTO orbit of 280 km perigee and 21,027 km

apogee with an inclination of 17.98º. Both prime and redundant flight PSLV C 17 Lift-off, July 15, 2011

PSLV C 16 Lift-off, April 20, 2011

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computers onboard were configured with in-house Vikram processors

in this mission.

PSLV-C18/Megha-Tropiques mission, the seventh core alone flight

was launched successfully on October 12, 2011. This mission put

the Indo-French satellite Megha-Tropiques into orbit along with

3 auxiliary satellites, JUGNU from IIT Kanpur, SRMSat from SRM

University, Chennai and VESSELSAT-1 from Luxembourg. This

mission carried a total of 1045 kg payload into a circular orbit of

866.5km with an inclination of 20.012º. The major change in this

mission was the modified PS4 stage with lesser (820 kg) propellant,

for which the necessary baffle modifications were carried out.

The mission management for the C18 mission was another major

challenge considering the payload, orbit, inclination, PS3 impact and

other requirements.

PSLV-C19/RISAT-1 Mission

All major hardware for PSLV-C19/RISAT-1 mission has been realised

and launch is targeted for first quarter of 2012-13.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)

GSLV, India’s launch vehicle for communication satellites is a 3 stage

vehicle with solid, liquid and cryogenic propulsion systems. In 2011extensive failure analysis studies and reviews

were carried out relating to the failures of GSLV- F06 and GSLV-D3 missions in 2010. Final reports of the

Failure Analysis Committees (FAC) for GSLV D3 and GSLV-F06 were submitted. Cryo stage Fuel Booster

Turbo Pump was modified as per GSLV-D3 Failure Analysis Committee recommendations and qualification

tests carried out. Modified Oxidizer Booster Turbo pump was also flight acceptance tested. The non-

accomplishment of GSLV-F06 mission was attributed to the excessive static deformation of cryo stage lower

shroud and subsequent de-mating of electrical connectors at the separation plane interface of cryo stage and

GSLV second stage during 47.34 s to 47.72 s of flight. This led to the stoppage of flow of command signals from

equipment bay to the first stage control power plants leading to the vehicle losing control and ultimate breakup.

Re-design of cryo stage lower shroud has been completed and qualification testing is in progress. Update of

aerodynamic characteristics for GSLV configurations have been taken as per Failure Analysis Committee

recommendations.

The next two GSLV missions are planned to be conducted as developmental flights. Flight testing of GSLV-D5

with 3.4 m Payload Fairing and indigenous cryo stage is targeted for the middle of 2012 and GSLV-D6 with 4m

Payload Fairing and indigenous cryo stage is planned in April 2013.

PS2 Stage of PSLV-C18

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Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mark III)

The GSLV-Mark III vehicle, a heavy lift launch vehicle,

designed for launching 4-5 ton communication satellites

of INSAT-4 class is in the advanced stages of

development. This vehicle is having three propulsion

stages and is 42.4m tall with a lift-off weight of 630 ton.

Two identical large solid strap-on boosters with 200 ton

of solid propellant are attached on either side of the core

stage which is a liquid stage with 110 ton of propellant

loading. The next stage is the Cryogenic C25 Liquid

Oxygen/Liquid Hydrogen (LOX/LH2) based cryogenic

stage. The Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP)

payload fairing measures 5 m in diameter.

The major milestones accomplished this year are

successful second static test of S200 motor (ST-02),

acoustic test of L110 with propulsion bay sub assembly,

and realisation of 5m dia composite payload fairing.

Thrust chamber test facility has been commissioned for

conducting seal level thrust chamber testing. Cryogenic

Engine 20 (CE20) thrust chamber test article is ready

and interfacing with test stand has been carried out.

The Static Test-02 was conducted successfully on

September

4, 2011. Ballistic performance, ignition delay and differential thrust

were within specifications. Post test observations indicate normal

performance of all subsystems and interfaces.

The L110 stage propulsion bay sub assembly including Core Base

Shroud, Thermal Shroud, two Area Ratio 31 engines, nozzle closure

systems, two electro-hydraulic actuators and two electro-mechanical

actuators were successfully acoustic tested at National Aerospace

Laboratories, Bangalore.

For the C25 stage, the CE20 thrust chamber test facility has been

commissioned and augmentation of Main Engine Test Facility is

completed. Functional separation test of L110 separation system was

conducted in Liquid Nitrogen environment.

CUS A4 Engine Hot Test

Static test ST-02 of S200 motor

5m CFRP heat shield

6 2

The avionic packages for proto equipment bay have been delivered for integration and Proto Equipment Bay

harnessing was completed and powered. Telemetry, Tracking and Command checks have been completed.

Integrated Technical Review of GSLV-Mark III was conducted by a national expert review panel involving members

from academic and research institutions and senior members from ISRO. The committee assessed the development

status of overall vehicle and mission and endorsed the proposal for the experimental flight of GSLV-Mark III with

passive cryo stage.

Semi-cryogenic Project

Semi cryogenic Project envisages development of a 2000 kN semi cryogenic engine for the future heavy lift

Unified Launch Vehicles (ULV) and Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV). The semi cryogenic engine uses a combination

of Liquid Oxygen and Isrosene as propellants which are eco-friendly and cost effective. Engine design,

generation of fabrication drawing of sub systems and integration drawings have been completed. Preliminary

Design Review of Engine Gimbal Control system have been completed and technical specification document of

both Hydraulic Actuation System and Hydraulic Power System generated. Hypergolic igniter trials have been

successfully demonstrated. Single element of pre burner and thrust chamber are realised. 3 tests have been

completed for single element Semicryo pre-burner injector.

Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD)

A series of technology demonstration missions have been conceived towards realising a Two Stage to Orbit

fully re-usable launch vehicle. For this purpose a winged Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator

(RLV-TD) has been configured. The RLV-TD will act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies, viz.,

hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion.

Major accomplishments of RLV-TD during the period are

the second static test of HS9 motor with Secondary

Injection Thrust Vector Control system, commissioning

of Integration facility and structural qualification tests of all

wing fuselage joints. Four National Expert Committees

reviewed various design, testing and manoeuvre aspects.

Apart from this, Reaction Control System jet interaction

studies and aero characterisation for the vehicle were

completed. Elevon and rudder deflection studies were

carried out for vehicle and mission. Updated version of

on-board software for Digital Auto Pilot Flight

Requirements Document and data set documents were

released based on National Committee

recommendations. All Navigation, Guidance and Control

hardware, ceramic servo accelerometer and Hybrid Data Second static test of HS9 motor

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Acquisition System (HDAS) were realised. Miniaturised Flush Air Data Systems (FADS) electronics was also

realised and Advanced Vehicle Imaging System was introduced. The elliptical toroid tank for storing Secondary

Injection Thrust Vector Control injectant was fabricated and subjected to hydraulic pressure test.

Human Spaceflight Programme (HSP)

The government has provided funds for pre-project phase activities. During this phase, it is proposed to develop

new and critical technologies required for Human Space flight Programme, which includes Crew Module (CM)

systems, Environmental Control & Life Support Systems , Flight Suit, Crew Escape System and Service Module

Systems.

Air Breathing Propulsion Project (ABPP)

Air-Breathing propulsion along with Reusable Launch Vehicle technology is the technological key for low cost

access to Space. Unlike conventional rockets which carry both oxygen and fuel onboard, Air breathing propulsion

systems make use of atmospheric oxygen for combustion resulting in substantial improvement in payload fraction

and thus reducing overall costs.

VSSC has taken up a systematic R&D programme

demonstrating stable supersonic combustion through a

series of ground tests on the Air-Breathing Propulsion

Technology and the flight demonstration is planned with

the Advanced Technology Vehicle.

Development activities towards active scramjet engine

and high-pressure gaseous fuel feed system are

progressing well for the ATV D-02 Scramjet

Cabin LightsGas Monitor

High pressure gaseous fuel feed system

6 4

RH 200 launch from TERLS range

Characterisation. The flight is targeted in the first half of 2012. Aero-Thermo-Structural design of Engine module

is completed. Engine fabrication is in progress. Complex AB Propulsion testing (air intake and combustor) and

analysis (Computational Fluid Dynamics and Thermo Structural) are also conducted. High temperature scramjet

combustor ground tests up to 1950 K were successfully carried out at FKPNITsRKP, Russia using Silicon Carbide

(SiC) coated Carbon/Carbon leading edges. Detailed scramjet full engine CFD simulations (with and without

combustion) were carried out for Mach number window 6.0±0.5 and confirmed discernable change in

acceleration and engine flow starting. Integration mockup of high pressure gaseous hydrogen Fuel Feed System

with gas bottles / modules and AA2014 structure were carried out at LPSC. Substantial progress is made

towards commissioning of Air Breathing propulsion test facilities at NAL, Bangalore and LPSC, Mahendragiri.

Space Capsule Recovery Experiment –2 (SRE-2)

SRE-2 Project was formed with the main objective of realising a fully recoverable capsule and to provide a

platform to conduct microgravity experiments. Space Capsule Recovery Experiment capsule has four major

hardware, namely Aero Thermo-structure (ATS), Space craft platform, deceleration and floatation system and

payloads. New technology developments for SRE–2 include Carbon-Carbon Nose Cap, indigenous Ultra High

Frequency Beacons, etc.

Aero Thermo Structure with silica tile Thermal Protection System, qualification models of payloads, solar

panels, parachutes and floats were realised. Mission Management Unit hardware is ready and On-board Software

In Loop tests for de-boost phase completed.

Advanced Technology Vehicles and Sounding Rocket Project (ATVP)

The Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV) has the unique capability to take a payload of 200-400kg up to an

altitude of 800 km. Ascent of the vehicle in a direct vertical profile

makes it an excellent platform for space research, best suited for

the studies of upper atmospheric features and short period transient

phenomena / events in the atmosphere. ATV also provides a cost-

effective platform for the study of microgravity conditions with up

to 10 minutes of microgravity at levels better than 100 g which

can be used for microgravity experiments in fluid physics,

combustion research, materials sciences, biology as well as to

perform precursor experiments for launch vehicles, satellites and

manned missions. Post flight data analysis for ATV D-01

was completed. Vehicle systems for ATV D-02 mission are

getting ready.

Twelve RH200 flights with chaff payload were successfully

conducted from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station

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Range for wind measurement. Two proof motor tests were conducted for the propellant design and evaluation

of IIST Student Rocket Flight (Vyom), which is RH200 motor with revised grain design.

Launch Infrastructure

SDSC SHAR is augmenting the launch infrastructure at the centre to meet the requirements of increased launch

frequency of five to six launches per year. The following major facilities have been realised during the year:

The President of India

inaugurated the new

Mission Control Centre

(MCC), which has been

realised at Shriharikota

Centre and dedicated the

new MCC to the Nation.

For meeting the GSLV-Mark

III launch requirements and

future missions of ISRO.

This new Mission Control

Centre, with state-of-the-

art facilities, has been

realised at Satish Dhawan

Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR. The MCC, situated about 6 km away from the launch complex, monitors and

conducts the launch operations during the pre-countdown and countdown phases until the injection of the

satellite into orbit. It is linked to all the ground stations through communication links for voice, video and data

transmission. The launch preparations on the vehicle are monitored from MCC, using a multi-channel Closed

Circuit Television System (CCTV). The important facilities at MCC include Mission Control Hall, Launch

Control Centre, Real time Network, VIP Gallery, Video Conference, Mission Executives rooms, Commentator

rooms, etc. In addition, second mobile launch pedestal

for PSLV/GSLV and Computer and Communication

Centre have been established. A new Media Centre for

media personnel to watch launches and facilities for filing

of reports with all requisite communication facilities has

been established.

Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility

This fastest supercomputer in India with a peak

performance of 220 Terra Flops was commissioned at

VSSC during May 2011. This facility is based on the

New MCC building at SDSC SHAR

SAGA - 220 Supercomputer

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latest Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) based cluster technology and uses in-house developed operating system,

automated system management tools and is environmentally green by design and operation.

Titanium Sponge Production Plant

A Titanium Sponge Production Plant with a capacity of 500 TPA was set up jointly by ISRO and Government of

Kerala at Chavara using the indigenous technology developed by Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory

(DMRL), Hyderabad. The plant is fully commissioned. In the first batch, trial production of 3 MT of Titanium

Sponge has been successfully achieved.

6 MW Plasma Wind Tunnel Facility

This facility catering to the system level evaluation of

re-entry thermal protection systems for future missions

like Reusable Launch Vehicle, Space Capsule Recovery

Experiment, Human Spaceflight Programme etc. was

fully commissioned in 2011 at a total budget outlay of

Rs.21.50 Cr. Characterisation up to a power level of

3.8 MW is completed.

For testing of cryogenic engine thrust chambers, Thrust

Chamber Test Facility has been commissioned at LPSC,

Mahendragiri.

Plasma Wind Tunnel Facility

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SPACE SCIENCES

Space Science research has been an important element of Indian space programme. The space science research

activities are pursued at PRL, SPL, NARL, SAG and SSIF at ISAC. Specific individual, nationally coordinated,

multi-institutional, science payload instrumentation and science mission development projects in atmospheric

and space science areas are supported and implemented by ISRO through the recommendations of ISRO’s

Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS). Some of the main activities carried out in space science

research projects/programmes through ADCOS are summarised below.

CHANDRAYAAN-1

Chandrayaan-1 mission launched on 22 October 2008, completed 312 days in orbit, made more than 3400

orbits around the Moon, studied the moon from different perspectives and provided excellent quality of high

resolution data. The Chandrayaan-1 mission successfully operated until 28 August 2009, when a communication

failure led to loss of contact and the mission was terminated.

The major findings from the scientific observation confirm that the envisaged objectives of the mission have

been achieved. The findings of Chandrayaan-1 relating to chemical, mineralogical and photogeological mapping

have been published in international journals.

CHANDRAYAAN-2

Chandrayaan-2 mission is planned to have an Orbiter/Lander/Rover configuration. The mission is expected to be

realised by 2014. It is an Indo-Russian collaborative mission. The scientific objectives of the mission are to further

improve our understanding of origin and evolution of the Moon using instruments onboard Orbiter and in-situ

analysis of lunar samples and studies of lunar regolith properties (remote and direct analysis) using Robotics/Rover.

Evolution of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft configuration

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Orbiter Craft (OC)

Chandrayaan-2 Structure configuration has been changed from I2Kto I3K configuration due to the revision of payload lift off capacityby GSLV. This change will enable accommodating larger propellanttanks. The mission strategy was revised to inject the satellite in alower initial orbit (170 X 16980km) with a higher lift-off mass of3200kg and the Propulsion System Configuration changed toincrease fuel carrying capability of the satellite.

The other activities completed are: finalisation of all electrical andmechanical interfaces including the payload interfaces; PreliminaryDesign Reviews (PDRs) of Bus Systems (Power, Attitude OrbitControl Electronics, Telemetry, Tracking and Command BasebandSystems, RF Systems, Data Handling System, Structure, Thermal Control System, Propulsion System); allsystems accommodation studies and initial thermal analysis.

Rover

The activities completed so far are: configuration of Rover and Payloads, Preliminary Design of all subsystemsand PDR of all Rover subsystems. Lunar Terrain Test Facility has been established at ISITE for simulation ofreduced ‘g’ and Lunar soil.

Russian-GK Lander Craft (LC) Interfaces: Three interface meetings took place with Russian delegates apartfrom regular mail communication and teleconferences. OC-LC and LC-Rover Interfaces and Lander-Rovercommunication scheme were finalised. Landing site identification has been initiated and schedules/sequence ofactivities is worked out.

Indian MARS Mission

ISRO is planning to undertake a mission to the planet Mars during 2013 timeframe. The Project Report forIndian Mars Orbiter mission has been submitted for approval of Government of India. The tentative scientificobjective for the Mars mission will be to focus on life, climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of lifeon the planet.

Scientific payloads have been short-listed by the ADCOS review committee. Baseline, solar array and reflectorconfiguration of the satellite have been finalised. Frequency filing for communication subsystem is under progress.

ASTROSAT

ASTROSAT is the first dedicated Indian Astronomy mission, which will enable multi-wavelength observationsof the celestial bodies, cosmic sources in X-ray, visible and UV spectral bands simultaneously. The scientificpayloads cover the Visible (3500-6000 Å), UV (1300-3000 Å), soft and hard X-ray regimes (0.5-8 keV;3-80 keV). The uniqueness of ASTROSAT lies in its wide spectral coverage extending over visible, UV, soft Xand hard X ray regions.

Camera and optics module of Chandrayaan-2

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The scientific objectives of ASTROSAT are: Multiwavelength studies of cosmic sources, Monitoring the X-ray

sky for new transients, All sky survey in the hard X-ray and UV bands, Broadband spectroscopic studies of X-ray

binaries, AGN, SNRs, clusters of galaxies and stellar coronae, studies of periodic and non-periodic variability of

X-ray sources and monitoring intensity of known sources and detecting outbursts and luminosity variations.

The 1500 kg satellite is to be launched by the operational PSLV to an altitude of 650 km with 8º orbital

inclination in 2013 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The useful life of the mission is expected to

be about five years.

ASTROSAT will carry a complement of astronomy instruments sensitive over a wide spectral range.

The payloads onboard ASTROSAT are:

1. Three Large Area Xenon-fil led Proportional Counters in 3-100 keV band for timing and

spectral studies

2. Cadmium Zinc Telluride array with coded mask aperture for hard X-ray imaging and spectral studies in

10-100 keV

3. Soft X-ray Telescope with CCD camera for timing and variability studies in the X-ray bandwidth of

0.3 to 10 keV

4. Scanning X-ray Sky Monitor for timescales and luminosity variations in 2-10 keV using proportional counter

system

5. Ultra Violet Imaging telescope will cover visible, near ultra violet and far ultra violet bands in

130-600 nm bands

6. Charge Particle Monitor is a 10 mm cube of Cesium Iodide (Tellurium) CsI (Tl) crystal viewed by a

Photodiode; it aims at detecting high-energy particles during the satellite orbital path and alerts the

instrumentation from possible damage

Flight Satellite Structure is fabricated and is in the clean room with dummy Top deck, Flight Bottom deck and

flight shear panels. Both the RCS Tank shells were fabricated and assembled on the satellite. Assembly of all the

8 numbers of 11 N thrusters completed. All Power electronics packages and core power electronics including

DC/DCs are realised, baking of the flight packages completed. The Qualification Model of Bus Management

Unit (onboard computer) is realised and all environmental qualification tests completed. Flight fabrication of

Sensors, Inertial Reference Unit, Reaction Wheel Assembly and Solar Array Drive Assembly completed and are

undergoing environmental tests.

The status of payloads onboard ASTROSAT are: (i) UVIT: Fabrication of flight mechanical components (both

Aluminum and the Invar) is completed; Bonding of heaters and thermistors on the Flight components of UVIT

payload completed; The MLI blanket for UVIT flight model also realised; The flight detector and electronics is

already received from Canadian Space Agency; Critical Design Review of the payload completed.(ii) Cadmium

Zinc Telluride: Fabrication of Flight Model mechanical parts of the payload completed; Flight Heat pipes, Radiator

7 0

panel, support brackets have been realised; Vibration and Thermo-vacuum qualification tests on the integrated

payload completed.(iii) SXT: The integration of engineering model completed and shifted to ISAC for environmental

tests; Qualification level vibration tests under progress; All flight mirrors are ready; The Flight optics assembly

completed; The flight model of Field Programmable Gate Array is realised and has undergone all environmental

tests; The fabrication of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) tubes for flight structure is under progress.(iv)

LAXPC: Thermo-vacuum qualification tests completed on the EM; Assembly of all the three flight detectors

completed. Baking and gas filling completed for the first flight unit. The baking and gas filling for the remaining two

flight units is in progress; Functional tests of the flight processing electronics cards completed.(v) The QM of the

CFRP platform fabricated and received at ISAC; Thermo-vacuum cycling tests on the bare CFRP platform completed;

Fabrication of Flight processing electronics package completed and all the environmental tests completed.

ADITYA-1

ADITYA-1 is the first space based Solar Coronagraph intended to study the outermost region of the sun called

Corona. ADITYA-1 in the visible and near IR bands will study the Coronal Mass Ejection such as the coronal

magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc., and consequently the crucial physical

parameters for space weather.

The activities of ADITYA-1 are: MoU signed with the IIA for development and delivery of solar coronagraph

payload; preliminary design of the optical systems of ADITYA-1 finalized and design document generated;

Preliminary Design Review of the optical design completed; Trade-off studies on the selection of detector

system completed and the list of subsystem packages along with power and mass budget generated. Mechanical

reconfiguration of the satellite is in progress.

Planetary Science and Exploration (PLANEX)

The National programme in the Planetary Science and Exploration, PLANEX (short and long-term strategy)

initiated through ISRO’s Advisory Committee for Space Research (ADCOS) is visualised to undertake research

and related activities in the field of Planetary Science and Exploration.

The activities in the PLANEX program during the year are Centred around investigations on meteorites to

understand early solar system processes, analysis of remote sensing data from lunar missions to understand

surface features and surface processes on the Moon and development of laboratory prototypes of instruments

for planetary exploration.

Optical remote sensing data from payloads of Chandrayaan-1 (Hyperspectral Imager (HySI), Terrain Mapping

Camera (TMC), Moon Minerology Mapper (M3), Kaguya (Multispectral IR and Visible Imaging Spectrometer)

and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (NAC) missions have been analysed to understand specific surface features

and evolutionary aspects through detailed morphological, chemical, mineralogical and physical parameters.

The morphology and composition of the central peak of Tycho crater has been studied to understand its

formation and subsequent modification. Volcanic vent, domes, pyroclastics, lava ponds and channels showing

7 1

distinct cooling cracks and flow fronts have been identified on the central peak. Insight to Potassium, Rare Earth

Elements and Phosphorus volcanism on the Moon has been gained by integrated analysis of M3, DIVINER and

Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. Unlike most other basins on the Moon, Orientale is relatively less flooded

by mare basalts, exposing much of the basin structure to view. The study concentrated to identify and estimate

the mineral abundance in the Orientale basin based on the absorption features and the linear spectral unmixing

hyperspectral techniques.

Two payloads for the Chandrayaan-2 mission, scheduled for launch in 2013 are under development. One of

the payloads, X-ray Solar Monitor is for the orbiter and the second one, Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer is

for the rover. A new technology of Wireless Sensor Network for Lunar and Planetary Exploration is also under

development.

In addition to the two annual meetings, PLANEX Workshop and the PLANEX PIs annual review meeting, two

data analysis workshops (both in collaboration with SAC, Ahmedabad) and a Brainstorming session on Mars

Science and Exploration have been organised.

PLANEX program has been funding research projects on planetary science topics, from universities and research

institutes. During the period, eight new projects have been funded and two projects are under processing.

Currently, there are 14 running projects. A review meeting of the PLANEX Principle Investigators has been

held during March 26-27, 2011 in which sixteen PIs have participated and presented their progress. The

results have been published in both national and international journals (18 papers) and also presented in both

national and international conferences.

The following national facilities, electron probe micro-analyzer, X-ray fluorescence and Inductively coupled

plasma mass spectrometry have been functional and the EPMA and XRF facilities are being routinely used by

both PLANEX Principal Investigators and Physical Research Laboratoty scientists. Several publications (both

peer-reviewed papers and conference abstracts) have been based on data obtained by using these facilities.

Recently an Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Nd-YaG) laser has been procured as a heating

tool for gas extraction from single grains. The Laser Heating System has been integrated to the NOBLESS, the

multi collector noble gas mass spectrometer and the necessary sub systems fabricated and put in place. LHS

enables the extraction of noble gases from sub milligram samples (individual grains) with minimal blank

contribution.

PLANEX has started a publication “PLANEX News Letter”, with the objective of disseminating important and

recent events and discoveries in the fields of Planetary Science and Exploration to the Planetary Science community

in the country. The contents of this reflect the interests of PLANEX and its mandate. This issue will be a

quarterly and will only be an electronic version. The soft copy will be mailed to all interested people. The

inaugural issue has been released on January 03, 2011, during the 11th PLANEX Workshop. The inaugural

issue has been mailed to about 600 people and the feedback has been very positive and encouraging.

PLANEX also encourages visiting scientists. This year, under this program, there were two visitors.

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YOUTHSAT

YOUTHSAT has been continuously providing the intended measurements on the terrestrial ionosphere and

the thermosphere since launch on April 20, 2011. The ‘YOUTHSAT’, an Indo-Russian Collaboration, is India's

first small satellite dedicated entirely for scientific investigation of the sun and the terrestrial upper atmosphere.

Among the three scientific payloads onboard YOUTHSAT, two are Indian payloads namely the RaBIT (Radio

Beacon for Ionospheric Tomography), and LiVHySI (Limb Viewing Hyper Spectral Imager); while the third

payload SOLRAD is from Moscow State University, Russia. The combination of the LiVHySI and RaBIT payloads

were so chosen that they complement each other by providing measurements on the neutral and plasma

parameters respectively. Both these experiments are first of its kind and indigenously developed.

Radio Beacon for Ionospheric Tomography (RaBIT)

RaBIT, a SPL-VSSC venture, is a radio beacon emitting at 150 and 400MHz frequencies from its orbit at

~818km, which is tracked on the ground along a meridian over India (i.e. 760 E) using specific radio receivers

and estimating the Total Electron Content of the ionosphere through the relative phase change of the received

radio signals at the above mentioned frequencies. The ground receiving stations are chosen to be at

Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Delhi. The TECs thus estimated near simultaneously

are taken and a tomogram is generated, which gives us the Altitude-Latitude distribution of the ionospheric

electron density. In this case, the tomogram covers the ionosphere from a few degrees (5-60) south of

Thiruvananthapuram, to about 3-40 north of Delhi depending upon the satellite elevation. It must be mentioned

that no ground or space-based technique, other than the ‘ionospheric tomography’, can provide the Altitude-

Latitude distribution of the ionospheric electron density at high spatial resolution. The RaBIT tomography

network is by far the longest network existing anywhere in the world, and is therefore unique.

Presently, RaBIT is performing as

expected. The Tomograms generated

so far have clearly brought out (a) day

and night differences in the electron

density distribution, (b) evidence of the

presence of the ionospheric top-side

ledge (c) modulations in the

ionosphere due to space weather

activity and (d) direct evidence of the

presence of Traveling Atmospheric

Disturbance (TAD).

Presented here is the RaBIT

tomogram obtained on the night of

May 2, 2011 which clearly exhibits the

presence of TAD.

Cross-section of the ionosphere obtained using the RaBIT beacon signals ofYOUTHSAT on May 02, 2011. The position of RaBIT ground stations is also

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Figure shown in the right presents the altitude-latitude cross-section of the ionosphere as obtained using the

RaBIT beacon signals on May 02, 2011 for the YOUTHSAT pass starting at Thiruvananthapuram at 21:43 IST.

The position of RaBIT ground stations is marked in the figure. The vertical white lines represent the geomagnetic

field configuration. The tomogram clearly reveals the presence of ionization crests (regions of enhanced electron

density) around Delhi, Bangalore and south of Thiruvananthapuram at 150 and 300 km altitudes. Preliminary

investigation indicates these features to be due to a TAD, which had originated over auroral regions owing to

enhanced and temporally varying auroral heating.

Limb Viewing Hyper Spectral Imager (LiVHySI)

The LiVHySI, another Indian payload is an Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) - Space Applications Centre (SAC)

endeavour. It is a wedge filter based camera having a field of view of 90 x 180 for imaging the atmospheric

emissions called airglow emanating in the earth’s upper atmosphere, along the earth’s limb between

430-950nm wavelength range, at every 1.1 nm. In this configuration, the terrestrial airglow is imaged by

LiVHySI at earth’s limb in the altitude region 80-600 km. The LiVHySI would image the terrestrial airglow in

both configurations i.e. viewing earth’s limb along the orbit and normal to orbit. The LiVHySI is also a unique,

one of its kind in the world, instrument, as it provides simultaneous measurements at all the atmospheric

airglow emissions in the visible and near Infrared region at a very high spectral resolution. Due to this multispectral

information, the processing of the images obtained becomes non-trivial and requires significant pre-processing.

The images obtained so far have clearly shown the presence of airglow emissions at 589.5, 630.0, 777.4, 830.0

and 890.0 nm which are indicative of the distribution of Sodium (Na), Atomic Oxygen (O) and Hydroxyl (OH) in the

atmosphere. The information of these species is highly desired as it would lead us to the energetics and dynamics of

the atmosphere at different height regions. Presented here is a Figure of an image obtained by LiVHYSI.

The image has been obtained after preprocessing that includes radiometric correction, integration time

corrections, background removal, and noise removal. As mentioned earlier, one can clearly see the presence

of major airglow emissions. Further processing is on to finally retrieve the altitudinal distribution of the airglow

emitting species.

An image obatined by LiVHYSI

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A two day workshop and hands-on training was conducted during October 14-15, 2011 at VSSC. This wasconducted for familiarising the scientific community in institutions/universities all over India, interested in utilisingthe YOUTHSAT data. About thirty-five research students and ten faculty members belonging to various Institutionsand Universities participated in the workshop. The workshop consisted of tutorials and hands-on sessionsfollowed by panel discussion and feedback from participants.

Small Satellite Programme

X-ray Polarimeter Experiment (POLIX)

The X-ray Polarimeter Experiment (POLIX) is part of the ISRO’s “Small Satellites Programme” recommended

by ISRO’s Advisory committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS). An X-ray polarimeter based on the principle of

Thomson scattering of X-rays is being developed at the Raman Research Institute (RRI). Currently, developmentof a laboratory model and the design of an engineering model has been completed. Fabrication of the engineeringmodel is in progress.

Scientific Objectives

X-ray polarimetry is an unexplored area in high energy astrophysics. The Crab nebula is the onlyX-ray source for which a definite polarisation measurement exists. X-ray polarisation measurements can give avaluable insight about:

• The strength and the distribution of magnetic field in the sources• Geometric anisotropies in the sources• Their alignment with respect to the line of sight

• The nature of the accelerator responsible for energising the electrons taking part in radiation and scattering

The Experiment

This experiment will be suitable for X-ray polarisation measurement of hard X-ray sources like accretionpowered pulsars, black hole candidates in low-hard states etc. For about 50 brightest hard X-ray sources, a

X-ray Polarimeter

7 5

Minimum Detectable Polarisation of 2-3% will be achieved. The instrument is made with a Lithium/Berylliumscatterer and surrounding proportional counter detectors and it is sensitive in the 5-30 keV energy band.

Development Status

A laboratory unit of the instrument has been built by RRI and X-ray polarisation measurements have beensuccessfully carried out with it. The figureprovided here shows the laboratory unitof the X-ray polarimeter.

Based on the test results obtained with thelaboratory unit, an engineering model hasbeen designed. Fabrication of theengineering model with funding from ISROis under progress. Detector electronics and signal processing electronics for the engineering model has alsobeen designed and is under development.

SENSE

SENSE is a twin satellite mission to probe the electromagnetic environment of the Earth's near space region.It is proposed to launch two small satellites in a low earth orbit of around 500 km, one with high inclination(~800) and the other at lower inclination (~300) for space weather related studies.

SENSE is part of ISRO’s “Small Satellites Programme”, recommended by ISRO’s Advisory committee for SpaceScience (ADCOS). SENSE aims to unravel the roles played by major large-scale drivers in determining the state ofthe Ionosphere-Thermosphere system and the weather of the near space environment at low latitudes.

A nonmagnetic Electro Magnetic Interference/Electro Magnetic Compatibility compatible shelter serving as aFaraday cage at very low frequencies (<50 kHz) was recently deployed at EGRL. This shelter houses a state-of-the-art calibration system for induction magnetometers. This is a major experimental facility and an asset forfuture space missions, and is also a valuable addition to the infrastructure being built up for development ofspace-borne instrumentation at the institute.

Engineering models of the electric and magnetic field probes chosen for the SENSE mission have already beentested in the lab and their frequency responses studied.

Space Science Promotion

ISRO’s Advisory Committee for Space Science (ADCOS) promotes and reviews indigenous, highquality internationally competitive research and development activities in the field of space science andrecommends on new initiatives with a long-term perspective and vision for space science research activities inthe country.

Considering the requirement of high quality manpower for the growth of space science activities as well as onthe issue of attracting more faculty and students participation in national space science research programmes,ISRO initiated a scheme based on ADCOS recommendations called “ISRO’s Space Science Promotion Scheme”

POLIX

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ISRO-SSPS towards supporting these activities in a few selected universities having national representation andregional distribution. The basic criteria for the selection of the universities have been the heritage of spacescience and atmospheric research.

ISRO-SSPS supports recurring grant for a period not exceeding five years for augmentation of faculty positionsand engaging visiting/guest faculty, fellowship to M.Sc / M.Tech students to encourage them to pursue spacescience research and one time grant to Universities for laboratory augmentation towards conducting spacescience related experiments. One time grant has already been given to six Universities and the release ofrecurring grant is in progress.

The scheme has been implemented in the following Universities under the Phase-I activities of the scheme:1. Andhra University, Visakhapatnam2. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi3. Bangalore University, Bangalore4. University of Calcutta, Kolkata5. Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh6. Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati7. Tezpur University, Tezpur

Currently, the phase-I activities are under review.

S.K. Mitra Centre for Research in Space Environment, Kolkata

ISRO has funded two research projects related to Atmospheric Studies and Space Environment for three yearsunder Phase-III activities at the S.K. Mitra Centre for Research in Space Environment, Calcutta University.The following two projects under Phase III are carrying out first year activities.

Integrated Studies on Water Vapour, Liquid Water Content and Rain of the Tropical Atmosphere and Their

Effects on Radio Environment

Study on Earth-Space Propagation and Radio Environment

The activities carried out in this area mainly involve the propagation of Ku-band satellite signal over earth-spacepath and related atmospheric parameters. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) model of rainattenuation has been modified by incorporating an effective slant path model. Comparison with ITU-R andSimple Attenuation Model clearly demonstrates the improved predictive capability of the proposed model ofrain attenuation. A channel model is proposed to predict the time series of Ku-band rain attenuation during arain event at a tropical location. The model is based on considering the Gaussian distribution of the conditionaloccurrence of rain attenuation with a particular value of the attenuation occurring before. The channel modelhas tested well giving the predicted attenuation, which agrees with the measured value with a mean errorwithin 15% above 1 dB. The differential phase shifts, dominantly responsible for causing depolarisation atKu-band due to scattering by spheroidal raindrops, are computed by employing the point matching techniqueand using experimentally obtained rain drop size distribution (DSD) data. The differential phase shift is significantfor large drops (> 3mm). The simultaneous experimental measurements of rain DSD and the enhancement

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of cross-polar component of the Ku-band signal, indicative of the depolarisation effect, show that the presenceof large drops significantly increases the depolarisation effect.

The analysis of the three years of Liquid Water Content (LWC) data (2005-2007) for the tropical location,Kolkata, shows that Salonen’s method gives higher values than that given by Karsten’s model. LWC data alsoshows a significant seasonal variation. A minimum threshold of water vapour is required to form cloud LWC.

Radiometric Observations on Inter-relation between Cloud Base Height and Precipitation

The association of precipitation with cloud base height during the SW monsoon of 2010 at an Indian tropicallocation, Kolkata has been studied using a humidity and temperature profiler (RPG-HATPRO). The time variationof CBH for each rain events has been obtained from the radiometer record. The study of different rain eventssuggests that the rain rate decreases with increasing cloud base height under low raining conditions. Experimentalresults show that the mean diameter of the largest drop increases with the lowering of cloud base height. Fourresearch papers have been published in refereed journals and three have been presented in conferences.

Space Weather

The deleterious effects of the phenomenon of Equatorial Spread F leading to scintillations are most severe in theequatorial region covering ±30° dip around the magnetic equator causing disruptions of transionospheric radiolinks. The generalised Rayleigh-Taylor instability process has been recognised as the most important destabilisingagent for development of ESF. However, the question of the source of initial excitation is still open. It has beensuggested that large-scale seed waves that drive the Rayleigh-Taylor instability to cause scintillations are generatedwithin the ionosphere system and perturb the bottom side of the F-layer. The large-scale periodic structures,which may be taken as precursors to the onset of ESF, are developed at ionospheric heights over the magneticequator in the post-sunset hours and map along the highly conducting geomagnetic field lines to higher latitudeswhere they may be observed with a finite time lag. The Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope provides an uniqueopportunity for conducting multi-frequency multi-antenna interferometric campaign for identification of precursorsto onset of Equatorial Spread F. Detailed analysis of such a campaign conducted by the Space Weather Group ofthe S.K. Mitra Centre for Research in Space Environment, University of Calcutta at GMRT(lat:19.10°N,long:74.05°E geographic; dip:23°N magnetic) near Pune on October 14, 16 and 17, 2010 arepresently being done. The radio source tracked was 3C446 (RA:22h25m47.259291s, DEC:-04d57’01.390730”)for 3 hour duration each day from 13:30-16:30UT. In this campaign, five sub-arrays were used at 150, 235,325, 610 and 1420 MHz. Patches of amplitude and phase scintillations could be observed across 150 m, 300 mand 400 m baselines aligned along east-west direction at 150,235 and 325MHz respectively during13.35-14.00UT, 14.30-14.40UT and finally around 15.30UT on October 14, 2010. Concentrating on thephase plots prior to occurrence of ESF on October 14, 2010, periodic structures were noted corresponding tothe time interval 13.15-13.35 UT at 150, 235 and 325MHz.

After the abnormally prolonged solar minima spanning 2008-2010, scintillation activities have dramaticallypicked up since February 2011 at locations like Calcutta situated near the northern crest of the EquatorialIonisation Anomaly (EIA). GPS phase scintillations recorded at Calcutta during February-April 2011 are presentlybeing studied to characterise cycle slips and study the hierarchy of equatorial ionisation irregularities. Threeresearch papers have been published in referred journals.

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Astronomy Olympiad

Astronomy Olympiad is intended to encourage students with good foundation in Physics and Mathematics and an interestin Astronomy to pursue further studies in this field. It involves a five stage process leading to participation of Indian teamsin International Astronomy Olympiad. From the year 2007, India has been participating in International Olympiad inAstronomy and Astrophysics also.

The programme is being supported by ISRO and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and co-ordinated through HomiBhabha Centre for Science Education (TIFR), Mumbai in collaboration with Indian Association of Physics Teachers. The16th International Astronomy Olympiad was held at Almaty, Kazakhstan during 22nd to 30th September, 2011 and theIndian team has won three Medals (one Gold, one Silver and one Bronze).

National Space Science Symposium (NSSS-2012)

The 17th National Space Science Symposium is to be held during February 14-17, 2012 at Sri Venkateswara University,Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The symposium consisted of Parallel Sessions, Special Plenary Sessions, Interdisciplinary lecturesand a popular lecture.

The five Parallel Sessions (PS) planned are: Space based Meteorology, Oceanography and Geosphere-biosphere interactions;Middle Atmosphere, coupling, dynamics and Climate Change; Ionosphere, Magnetosphere, Thermosphere, Space Weatherand Sun-Earth relationship; Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Solar system bodies including Planetary System.The topics of the plenary sessions are: Advances in Astronomy, Megha-Tropiques and Polar Research.

To encourage the young scientists, students and research scholars, two best Oral presentation awards and two bestPoster presentation awards were to be given to each parallel session as decided by the special judges, which includes aCertificate and cash prize.

39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly (COSPAR-2012)

Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is an interdisciplinary scientific organisation concerned with the promotion andprogress, on an international scale, of all kinds of scientific research carried out with space vehicles, rockets and balloons.

COSPAR Scientific Assembly is the largest conglomeration of Space Scientists in the world. It is a biennial assembly, whichis conducted in different countries around the globe.

The assembly consists of Interdisciplinary session, plenary sessions and parallel sessions. The assembly also consists ofPoster sessions of presentation of scientific results, Space exhibition from different space agencies of the world andCOSPAR Student Program, developed and supported by the members of the International Space Education Board, forlearning and meeting the members of space industry, academia and government bodies from countries around the worldduring the Scientific Assembly.

The 39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly (COSPAR-2012) is scheduled to be held in India at Narayana Murthy Centre ofExcellence, Mysore during July 14-22, 2012. This COSPAR assembly would be organised in India after three decades.More than 3000 participants from India and different countries of the world are expected to participate in this assembly.LOC-COSPAR-2012 has been constituted for the successful organisation of the assembly.

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SPONSORED RESEARCH

RESPOND (Research Sponsored) programme started in the early 1970s aims at encouraging academia toparticipate and contribute in development of Space Science & Technology related activities. Under RESPOND,projects are taken up by universities/academic institutions in the areas of relevance to Space Programme. Apartfrom this, ISRO has also set up Space Technology Cells at premiere institutions like Indian Institute of Technologies(IITs) - Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras; Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and with Universityof Pune (UoP) to carry out research activities in the areas of space technology and applications.

The main objectives of the RESPOND Programme is to establish strong linkage with academic institutions in thecountry to carry out research and development projects which are of relevance to space and derive usefuloutputs of such R&D to support ISRO programmes. RESPOND programme aims to enhance academic base,generate human resources and infrastructure at the academic institutes to support the space programme in thecountry. RESPOND provides support to research projects in space technology, space science and applicationsareas at universities / institutions. In addition conferences, workshops and publications, which are of relevance tospace research, are also being supported.

Activities

During the year, RESPOND programme supported 24 New Projects and 64 Ongoing Projects (from68 academic institutions) and 6 space technology cells. In addition ISRO Chairs and 109 conferences/symposia/publication and other scientific promotional activities have been supported. During the year, 10 projects sponsoredearlier under RESPOND have been successfully completed. A few high quality scientific publications have emergedout of these projects apart from fulfilling the objectives at individual project level. Principal Investigators (PI),Co-PIs and research fellows involved in various projects had interacted with various ISRO focal points/experts inrealising the projects.

RESPOND has supported 17 Universities /Colleges, 4 National Institutes and 3 Research Centres to take up 24new research projects. Further 35 Universities/colleges, 8 National Institutes and 6 Research Centres havebeen supported to continue the 64 ongoing RESPOND Projects. It is interesting to note that maximum numberof requests for sponsorships have been received from Universities/colleges. During the year RESPOND hassupported totally 50 Universities/colleges, 10 National Institutes and 8 Research Centres to take up RESPONDProjects both new and ongoing. During the year, a good number of projects have been supported in all threebroad areas, viz., Space Science (33), Space Applications (29) and Space Technology (26).

Projects at STC: During the year RESPOND has supported 56 new projects and 109 ongoing projects at fiveSpace Technology Cells - Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (24 new Projects, 26 ongoing projects,10 completed projects); Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras (2 new projects, 15 ongoing projects,6 completed projects); IIT Bombay (7 new projects, 15 ongoing projects,1 completed project); IIT Kanpur(7 new projects ,9 ongoing projects,4 completed projects); IIT Kharagpur (4 new projects, 23 ongoing projects,9 completed projects); and Joint Research Programme at University of Pune (12 New Projects,21 ongoing projects, 3 completed projects) to carry out Advanced R&D activities in selected areas of Space,33 projects have been completed during the year. The project proposals are reviewed by domain experts in

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ISRO and later by Joint Policy Committees consisting of experts from ISRO and academia. In addition to theR&D Projects, ISRO under RESPOND programme has established research chairs to guide advanced researchin niche areas of space at IIT-Kharagpur, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), National Institute of Advanced Studies(NIAS), University of Pune (UoP) and Bangalore University.

Major Highlights of Some of the RESPOND Projects

• Strengthening of Aluminum Alloy 6061 Carbon Nanotubes composites: Under this project, AA 6061–Carbon nanotube composites were successfully synthesised and were characterised by optical microscopy,X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope. Mechanical and electrical properties of nanocompositeswere evaluated. Arsenault’s thermal expansion mismatch model of nanocomposites was determined. Nanoindentation studies and texture analysis was carried out on the nanocomposites.

• Development of Nanoparticles of (Ba, Ca, Mg, Sr) TiO3 and their combinatorial ceramic oxides

through a novel modified combustion process, for microwave applications: The dielectric propertiesof Ca

1–xMg

xTiO

3[x=0.00 to 1.00] prepared through conventional solid state reaction method were studied.

The values of Qu *f increased from 6400 to 196400 GHz and εr decreased from 160.53 to 17.34 with

the increase of x. A lowest value of temperature coefficient of frequency is obtained for Ca0.05

Mg0.95

TiO3

ceramics. The excellent microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics can be utilised in antennas, highperformance substrates, microwave filters, resonators and temperature compensating type capacitors.

• Analysis of Satellite derived wind and wave parameters for coastal waters off Karnataka: The studyshows that Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired over coastal waters are valuable means to studythe wind fields in coastal regions. Furthermore, they can also be used to validate numerical models describingcoastal wind fields. These local winds are responsible for microclimate in coastal regions. Since most of theworld’s population lives in the coastal areas and most of the pollutants are released into the environmentnear coasts; the study of these local wind and waves is also of great relevance for environmental protectionpurposes. Under this project, algorithms have been developed to derive ocean parameters from SAR dataand provided to ISRO.

• MEMS based micro-propulsion devices for micro satellite programme: Proto model of micro thrusterand micro valve realised and tested successfully. Micro Electro Mechanical System based micro pump protohardware realised and testing is under progress. The devices can be used effectively in future Micro satelliteprogrammes.

• Detection of pests and diseases for precision crop management using remote sensing techniques:

Under the project, the spectral response pattern of crop plants affected by insect pests and diseases werecharacterised and the feasibility of using space-borne sensor data in the detection of the incidence of pestsand diseases was studied. The results showed that availability of cloud free satellite data was major constraint.Though the severely infested BPH (Brown Plant Hopper) fields could be detected using the high spatialresolution Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-4) data, detection of early damage symptoms was not possible.Availability of few more narrow band sensors at Near Infrared Region (NIR) region, cloud free multispectraldata with spatial resolution of 5 m or less, and temporal resolution of 5 days or less could be very useful fordetection of biotic stress in crops.

• Polymer Nano composites for inflatable space structure: Under this project, prepared laminates usingUHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) fabric and evaluated the thermal and gas barrierproperties of the laminates.

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INDIAN SPACE INDUSTRY

The Indian Space Program has evolved, over the years, into a multifaceted program providing essential infrastructureservices in telecommunications, broadcasting, space science, meteorology and natural resources management.In realising its goals, ISRO has pursued the conscious policy of building up and nurturing industrial capabilities inthe country to maximally support the space programme, both through technology transfer and utilisation of thetechnology and infrastructure available in the Indian industries. In the 12th five year plan of DOS, there is anincrease in the number of satellite and launch vehicle missions. In order to achieve the goals of 12th five yearplan, the role played by industry will be pivotal in realising advanced planetary missions, enhancing capability inrealising operational heavier class of communication satellites, cartographic and geo imaging satellites for earthobservation and in establishing a constellation of regional navigation system. In the launch vehicle area, to realisethe 12th five year plan, efforts will be on for increasing industry throughput for more number of PSLV launchesto meet the demands of domestic and commercial launches and also for the development of heavy lift launcher.Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO, with industry participation is geared up to meet thechallenges of competing in the global space market and also to seize the commercial opportunities unwrappedby the 12th plan.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

During the year, the technologies licensed to industries for commercialisation include H Digital HolographicSoftware, Two Channel Monopulse Tracking Receiver, MSS Type C terminals and PEDCOAT liner system.H Digital Holographic Software, advanced image processing software for numerical reconstruction and processingof digitally sampled holograms, can also be used for interference pattern recognition and can be customised fornon destructive testing of defects in composites and components with in situ holographic equipments.

The licensing of Two Channel Monopulse Tracking Receiver to Indian industry paves the way for meeting therequirements of tracking receivers in India.

The Mobile Satellite Service Type C reporting terminal provides for one way transmission of short messagesfrom reporting terminals to a pre defined central location. The system will find commercial and societal applicationsin fleet monitoring, remote data acquisition and SOS messaging during distress. With a little modification, thisproduct can be tailored to meet the applications related to Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking for Indianroads, marine and railway markets.

Apart from the above, licensing agreements are expected to be concluded for software of QPad and otherproducts such as Applications Specific Integrated Circuit based Demodulator and Multilayer Printed Antenna.Industries have been identified and the process of licensing is in the final stages.

QPad is a menu driven mobile Geographical Information System (GIS)-GPS software and allows access andmanipulation of GIS data in field. The software is expected to be used in field verification of mapping data, In-situdata collection, field level disaster damage assessment and for GPS data collection. The indigenous software willcompete with other similar international products existing in the market. The Application Specific Integrated

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Circuit based Demodulator will find applications in digital audio networking, disaster warning managementsystem and for news and data broadcast. There is an increasing demand for Multilayer Printed Antenna in mobilecommunications for applications in very sophisticated space qualified active phased array antenna systems. ISROis confident that industries will make use of ISRO developed technologies for meeting a multiplicity of commercialand societal applications.

PARAS, a general purpose flow analysis and simulation software is well received by the Industry and therecontinues to be an active interest from the user groups for this product.

The productionisation of technologies licensed to industries has been progressing satisfactorily. Industry has

supplied more than 1800 units of Distress Alert Transmitter to Indian users. With a significant annual production,

this technology is making a mark in the Indian market. Indigenous GIS (IGIS) Software is gaining popularity

among users in the remote sensing industry. The licensee has supplied more than 160 licenses. There is a

growing demand from educational institutions for the use of IGIS software. Licensee industry has successfully

developed Vibration Isolators using ISRO know how and delivered the pilot batch, which is undergoing qualification

tests. The Ternary Eutectic Chloride fire fighting powder for metallic fires has been successfully commercialised

by licensee industry.

Concerted efforts are being put in to identify products / process, that have a potential demand from industry.

Significant in pipeline include Dual Polarisation Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Solid State Power Amplifier,

EPY 1061 coating compound, Lower Atmospheric Wind Profiler, GPS Radiosonde and various adhesives,

resins and thermal protection systems.

PATENTS & COPYRIGHTS

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

ISRO has always believed that strengthened Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) portfolio will not only add value to

ISRO’s endeavours but will also help in safeguarding use of novel technologies developed indigenously. The IPR’s

are expected to act as a cradle for potential technology transfer to industries. Efforts put in by ISRO has resulted

in filing of a large number of patents and copyrights for new products/processes and softwares developed by

ISRO. ISRO Scientists/ Engineers are being constantly encouraged and sensitised about the relevance of obtaining

IPRs for the innovative work being carried out by them. They are also encouraged to obtain appropriate copyright

protection for the software developed and being utilised for various applications. IPR workshops by renowned

IP firms at various ISRO Centres were organised during the year to propagate the need for IPR protection and

related issues.

Four Indian patents were granted during the year including portable real time digital holographic system, microwave

filter antenna, liquid depletion sensor and dual channel rotary joint for space borne scanning antenna. A Japanese

patent on control circuit for diode based RF circuits was granted during the year. Patents of thirteen new

products and processes developed by ISRO were filed during the year in diverse areas like machining, control

systems, welding technology, etc. Copyright protection for various software developed by ISRO for space and

non space application has being undertaken during the year. Concentrated efforts are on towards commercialising

the IPR assets.

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TECHNICAL CONSULTANCY & MARKET SURVEYS

Using the special test facilities at various ISRO centres, testing and qualification of hardware and subsystems for

industries and R&D institutions were taken up. Some of the common test facilities on demand by industries are

mechanical shock, vibration, thermovacuum, Electro Magnetic Interference/Electro Magnetic Compatibility

(EMI/EMC) and Burn-In test facilities. Services offered to industry include EMI/EMC test for C band Monolithic

Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) receiver, vibration test for Ultra High Frequency/Very High Frequency

(UHF/VHF) payload down converter and Intermediate Frequency (IF) sub channel units, gold plating on aluminium

boxes, etc. Technical consultancy for meteorological measurement and analysis for R&D activities in the field of

precision engineering was offered to a leading educational institution. MOU was signed with industry for the

realisation of foam product technologies.

Market survey on a variety of topics were conducted by management students prominent among them being

the survey on new material technologies like high emissivity silicone coating, water proofing compound, EPIFIL

9661 resin, etc.

TECHNOLOGY UTILISATION AND VENDOR DEVELOPMENT

Indian space programme has established a symbiotic relationship with Indian industry. Over the years, Indian

industry has matched the pace of ISRO in accomplishing a variety of experimental, operational and advanced

missions of national importance. ISRO has been able to strengthen the productionisation through industries by

adopting vendor development, vendor qualification and quality control approaches. The quantum of participation

of Indian industry is expected to grow significantly in view of growth in space transportation and satellite systems.

In the long run, the aim is to have industry as a risk sharing partner and this will be achieved by involving industry

from the preliminary stage of development of space systems. Strategies adopted on standardisation of subsystems

and farming out to industries with bulk ordering approach has paid rich dividends.

The magnitude of industry contribution in the launch vehicles area has grown apace to meet the need of PSLV,

GSLV and new developments of GSLV-Mark III. ISRO has made investments to develop strategic partnership

with the private sector. Active cooperation in the form of procurement control, know how transfers and provision

of technical consultancy has enabled ISRO to meet the increasing challenges of advanced technology and handling

complex manufacturing jobs in this area.

ISRO has embarked on a host of productionisation initiatives at external work centres to meet the ever increasing

requirements of our programme, keeping in view the quality, redundancy, reliability and shorter lead times that

are required for the space systems. The approach of Integrated Production of Components and Modules in

association with industries has been adopted in the private sector. The work under IPCM covers the delivery of

fully assembled and tested components and modules for PS2 stage of PSLV, GS2 and L40 stages of GSLV and

thruster valves for Geostationary Satellites (GEOSATs). The major achievements have been the delivery of

pneumatic connectors and safety couplers for flight segments. ISRO has also embarked on Integrated Production

of Control System Components and Modules at private industry. The facility establishment under

IPCM and IPCS at leading private industries are nearing completion. Facilities like vibration test facility,

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EBW facility and spring calibration facility, liquid borne particle counter, pneumatic test console and high pressure

test facility have been established at industry.

ISRO continued to source its requirement of propellant tanks, water tanks, feed lines, Cryo structures, engines,

satellite propellant tanks and satellite thruster parts from external work centres – both in public and private

sector to meet the requirements of PSLV, GSLV and Cryo programme. Consortium partners in the private

industry have realised and supplied VIKAS engines for L40, PS2 and GS2 stages. Industry in the public sector has

realised and supplied L40 conical version VIKAS engines. During the year, PS4 engines, PS4 divergent and

PS4 RCT chambers were fabricated through private industry.

In launch vehicle avionics area, the services of multiple vendors for screening, testing and evaluation of packages

have been utilised. Long term contracts with industries have been established for regular supply of Stage Auxiliary

System (SAS) components. In the composites area, vendor base is being expanded for all subsystems. Alternate

sources for Kevlar 49, T1056, T 2200 fibre for HPS3 motor and silica fabric have been identified. As part of

vendor development, ISRO has been placing considerable efforts towards development and qualification of new

vendors. New vendors in the industry have been developed for the realisation of Aluminium alloy

AA2219-T8511 extruded profiles, pyro valves of Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), INSAT and Reusable Launch

Vehicle (RLV) actuators, S200 JM nozzle, PSLV thrust frame assembly, Reusable Launch Vehicle actuators, ullage

rockets, remote mounted safe arm components, Cryogenic Upper Stage bracket for GSLV, igniter cases, L and

S band helix array antenna tubes, RS1 retro rockets, PSLV aft end closure assembly, investment castings of

Cryogenic Upper Stage Project, explosive bonding of bimetallic plates, to name a few.

In the satellite area, industry continues to play a pivotal role in meeting the ever increasing and challenging

demands of our space programme. Process qualification and supply of low solar absorptance rigid Optical Solar

Reflector (OSR) was completed during the year by private industry. These OSRs have been used onboard

GSAT-4, GSAT-5P, Youthsat and Megha-tropiques satellites. Industry has been involved in developing the heat

shield for Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM), which is a critical component to protect the satellite during LAM firing.

The TM, TC packages for three satellites were outsourced for fabrication by external agencies with test systems,

procedures, result validation and guidance provided by ISRO. Industries actively participated in the supply of

X band and S band data transmitters, Temperature Controlled Crystal Oscillators, solar array simulators,

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying demodulator for payload checkout, Dual C band downconverters, S band

upconverters for IRS missions, TM-TC interface units, fabrication and screening of flight Hybrid Micro Circuits,

DC-DCs, Resistor etc.

Design and fabrication of Magnetic Torque Driver ASIC has been initiated with a leading public sector industry in

the electronic sector. The same industry is also involved in prototype Travelling Wave Tube fabrication based on

the design of central R&D lab in electronics areas. The industry is also involved in the development of Surface

Acoustic Wave filter for space application. Satellite power systems area is witnessing larger industry participation.

Bangalore based public sector industry has been entrusted with responsibility of fabrication and testing of solar

panels of 200 sq.m over a period of five years. The solar panel fabrication work for

INSAT-3D, GSAT-12, GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-14 satellites were completed during the year. Batteries for

8 5

three satellites including Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) were realised by the industry. ISRO

trained industry personnel in fabrication, assembly and testing of small satellite batteries using commercially off

the shelf cells.

End to end production of fully assembled, tested and calibrated pressure sensors have been planned through

long term collaborative arrangement with industries. This year services of four industries were undertaken to

realise more than 2000 transducers which included 21NA, DPT 84 and IDLV transducers.

In the inertial systems area, industries contributed in the realisation of miniature dynamically tuned gyroscope

hardware, mini Redundant Strapdown Inertial Navigation System hardware, IRS Solar Array Drive Assembly hardware

and in the fabrication of momentum wheel and reaction wheel hardware. The services of reputed Indian institutions

were utilised for photo detector wafer development and tunneling accelerometer design.

In the optics area, the approach of ISRO to go beyond industry utilisation through technology transfer is reaping

rich dividends. Industry is engaged in Silicon processing for detectors, high performance optical coatings, high

performance optics, fabrication of mechanical components for sensors and optics, Hybrid Micro Circuit design,

fabrication and packaging for Micro Electric Mechanical Systems devices, fabrication, assembly & testing of earth

sensors, sun sensors, magnetometers and sensor electronics.

The industry continued to complement the propellant requirement of ISRO by supplying liquid propellants.

HTPB production augmentation at private industry has been taken up. ISROSENE was produced from the pilot

plant established at a private industry.

ISRO pursued the indigenisation of strategic components / materials with industry participation to reduce the

dependence on import. Various Copper alloys, Copper Nickel alloys, Aluminium Bronze materials, forgings for

Cryo flow components, CE20 thrust chamber, turbine housing for CUS booster pump, forgings for VIKAS

engine- POGO corrector tibia, injector cover, main engine valve body forgings etc were realised and indigenised

in association with Govt. labs, private and public sector industries. During the year friction welded bimetallic

adaptor developed for C25 stage was developed through a leading Indian welding research institute.

During the year, with ISRO’s support, a Titanium Sponge Production Plant was fully commissioned. The trial

production was subsequently started and first lot of 3 MT of Titanium sponge was produced. Action has been

initiated to establish a third work centre for S139 segments and also for the productionisation of Lithium–ion

cells through external agency.

With the objective of achieving self reliance in space technology, ISRO Industry partnership has been carefully

nurtured. Considering the potential that exists for application of space in India and other markets as well, the role

of Indian industries is poised to grow further.

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SPACE COMMERCE

Antrix Corporation Limited, a Wholly Owned Govt. of India Company under Dept. of Space, has been marketingthe space products and services in the global market. Sustained marketing efforts undertaken in the past haveresulted in Antrix registering growth in performance during the year.

The global distribution of Indian earth observation satellite data is being undertaken through a network of12 international ground stations. These ground stations are being served with data downlink from Resourcesat-1,Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-2 satellites. Current reseller’s network operates in South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Argentina,Turkey, Greece, Dubai, Nepal, USA, Russia, Japan, Vietnam and Turkey. In the future, the company plans tostrengthen infrastructure for international data sales and business development in value added services.

In the transponder leasing services, Antrix is supporting the ever increasing requirement of Indian users forsupporting services in Direct To Home, TV Broadcasting, Very Small Aperture Terminal and Digital SatelliteNews Gathering requirements. Emerging services, such as High Definition Television (HDTV) and 3DTV, havepropelled the demand for satellite bandwidth, particularly, in the Direct to Home (DTH)-Ku segment. Provisionsare being made towards meeting the demand of new and existing customers.

With PSLV proving its mettle by performing consecutive successful missions, there is an increasing demand fromforeign countries to launch their payloads on board PSLV. Under a commercial contract with Antrix, in the year,two commercial satellites namely XSAT of Singapore and Vessalsat-1 of Luxemburg have been launched onboard PSLV-C16 and PSLV–C18 missions respectively.

The W2M and HYLAS satellites, successfully delivered to the customers through the Antrix-EADS Astriumalliance, continue to perform well. Several proposals were submitted to satellite operators for manufacturingsatellites using the flight proven satellite platforms.

In the mission support services area, several business initiatives for TTC support have progressed well.The major achievement in this area was the Ka band Transfer Orbit Support Services for aKa band spot beam satellite provided to a leading international customer. Antrix also concluded the Agreement witha leading European agency for providing TTC support from ISTRAC stations. Ku band TOSS support and Ku bandRanging and Telemetry support was successfully provided from MCF earth station on a long term basis for a leadinginternational customer. The company continues to provide Telecommand, Control and Ranging Services, NetworkMonitoring and Control Services and TTC support for international customers. There is much demand fromsatellite operators to use our network of stations for supporting a variety of mission requirements.

Industry delegations and high level officials from leading global space companies visited Antrix to discuss commercialprojects of mutual interest. In recognition of its efforts in global marketing of space services, Antrix CorporationLimited has been awarded the “Silver Shield- Star Performer for 2009-10” by the Engineering Export PromotionCouncil, Southern Region.

Antrix Corporation Limited has entered into an agreement with Astrium-SAS, France for the launch of earthobservation satellite SPOT-6 using PSLV on a commercial basis during 2012.

8 7

SYSTEMS RELIABILITY AND SAFETY

Systems Reliability

Activities related to ensuring reliability of space systems through rigorous quality control, quality assurance and

test & evaluation activities continued at all DOS Centres. The Directorate of Systems Reliability & Quality

(DSRQ) setup at ISRO Head Quarters as the nodal agency provided the direction for the realisation of

quality systems.

Important quality issues were reviewed for PSLV C17, C18 and C19 and also for Satellite programmes

GSAT 8, GSAT 12, Meghatropiques and RISAT-1. During such reviews, it has been possible to establish a

common quality assurance approach among the ISRO centres and also towards effective quality practices. The

Reliability&Quality Assurance teams of DOS centres have been executing effective quality assurance practices in

establishing the quality and reliability of various space missions. The tasks executed cover Failure Modes Effects

and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), derating analysis, failure analysis, performance analysis of systems at various

stages, mission simulation and performance assessment, critical analysis during vibration testing, integrated

subsystem / system level checks, post flight analysis, etc.

DSRQ has developed a website to serve as a common platform for sharing quality related information across

ISRO centres. In addition, the site also features the important quality related articles, proceedings of Integrated

Product Assurance Board (IPAB), etc. The site was launched initially in the beta version and is now fully operational.

The latest addition to the site is eNewsletter, addressing important achievements in the R&QA area.

A three day workshop titled “Lessons Learned from ISRO Space Systems” was organised at ISRO HQ during the

month of August. The primary aim was to share the interesting experiences and problems encountered in the

areas of Launch Vehicle, Satellite, Payloads and on-orbit. This event was unique in its theme, and helped the

budding engineers of ISRO to realise the importance of identification of problems at an early stage, not to repeat

earlier errors committed in realising the space systems. This also brought out the importance of documentation,

information dissemination, and communication skills, etc. The proceedings have been brought out in two

DVDs covering the entire event with presentations, text and videos. They have been delivered to various

centres for further dissemination and follow up.

World Quality day was organised during the month of November at ISRO HQ with the primary theme of

R&QA challenges in Satellite data products and its applications. Advanced R&QA tasks towards future missions

were also discussed with interesting feedback from participants.

IPAB meetings have been arranged periodically to discuss the quality issues related to ongoing Satellite and

Launch Vehicle programmes. The deliberations primarily focus towards systemic quality issues across all ISRO

centres, related to design review mechanisms, effective failure analysis, non conformance management etc.

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DSRQ also carried out an independent quality audit on external work-centres involved in the realisation of space

systems. The compliance of quality practices at these work-centres were verified and feedback given. The need

for functionally critical dimensions, processes, calibration of equipment, raw material traceability, storage and

handling of systems, etc., were focused during the audit.

Safety Services

The space programme continued to be free from any major incidents during the year. The launch of PSLV-C16,

PSLV-C17 and PSLV-C18 missions were carried out without any safety related problems. As in the case of

previous launches, a thorough safety and emergency preparedness plan was implemented to avoid unforeseen

incidence. Safety participation was ensured in the Launch campaign activities involving handling of solid rocket

motors, pyrotechnic materials, earth storable and cryogenic propellants and high-pressure gas servicing to launch

vehicle propulsion stages as well as preparation of satellites at launch site. The transportation of propellants,

liquid propulsion stages and rocket hardware were carried out under the umbrella of a well-coordinated safety

net, all along the route.

Successful second static testing of S200 solid motor at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, successful hot test of

indigenously developed cryogenic engine with modified fuel and oxidiser booster turbo pump at Liquid Propulsion

Systems Centre were the most significant achievements during the year.

The other major safety activities, i.e., flight acceptance test of steering engines in high altitude test facility, proof

pressure test of flight stage tanks, testing of various subsystems of GSLV-Mark III, qualification tests of Attitude

and Orbit Control System (AOCS), Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) and Reaction Control System (RCS) were

conducted under rigorous safety surveillance.

Safety surveillance was in place during fabrication, integration, thermovac test, vibration tests and high-pressure

tests of GSAT-12, Megha-Tropiques and RISAT-1.

Rigorous safety inspections and audits, drills at various hazardous areas, preparations of safety manuals and

emergency preparedness plan, review of facilities before critical operations like hot test of cryogenic engine and

S-200 static test were carried out by safety groups.

Safety committees at the various DOS establishments reviewed and cleared locations, construction and

commissioning of new facilities. Safety awareness and promotional activities have continued through celebration

of national safety day, fire service day, issuing safety posters, organising safety training programme, etc.

8 9

HUMAN RESOURCES

The total approved sanctioned strength of the department as on 1.4.2011 is 17623 out of which 12,155 arein scientific and technical Categories and 5,468 are in administrative categories. Welfare measures like housing,medical, canteen, schooling for children, are provided to the existing personnel. Life insurance coverage fromaccidents, namely VISWAS and a special scheme for assistance to families in exigency, namely, ‘SAFE’ are alsoextended to employees at a relatively low premium through an internal trust.

The commitment, dedication, knowledge and skills of DOS Personnel have played a key role in the achievementsof Indian space Programme. DOS attaches great importance to the quality in recruitment, training and developmentof its human resources to meet the stringent requirements of the space programme and realisation of goals andobjectives of the Department.

ISRO also participated in the campus placement of B.Tech graduates in core areas of engineering at seven IITsand a few bright young engineers were inducted into the system.

Centralised recruitment of scientists and engineers with degree in Engineering and Post graduate degree inEngineering and Science background has been continued during the year. The applications were received onISRO website and selection and induction of engineers have been completed through a process of written testand interview. Centralised recruitment processes have been extended to Officers in Administrative areas, OfficeAssistants and Jr Personal Assistants during the year.

The first batch of students, who were admitted to B.Tech Programme during September 2007 at Indian Instituteof Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram, have graduated during June 2011. All thosestudents who have passed out with pre-defined benchmark of marks, have been inducted in all DOS/ISROCentres.

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The scheme of induction training programme for newly recruited scientists/engineers which was introduced in2002, has been continued during the year. The scheme is useful for youngsters to understand and appreciate thechallenges of the space programme. On similar lines, the induction training programme has been introduced tonewly recruited administrative staff wherein, the newly recruited personnel are introduced to various systemsand processes that are prevailing in the organisation. The scheme of induction training programme was alsointroduced in similar lines, to personnel in administrative areas who join the organisation.

The Department has introduced, for the first time, a structured training programme for Scientists/Engineers at‘Scientist E’ and ‘Scientist F’ level. The course curriculum has been developed in ten areas of technology whichare relevant to ISRO. Apart from this, several training programmes in various areas of technology, techno-management, computer, safety, administrative systems, etc., were organised during the year for the existingemployees at various Centres/Units. Customised and exclusive training programmes and ManagementDevelopment Programmes for middle level scientific, technical and administrative officers have been organisedwith tie-ups with reputed management institutes.

I APPRENTICE TRIANING

Under training programme of apprentices in the Technical and Commercial Trades, in the Centres/Units of theDepartment, 1292 apprentices were trained.

II RESERVATION IN SERVICES:

i) SCHEDULED CASTE AND SCHEDULED TRIBES

The Department has been observing the guidelines for recruitment, promotion and the welfare of ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes. Table-I indicates the status of representations of persons belonging to ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes.

ii) PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Position regarding appointment of Persons with Disabilities is given in Table–II.

iii) EX-SERVICEMEN

The status of representation of ex-servicemen is given in Table-III.

iv) OTHER BACKWARD CLASSES (OBCs)

2369 Persons belonging to Other Backward Classes are existing at present. Out of the 2369 OBCs, 236 wereappointed during the year.

v) WOMEN EMPLOYEES:

There are 1696 Women Employees belonging to Scientific and Technical categories and 1249 Women Employeesbelonging to administrative categories in the Department as per details in Table IV. They represent 19.82% ofpersonnel in the Department.

vi) JOINT CONSULTATIVE MACHINERY (JCM)

The Scheme of Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) of the Department continued to function satisfactorily.The last meeting of Departmental Council was held on 25.01.2011.

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TABLE - I STATUS OF SCHEDULED CASTE/SCHEDULED TRIBE PERSONNEL

Sl. CENTRE/UNIT TOTAL STRENGTH STRENGTH OF STRENGTH OF

No OF EMPLOYEES SC EMPLOYEES ST EMPLOYEES

2011-2012 2011-2012 2011-2012

1 DOS/ISRO HQ 437 85 28

2 VSSC 4273 341 76

3 ISAC 2519 293 91

4 SDSC-SHAR 2099 307 112

5 SAC & DECU 1827 217 114

6 LPSC 1754 239 32

7 NRSC 885 113 32

8 ISTRAC 445 68 16

9 MCF 326 36 13

10 ADRIN 170 21 5

11 IIRS 124 18 6

TOTAL 14859 1738 525

vii) CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:

Inter Centre Hindi Technical Seminar – 2011 AT Satish Dhawan Space Centre-SHAR

A Hindi Technical Seminar with the theme “Indigenisation of Space Technology” was organised at the

Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on November 04, 2011. Twenty five articles were presented during

the seminar.

National Conference for ISRO Women on March 8, 2011 at NRSC

A National Conference for ISRO Women with the theme “Millennial make over: a paradigm shift in perception,

values and ideas” was organised at the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad on March 08, 2011,

more than 250 delegates participated in the conference and 22 papers were submitted.

Workshop on Scientific Research and Developments by SC/ST Scientists and Technologists of

DOS at VSSC

In order to provide a platform for recognising the salient contributions made by the Scientific/Technical personnel

belonging to the SC/ST community to the Indian Space Programme, a Conference on ‘Scientific Research and

Development by SC/ST Scientists and Technologists of Department of Space was organised at the Vikram

Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, during May 27-28, 2011. More than 350 delegates attended the

Conference and 50 papers were presented.

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TABLE-III STATUS OF REPRESENTATION OF EX-SERVICEMEN IN DOS

Sl.No. CENTRE/UNIT TOTAL NUMBER OF TOTAL NUMBER OF

EMPLOYEES IN GROUP EX-SERVICEMEN IN

GROUP

C C

1 DOS/ISRO HQ 92 8

2 VSSC 1066 97

3 ISAC 291 9

4 SDSC-SHAR 610 18

5 SAC & DECU 186 4

6 LPSC 311 53

7 NRSC 106 6

8 ISTRAC 65 3

9 MCF 68 0

10 ADRIN 34 8

11 IIRS 24 2

TOTAL 2853 208

TABLE-II STATUS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Sl. CENTRE/UNIT TOTAL STRENGTH CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WITH

No STRENGTH OF PERSONS DISABILITIES

OF WITH DEAF & BLIND PARTIALLY ORTHOPAEDICALLY

EMPLOYEES DISABILITIES DUMB BLIND HANDICAPPED

2011-2012

1 DOS/ISRO HQ 437 5 0 0 0 5

2 VSSC 4273 77 11 1 13 52

3 ISAC 2519 62 8 2 2 50

4 SDSC-SHAR 2099 53 6 1 0 46

5 SAC & DECU 1827 26 3 2 0 21

6 LPSC 1754 37 4 0 0 33

7 NRSC 885 10 1 0 0 9

8 ISTRAC 445 7 2 0 0 5

9 MCF 326 4 0 0 0 4

10 ADRIN 170 1 0 0 0 1

11 IIRS 124 2 0 1 0 1

TOTAL 14859 284 35 7 15 227

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TABLE-IV WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN DOS

Sl.No. CENTRE/UNIT TOTAL STRENGTH OF TOTAL STRENGTH OF WOMEN

WOMEN EMPLOYEES EMPLOYEES 2011-2012

2011-2012 SCIENTIFIC & ADMINISTRATIVE

TECHNICAL STAFF STAFF

1 DOS/ISRO HQ 139 22 117

2 VSSC 956 519 437

3 ISAC 604 462 142

4 SDSC-SHAR 297 122 175

5 SAC & DECU 320 225 95

6 LPSC 246 111 135

7 NRSC 188 114 74

8 ISTRAC 97 58 39

9 MCF 36 22 14

10 ADRIN 38 28 10

11 IIRS 24 13 11

TOTAL 2945 1696 1249

Vigilance

Vigilance Awareness Week was observed commencing with administering of pledge to the employees on

October 31, 2011.

The details of Disciplinary (non-vigilance) and vigilance cases dealt with during 2011 are as below:

Category of Type of Cases Cases received Total Disposed of PendingEmployees cases pending as on during the period (Col.3+4) during (Col.5-6)

01.10.2010 01.10.2010 to 01.10.2010 to30.09.2011 30.09.2011

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Group – A Disciplinary 13 1 14 1 13Group -B (non-(Gazetted) Vigilance)

Vigilance 1 - - - -

Group ‘B’(Non-gazetted) Disciplinary 06 21 27 13 14Groups ‘C’ (non-& Vigilance)ErstwhileGroup ‘D’ Vigilance 3 2 5 - 5

Total 23 24 46 14 32

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Progressive Use of Hindi

• Implementation of Hindi in the Department of Space (DOS) continued with vigour during the year.

The Official Language Implementation Committees (OLICs) both at the Department level and at Centres/

Units held its quarterly meetings to review the progress in the use of Hindi. DOS/ISRO and its Centres and

Units have also participated in the meetings of Town OLIC constituted in respective Towns. DOS also

participated in the Central OLIC meetings held at New Delhi.

• The Second Sub Committee of Parliament on Official Language inspected Centres/Units of DOS/ISRO

viz., Delhi Earth Station (DES)-June 14, 2011, SAC & PRL Sept 29, 2011, VSSC Nov 4, 2011. with

regard to the progress made in the Implementation of Official language

• In order to implement Hindi in more meaningful and effective manner and to evaluate the progressive use

of Hindi in DOS/ISRO Centres/Units, an Annual Inspection Programme was drawn up by Department and

inspections were carried out. The Officers from Regional Implementation Offices of Department of Official

Language have also inspected the various Centres/Units to review the progressive use of Hindi.

• The training programme in Hindi through Hindi Teaching Scheme, Correspondence course and other

Departmental arrangements like Video Conferencing have been strengthened. The percentage of employees

possessing working knowledge of Hindi in all DOS/ISRO Centres/Units has considerably increased to more

than 80 per cent. The Centres/Units have been requested to prepare an action plan for imparting training

to the remaining employees and to complete the training programme at the earliest. Arrangements have

been made for imparting training in Hindi Stenography and Hindi Typewriting in all Centres/Units.

• With a view to refresh and update the knowledge of Official Language personnel, an ‘Official Language

Orientation Programme’ was organised in the Space Application Centre, (SAC) during August, 2011.

• Hindi Day, Hindi Week, Hindi Fortnight/Hindi Month and Hindi Workshops have been organised in all

DOS/ISRO Centres/Units, during which competitions in essay, noting and drafting, typewriting, quiz, poetry

recitation, story writing, news reading, memory, debate, etc., have been held. These competitions have

been organised for Hindi speaking and non-Hindi speaking employees separately. The prizes have also been

awarded separately for each category.

• During the year, DOS Secretariat intiated the publication of a Quarterly News Bulletin with regard to

progressive use of Hindi named ‘Antariksh Samachar’.

• World Hindi Day was celebrated on January 10 in all Centres/Units of the Department.

• Several pamphlets and stickers/posters on Indian Space Programme and Booklets on Glimpses of Indian

Space Programme, PSLV-C17, PSLV-C18, Megha-Tropiques, etc., were brought out in Hindi. “Antariksh

Bharat”, a quarterly technical magazine is brought out by Department in Hindi. In-house Hindi magazines

are brought out by various Centres/Units of the Department.

• During the year, Hindi Book Exhibitions were organised in the Department of Space along with English

Book Exhibitions and good and useful Hindi books were selected for ISRO Library.

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• The Department’s Hindi Website has been revamped and loaded. Hindi Website in being updated regularly.

In addition to Department’s own Website, SAC, PRL, NRSA and NARL have their own Websites. ISAC,

VSSC also have internal web pages.

• A new scheme – Viz., Hindi Fortnight Incentive Scheme has been introduced under which the Officers/

Employees doing maximum work in Hindi during the Hindi month are awarded.

Apart from Technical Seminars in Hindi conducted by Centres/Units, SDSC-SHAR conducted an Inter-Centre

Technical Seminar in Hindi for all the Centres/Units of DOS/ISRO on November 4, 2011.

• The employees of DOS/ISRO Centres/Units have also participated in the activities on the progressive use

of Hindi organised by various voluntary organisations viz., Kendriya Sachivalya Hindi Parishad, New Delhi

and Mysore Hindi Prachar Parishad and also by Town OLIC.

• Hindi Implementation has been introduced as a part of Induction Programme in all the major Centres of

DOS/ISRO.

Awards

• Department has been awarded the II Place under Indira Gandhi Rajabhasha Puraskar for Best Implementation

of Hindi in the category of Scientific & Technical Departments.

• Also, the Department has been awarded III Place for Best Hindi Implementation in South & South Western

regions by regional Implementation office, Department of Official Language (DOL).

• ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore has been awarded III prize for Best Hindi Implementation by Town Official

Language Implementation Committee, Bangalore.

• SCL, Chandigarh has been awarded the II prize for Best Implementation of Official Language by

Town OLIC.

9 6

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Sharing the knowledge and resources beyond the boundaries through international cooperation has been the

hallmark of Indian Space Programme. The space programme in the country pursues bilateral and multilateral

cooperative relations with space agencies and space related bodies. Through international cooperation, ISRO

continues to take-up new scientific and technological challenges; refine space policies and define international

frameworks for exploitation and utilisation of outer space for peaceful purposes, apart from sharing of space

products, services and technological expertise. With technological advancements among the space-faring nations

and the awareness among the rest, the scope of international cooperation has become wider and diverse

globally in recent time and ISRO strives to make use of such opportunities effectively.

Formal cooperative arrangements in the form of Agreements or Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) or

Framework Agreements have been signed with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada,

Chile, China, Egypt, European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), European Organisation

for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), European Space Agency (ESA), France, Germany,

Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar,

Norway, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, The Netherlands, Ukraine, United

Kingdom, United States of America and Venezuela.

Cooperative instruments signed during this year are: (i) MoU between ISRO and the United Kingdom Space

Agency regarding cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes; and (ii) MoU

between ISRO and the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) of France for cooperation in earth system

science and climate.

This year has been highly significant for ISRO’s international cooperation pursuits, as two satellites jointly

developed with other nations were launched from India, viz., MEGHA-TROPIQUES Satellite jointly built with

France - launched on October 12, 2011 and YOUTHSAT satellite, jointly built with Russia - launched on

April 20, 2011.

MEGHA-TROPIQUES: Towards improving the understanding of climate and weather systems, ISRO jointly

worked with CNES and developed MEGHA-TROPIQUES satellite to serve as an exclusive observational system

for the same. Of the four instruments that are flying in the satellite, two instruments are developed by CNES;

one instrument is jointly developed by CNES and ISRO; and one instrument is procured from Italy. Apart from

building and launching the satellite, ISRO is operating the satellite and continuously receiving the data from the

scientific instruments. Data from MEGHA-TROPIQUES, in combination with other contemporary satellites

would help in generating improved current-weather variables leading to better forecast not only for India and

but also for the entire tropical region. Other than the scientific community of India and France, 21 Scientific

teams from Australia, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Niger, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States

of America are awaiting data from this satellite. MEGHA-TROPIQUES would be the first of the constellation of

9 7

eight satellites meant for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM). This satellite is considered as a joint

contribution from India and France, to the global scientific community - engaged in research on climate and

weather systems that affect the daily life of humankind the world over and particularly in the tropical region.

YOUTHSAT: Young scientists of ISRO Centres and Moscow State University in Russia had jointly developed

YOUTHSAT, a satellite for studying atmospheric constituents and space weather. YOUTHSAT carries two

scientific payloads from ISRO and one from Moscow State University. The Indian payloads are: (i) Limb Viewing

Hyper Spectral Imager (LiVHySI) to study the atmospheric constituents; and (ii) Radio Beacon for Ionospheric

Tomography (RaBIT) for space weather studies. Russian Payload is Solar Radiation Experiment (SOLRAD) to

study the solar flare activity, and to detect the bursts of X rays, Energetic electrons, protons and Gamma-rays.

The data would be distributed to the users after completing the calibration/ validation.

ISRO is also gearing up for launch of SARAL, being jointly built with France; and CHANDRAYAAN-2 being jointly

built with Russia.

SARAL: ISRO and CNES are jointly developing Satellite for ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) carrying a radar

altimeter to study sea surface altitude (Ka band Altimeter - ALTIKA) and a data collection platform for collecting

data from ocean buoys and weather data centres (ARGOS). CNES is responsible for the instruments and ISRO

is responsible for satellite platform, launch using PSLV and operations. Both the agencies are working towards

reading the satellite for launch in 2012. Global scientific community has expressed interest in utilising the data

from SARAL. Already 82 projects are identified that includes 16 projects by France and 30 projects of other

countries.

CHANDRAYAAN-2: India and Russia are cooperating to realise a joint unmanned moon mission

‘CHANDRAYAAN–2’. India is responsible for launch, realisation of Moon Orbiter module and Rover; while

Russia is responsible for realisation of Moon Lander module. Significant progress has been achieved this year,

wherein both sides discussed the ‘Orbiter-Lander-Rover interfaces and mission operations’. The Indian instruments

on Orbiter and Rover have been finalised. Preliminary Design Reviews of the Orbiter, Rover and the instruments

are completed. Both the sides are working for launching CHANDRAYAAN-2 in 2014 using India’s GSLV.

ISRO and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working on the development of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope

planned on ISRO’s multi wavelength astronomy satellite ASTROSAT.

ISRO is currently working with the secretariat of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) through

Ministry of External Affairs in making available data from Indian Remote Sensing satellites to all the 10 nations for

disaster management support under India-ASEAN cooperation. ISRO is also working with South Asian Association

for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to establish a network of weather stations to support severe

thunderstorm predictions.

9 8

ISRO continues to contribute to the activities of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) including

Sentinel Asia project and Satellite Technology for the Asia-Pacific Region (STAR) programme through the sharing

of satellite remote sensing data and expertise for the benefit of this region.

In the field of capacity building, ISRO continues to share their facilities, expertise and services in the application of

space technology through hosting of United Nations (UN) affiliated Centre for Space Science and Technology

Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP). As of now, more than 1000 scholars from 31 countries from the

Asia Pacific region and 28 scholars from 17 countries outside the Asia Pacific region are benefitted through the

courses conducted by CSSTE-AP.

ISRO, on behalf of India, continues to play an active role in deliberation of the United Nations Committee on

the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS). ISRO also plays major role on behalf of India in various

other multilateral fora including United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

(UN-ESCAP), International COSPAS-SARSAT system for search and rescue operations, International Astronautical

Federation (IAF), International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS),

Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), Inter Agency Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), Space

Frequency Coordination Group (SFCG), Coordinating Group on Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), International

Global Observing Strategy (IGOS), International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS),

International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG), International Committee for Global Navigation

Satellite Systems (ICG), International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ and UN Platform for Space based

Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER).

In the year 2012, India will be hosting two major global events, the COSPAR Scientific Assembly and

CEOS Plenary.

9 9

SPACE IN PARLIAMENT

Indian Space Programme continued to attract attention of both the Houses of Parliament. Questions were

answered in Parliament during the year 2011 as shown below:-

Budget Session Monsoon Session Winter Session Total

L.S. R.S. L.S. R.S. L.S. R.S. L.S. R.S.

Starred 1 7 1 1 - - 2 8

Unstarred 18 12 17 15 22 06 57 33

Tota l 1 9 1 9 1 8 1 6 22 06 5 9 4 1

The Questions generally pertained to matters relating to Shortage of Scientists and Engineers, Remote Sensing

Satellite, Foreign Satellites launched from India, Designing of new genre of rockets, Joint Space Exploration with

Russia, Use of Indigenous Technology, Expenditure on Space Programme, Launching of High Capacity satellite,

Satellites by Students, Antrix-Devas Deal, PSLV Mission, Space Exploration in Twelfth Plan, R&D in Space

Technology, Commercial Space Launch Agreement, Indo-French Megha-Tropiques, etc.

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SPACE PROGRAMME PUBLICITY

Space based services are touching all facets of human life in the country. India has made tremendous progress in

the area of space science and technology. Creating awareness among the general public, especially students,

about the benefits that have accrued from India‘s application driven space programmes to the society and the

progress made by the country in space technology has been given utmost importance. Media campaigns on

important events, organisation of exhibitions, publications, educational activities like lectures, interactive sessions

with students, quiz programmes, water rocket making and launching events, etc., have helped in not only

keeping the public abreast of the space programme but also to evoke interest in them on the nuances of space

science and technology.

Publicity Through Media

Doordarshan and many private TV channels covered the launch of PSLV-C16/RESOURCESAT-2,

GSAT-8 launched onboard Ariane launch vehicle of Europe on May 21, 2011, PSLV-C17/GSAT-12 and PSLV-

C18/MEGHA-TROPIQUES on April 20, 2011, July 15, 2011 and October 12, 2011 respectively from Satish

Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota live. For these launches, media from Chennai, Nellore and Tirupati as

well as Sullurpetta were taken to Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota to witness the launch. These events

were covered in all the leading newspapers and electronic media. Special video capsules on the Indian Space

Programme were produced and telecast. Besides media coverage on specific events of importance, several

articles have appeared in various regional and national newspapers and magazines about the Indian space

programme. This apart, many news agencies, newspapers and TV channels made and telecast programmes on

Indian Space activities, highlighting the accomplishments of the Indian Space Programme. Chandrayaan-1’s

discovery of water on the moon continued to get coverage from national and international media.

Exhibitions

During the year, DOS organised 41 exhibitions at national and international conferences, important public

congregations like cultural festivals, trade fairs and events and also at academic institutions. Exhibitions were also

organised in association with Non-Governmental Organisation in various places and at prestigious events like

Bangalore Space Expo-2011 (BSX-2011) in August 2011, and India Show at Toronto, Canada during

October 2011.

A large number of scientists, academicians and students from India as well as delegates from abroad visited many

of these exhibitions. World Space Week during October 4-10, 2011 and National Science Day on February 28

were organised towards creating awareness among the public about space. In order to create interest and

awareness on rocketry, a Water Rocket launching event was conducted at Ms Ramaiah College of Science,

Bangalore. Students and teachers enthusiastically participated in the event. The permanent exhibitions at Liquid

101

Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Space Applications Centre (SAC)

and ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) continued to attract a large number of visitors. The Space Museums at ISRO

centres have been refurbished to make them more attractive and educative for the visiting public. Static models

of satellite and launch vehicles as well as display panels were provided to various schools and colleges on loan

basis for display during science exhibitions organised by these institutions. Besides, models and displays on Indian

space programme have been provided to a few institutions like museums, including the one at Sainik School,

Bijapur.

Publications: Publication of the journal Space India both in Hindi and English was continued to keep the public

aware of the progress on the Indian space programme. The revised edition of the highly illustrated book

“Chandrayaan-1: India’s Giant Leap to Moon” targeted towards student community was widely distributed

during the year. Science writers are also being encouraged to publish books on space programme. Publicity

materials such as posters, stickers, etc., have been brought out during the year on important vents.

General

The World Space Week was celebrated with great enthusiasm in DOS Centres during October 4-10.

The programmes included space quiz, debates, special lectures, video shows and media workshops. Essay

competition for college students and space model making for school students and special public lectures were

Water Rocket launch in progress

102

ISRO Exhibition at Toronto, Canada

also part of the World Space Week celebrations. On National Science Day on February 28, DOS Centres

observed open house wherein the visitors were allowed to see them. Several competitions like essay writing,

painting, quiz, model making, exhibitions, etc., were also organised. The information on the Indian space

programme is also available to public through the highly interactive and user friendly ISRO website

www.isro.gov.in. The Website also provides DOS Annual Report, Space India, press releases, employment

opportunities, RTI related information, etc.

103

RIGHT TO INFORMATION

Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005 is practiced in the department with strict compliance to the requirements

of the act. DOS has implemented RTI Act 2005 by identifying Central Public Information Officers (CPIO),

Assistant Public Information Officers (APIO) and the Appellate Authority for stage one appeals. As required

under the Act, DOS has published the requisite information on the web page www.isro.gov.in/Right to

Information.

The following information is available on the website:

• Organisation, functions and duties

• Powers and duties of the Officers and Employees

• Procedures followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability

• Norms set by the Department of Space for the discharge of its functions

• Rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records of the Department of Space used by its employees

for discharging their functions

• Statement of the categories of documents held by the Department of Space or under its control

• Particulars of arrangements for consultation with or representation by the public in relation to the formulation

of policies and implementation thereof by the Department of Space

• Statement of boards, councils, committees and other bodies, and as to whether meetings of such boards,

etc., are open to public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible to public

• Directory of officers holding functional designations

• Number of Officers/Employees and structure of emoluments

• Budget 2010 – 11 of the Department of Space

• Manner of execution of subsidy programmes and details of beneficiaries of such programmes

• Particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by the Department of Space

• Details of Information available to or held by the Department of Space, reduced in an electronic form

• Names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers, Assistant Public Information

Officers and Appellate Authority (to decide first stage appeals)

• Achievements of the Department of Space/Indian Space Research Organisation

During the year, awareness programmes on RTI for senior engineers/scientists, APIOs and concerned officials

looking after RTI activities were conducted at ISRO Centres. 518 applications were received under RTI on

which appropriate responses have been given. 73 appeals were received by the First Appellate Authority and

34 appellants approached the Second Apellate Authority, i.e., Central Information Commission.

104

AUDIT OBSERVATIONSStatus of the Action Taken Note (ATN)

Sl. Year No. of Paras/ Details of the Paras/PA reports on which ATNs are pending

No PA reports on No. of ATNs No. of ATNs No. of ATNs No. of ATNs

which ATNs not sent by sent by the sent but which have

have been the Ministry Ministry and returned with been finally

submitted to even for the awaiting observations vetted by

PAC after first time vetting by and Audit is audit but

vetting by Audit awaiting their have not

Audit resubmission been

by the submitted

Ministry by the

Ministry to

PAC

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. 2006-2007 NIL NIL ONE NIL NIL

(Chapter V of

Report No.9

of 2006 – Non-

tax receipts –

issues relating

to receipts

of DOS

2. 2008-2009 NIL NIL NIL ONE NIL

(Chapter II of

Report No.

PA 2 of 2008-

Performance

Audit on

Procurement

of Stores and

Inventory

Control in

DOS)

105

3. 2010-2011 NIL NIL NIL ONE NIL

(Report No. 21

of 2010-2011 –

Performance

Audit of the

Activities of

NRSC)

4. 2011-2012 NIL ONE NIL NIL NIL

(Report No. 16

of 2011-12 -

Para No 19.1 -

Idle investment

on

development

of a linac tube)

5. 2011-2012 NIL ONE NIL NIL NIL

(Report No. 16

of 2011-12 -

Para No 19.2 –

Avoidable

payment of

electricity

duty and cess)

PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF NATIONAL REMOTE SENSING CENTRE (REPORT NO 21

OF 2010-11) FOR THE YEAR ENDING MARCH 2009 PRESENTED IN PARLIAMENT ON 18-03-2011

• Performance Audit on the activities of National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) revealed that performance

of three out of the seven remote sensing satellites was below their maximum capacity in terms of the

number of remote sensing satellite data captured by them. The revenue realised from seven satellites in

operation was not up to the desired level. The satellites were planned without adequate thematic data

need assessment. Idling of acquired IRS data was high due to non-adopting of appropriate marketing strategy.

While there was a need to review and augment data acquisition capacity of NRSC after conducting a

realistic data need assessment, there were also delays in data processing impacting the delivery of available

data products.

• The efforts of NRSC were not adequate in customising the data according to the needs of private users and

also in exploring the possibility of widening the customer base. The sale of data products to private users did

not improve as recommended by Standing Committee of Parliament of DOS. Further, there was scope

for enhancing the rates of IRS data products in line with international rates.

• NRSC was the sole civilian provider of aerial remote sensing services in the country. It had two beach

aircrafts in operation to attend to various aerial projects. These aerial projects were meant for remote

sensing in specific areas at required times, which was not possible from the remote sensing satellites.

We observed that aircrafts performing the task of aerial remote sensing could not be put to use to their

106

maximum capacity mainly due to non-availability of pilots and technical snags in the aircrafts. As a result,

one third of aerial projects test checked were found to have been delayed.

• NRSC was responsible for providing services to Government users by undertaking remote sensing application

projects aimed at achieving vital social objectives like food security, conversion of wastelands into usable

land, water security through drinking water missions, environment security through disaster management

support programmes, etc. NRSC also undertook operational projects directly from various users for

delivering processed remote sensing data and maps.

• Performance Audit of these projects revealed that NRSC did not adequately coordinate with various

agencies for effective implementation of these projects. Further, there were instances of deficiencies in

planning and implementation, non/partial achievement of the objectives, delays in completion of projects

etc., which adversely impacted on the success of these projects.

• Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun, a unit of NRSC conducted customised professional

courses towards capacity building in the application of remote sensing and geo informatics for natural

resource management. We observed that there was an overall increase in the number of students trained

by the IIRS. However, there was shortfall in the enrolment in long term courses. Further, the number of

private persons trained for promoting the sale of data products was lower than participants from the

Government sector. As a result, the objective of promoting the sale of data products to more and more

private entrepreneurs was not fully met.

• There were substantial amount of unutilised balances available with NRSC under Government projects,

despite which it continued to receive advances for special projects from DOS and from other government

users. Budgeting of NRSC was not realistic indicating lack of control on income and expenditure and poor

monitoring of projects. There was reduction of revenue/loss of interest due to irregular fixation / delayed

fixation of agency commission payable to Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL) in the sale of satellite data.

Internal control and internal audit were not commensurate with the requirement of NRSC and there was

a need to strengthen the same.

Department of Space

Idle investment on development of a Linac tube

A Linac tube was developed for Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota

in March 2002 to improve performance of the existing 15 MeV Linear Accelerator system. Despite availability

of idle time of the main system, the Linac tube was not installed for eight years, leading to idle investment of Rs.

1.80 crore and additional maintenance cost of Rs. 32 lakh. Non replacement of the old Linac tube with the

new one led to a two fold increase in the time taken for inspection of rocket motors.

Avoidable payment of electricity duty and cess

Failure of two units of Department of Space to claim the available exemption of electricity duty

and cess resulted in additional expenditure of Rs. 1.49 crore which was avoidable. An amount of

Rs. 1.05 crore was refunded / adjusted at the instance of Audit.

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MILESTONES

1962

Indian National Committee for Space Research formed and works on establishing Thumba Equatorial Rocket

Launching Station (TERLS) started.

1963

First sounding rocket launch from TERLS (November 21, 1963).

1965

Space Science and Technology Centre (SSTC) established in Thumba.

1967

Experimental Satellite Telecommunication Earth Station set up at Ahmedabad.

1968

TERLS dedicated to the United Nations (February 2, 1968).

1969

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formed (August 15, 1969).

1972

Space Commission and Department of Space set up. ISRO brought under DOS (June 1, 1972).

1972-76

Air-borne remote sensing experiments.

1975

ISRO becomes Government Organisation (April 1, 1975).

First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata, launched (April 19, 1975).

1975-76

Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) conducted.

1977-79

Satellite Telecommunication Experiments Project (STEP) carried out.

1979

Bhaskara-I, an experimental satellite for earth observations, launched (June 7, 1979).

First Experimental launch of SLV-3 with Rohini Technology Payload on board (August 10, 1979). Satellite could

not be placed in orbit.

1980

Second Experimental launch of SLV-3. Rohini satellite successfully placed in orbit (July 18,1980).

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1981

First developmental launch of SLV-3. RS-D1 placed in orbit (May 31, 1981).

APPLE, an experimental geostationary communication satellite successfully launched (June 19, 1981).

Bhaskara-II launched (November 20, 1981).

1982

INSAT-1A launched (April 10, 1982). Deactivated on September 6, 1982.

1983

Second developmental launch of SLV-3. RS-D2 placed in orbit (April 17, 1983).

INSAT-1B, launched (August 30, 1983).

1984

Indo-Soviet manned space mission (April 1984).

1987

First developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-1 satellite on board (March 24, 1987). Satellite could not be

placed in orbit.

1988

Launch of first operational Indian Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1A (March 17, 1988).

Second developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-2 on board (July 13, 1988). Satellite could not be placed in

orbit.

INSAT-1C launched (July 22, 1988). Abandoned in November 1989.

1990

INSAT-1D launched (June 12, 1990).

1991

Launch of second operational Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1B (August 29, 1991).

1992

Third developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C on board (May 20, 1992). Satellite placed in orbit.

INSAT-2A, the first satellite of the indigenously-built second-generation INSAT series, launched

(July 10, 1992).

1993

INSAT-2B, the second satellite in INSAT-2 series, launched (July 23, 1993).

First developmental launch of (PSLV - D1) with IRS-1E on board (September 20, 1993). Satellite could not be

placed in orbit.

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1994

Fourth developmental launch of ASLV with SROSS-C2 on board (May 4, 1994). Satellite placed in orbit.

Second developmental launch of PSLV (PSLV - D2) with IRS-P2 on board (October 15, 1994). Satellite successfully

placed in polar sun synchronous orbit.

1995

INSAT-2C, the third satellite in INSAT-2 series, launched (December 7, 1995).

Launch of third operational Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1C (December 28, 1995).

1996

Third developmental launch of (PSLV - D3) with IRS-P3 on board (March 21, 1996). Satellite placed in polar

sunsynchronous orbit.

1997

INSAT-2D, fourth satellite in INSAT series, launched (June 4, 1997). Becomes inoperable on October 4, 1997.

(An in-orbit satellite, ARABSAT-1C, later renamed INSAT-2DT, was acquired in November 1997 to partly

augment INSAT system).

First operational launch of PSLV (PSLV - C1) with IRS-1D on board (September 29, 1997). Satellite placed in

orbit.

1998

INSAT system capacity augmented with the readiness of INSAT-2DT acquired from ARABSAT

(January 1998).

1999

INSAT-2E, the last satellite in the multipurpose INSAT-2 series, launched by Ariane from Kourou, French Guyana

(April 3, 1999).

Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT-1), launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C2)

along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (May 26, 1999).

2000

INSAT-3B, the first satellite in the third generation INSAT-3 series, launched by Ariane from Kourou, French

Guyana (March 22, 2000).

2001

Successful flight test of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV - D1) (April 18, 2001) with an experimental

satellite GSAT-1 on board.

Successful launch of PSLV-C3 (October 22, 2001) placing three satellites – India's TES, Belgian PROBA and

German BIRD into Polar sun-synchronous orbit.

2002

Successful launch of INSAT-3C by Ariane from Kourou, French Guyana (January 24, 2002).

Successful launch of KALPANA-1 by ISRO's PSLV - C4 from SDSC, SHAR (September 12, 2002).

110

2003

Successful launch of INSAT-3A by Ariane from Kourou, French Guyana (April 10, 2003).

Successful launch of second developmental test flight of GSLV (GSLV-D2) with GSAT-2 on board from

SDSC SHAR (May 8, 2003).

Successful launch of INSAT-3E by Ariane from Kourou, French Guyana (September 28, 2003)

Successful launch of RESOURCESAT-1 by ISRO's PSLV-C5 from SDSC SHAR, (October 17, 2003)

2004

Successful first operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) from SDSC-SHAR. EDUSAT placed in GTO (September

20, 2004).

2005

Successful launch of CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT by PSLV-C6 from the newly established Second Launch Pad at

SDSC SHAR (May 5, 2005).

Successful launch of INSAT-4A by Ariane from Kourou, French Guyana (December 22, 2005)

2006

Second operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F02) from SDSC SHAR with INSAT-4C on board

(July 10, 2006). The satellite could not be placed in orbit.

2007

PSLV-C7 successfully launches four satellites India's CARTOSAT-2 and Space Capsule Recovery Experiment

(SRE-1) as well as Indonesia's LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina's PEHUENSAT-1 (January 10, 2007).

Successful recovery of SRE-1 after manoeuvring it to reenter the earth's atmosphere and descend over the Bay

of Bengal about 140 km East of Sriharikota (January 22, 2007).

Successful launch of INSAT-4B by Ariane launch vehicle from Korou, French Guyana on

March 12, 2007.

PSLV-C8 successfully launches an Italian satellite AGILE on April 23, 2007 under a commercial contract with

Antrix Corporation.

Successful launch of of GSLV (GSLV-F04) with INSAT-4CR on board from SDSC SHAR on

September 2, 2007.

2008

PSLV-C10 successfully launches TECSAR satellite on January 21, 2008 under a commercial contract with Antrix

Corporation.

PSLV-C9 successfully launches ten satellites on April 28, 2009. India's CARTOSAT-2A, Indian Mini Satellite 1

(IMS -1) and eight Nano Satellites for International Customers under a commercial contract with

Antrix Corporation.

PSLV-C11 successfully launches Chandrayaan - 1 satellite on October 22, 2008

European Ariane 5 launch vehicle successfully launches W2M satellite on December 21, 2008 jointly built by

Antrix/ISRO and EADS Astrium on a commercial basis

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2009

PSLV - C12 successfully launches RISAT - 2 and ANUSAT, on April 20, 2009.

PSLV - C14 successfully launches OCEANSAT - 2 and six nanosatellites for international customers under a

commercial contract with Antrix Corporation (September 23, 2009)

2010

Successful static testing of GSLV-MkIII Launch Vehicle’s S200 Solid Propellant Booster Rocket Stage. (January 24,

2010)

First launch of GSLV-Mk II (GSLV-D3) with indigenous cryogenic upper stage. GSAT-4 onboard

GSLV-D3 could not be placed in orbit. (April 15, 2010)

Seventeenth launch of PSLV (PSLV-C15) successfully launches India's CARTOSAT 2B and STUDSAT, Algeria's

ALSAT-2A, Canada's NLS-1 and NLS-2 on July 12, 2010

Successful Static Testing of GSLV-MkIII Launch Vehicle’s L110 Liquid Core Stage (September 8, 2010)

European Ariane-5 launch vehicle successfully launches HYLAS satellite on November 27, 2010 jointly built by

Antrix/ISRO and EADS Astrium on a commercial basis.

Seventh launch of GSLV (GSLV-F06) with GSAT-5P satellite onboard could not place the satellite in orbit.

(December 25, 2010).

2011

PSLV-C16 successfully launches India's RESOURCESAT – 2, YOUTHSAT And X-SAT from Singapore on April

20, 2011.

GSAT – 8 Communication Satellite launched onboard by Ariane launcher from Kourou, French Guiana on May

21, 2011.

PSLV-C-17 successfully launches GSAT – 12 Communication Satellite on July 15, 2011.

Second successful static testing of S-200 booster to be used in GSLV-Mk III on September 4, 2011.

PSLV – C18 launches Megha Tropiques and three co-passenger satellites – Jugnu from IIT, Kanpur, SRMSat from

SRM University, Chennai and VesselSat–1 from Luxembourg – on October 12, 2011.

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ACRONYMS

AAI : Airports Authority of India

ABLN&C : Atmospheric Boundary Layer-Network & Characterisation

ABPP : Air Breathing Propulsion Project

ADC&TM : Atmospheric Dust Composition & Transport Modelling

ADCOS : Advisory Committee for Space Sciences

ADRDE : Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment

AFCS : Area Favourable for Crop Sowing

AFTN : Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network

AGN : Active Galactic Nucleus

AIR : All India Radio

AIRS : Atmospheric Infra Red Sounder

AIS : Automatic Information System

ALTIKA : Altimeter in Ka band

ALTM : Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper

AMS : Agro-Met Stations

AMSU-A : Advanced Sounding Unit

ANTRIX : Antrix Corporation Limited

AOCE : Attitude Orbit & Control Electronics

AOCS : Attitude and Orbit Control System

AOD : Aerosol Optical Depth

APEP : Ammonium Perchlorate Experimental Plant

APIO : Assistant Public Information Officer

APXS : Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer

ARFI : Aerosol Radiative Forcing over India

ARG : Automatic Rain Gauge

ASI : Italian Space Agency

ASIC : Application Specific Integrated Circuit

AT-CTM : Atmospheric Trace gases Composition and Transport Modelling

ATS : Aero Thermo Structure

ATV : Advanced Technology Vehicle

AVIS : Advanced Vehicle Imaging System

AWiFS : Advanced Wide Field Sensor

AWS : Automatic Weather Station

BC : Black Carbon

BMU : Bus Management Unit

BPA : Blind People’s Association

BPCL : Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited

BPH : Brown Plant Hopper

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BSNL : Bharath Sanchar Nigam Limited

BSS : Broadcast Satellite Services

C1XS : Chandrayaan-1 imaging X-ray Spectrometer

CARTOSAT : CARTOgraphic SATellite

CBH : Cloud Base Height

C-C : Carbon-Carbon

CCD : Charge Coupled Device

CCTV : Closed Circuit Television System

C-DAC : Centre for Development of Advanced Computing

CDR : Comprehensive Design Review/Critical Design Review

CEC : Centre for Education and Communication

CEOS : Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

CES : Crew Escape System

CFD : Computational Fluid Dynamics

CFRP : Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic

CGMS : Coordinating Group on Meteorological Satellites

CGWB : Central Ground Water Board

ChACE : Chandra’s Altitudinal Composition Explorer

CIET : Central Institute of Educational Technology

CIMR : Central Institute of Mentally Retarded

CM : Crew Module

CME : Coronal Mass Ejection

CMG : Construction and Maintenance Group

CMS : Content Management System

CNES : Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (French Space Agency)

COSPAR : COmmittee on SPAce Research

CPM : Charge Particle Monitor

CRS mode : Coarse Resolution ScanSAR mode

CS : Cryogenic Stage

CSA : Canadian Space Agency

CSSTE-AP : Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Asia

and the Pacific

CUSP : Cryogenic Upper Stage Project

CWC : Central Water Commission

CWDS : Cyclone Warning Dissemination System

CZT : Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride

DAE : Department of Atomic Energy

DAT : Distress Alert Transmitter

DC : Digital Camera

DCS : Data Collection System

DCWDS : Digital CWDS

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DD : Door Darshan

DDWS : Digital Disaster Warning System

DECU : Development and Educational Communication Unit

DEM : Digital Elevation Model

DES : Delhi Earth Station

DGCA : Directorate General of Civil Aviation

DMDD : Digital Meteorological Data Dissemination

DMS : Disaster Management Support

DMSAR : Disaster Management Synthetic Aperture Radar

DMS-DSC : DMS- Decision support Centre

DOLR : Department of Land Resources

DORIS : Doppler Orbitography and Radio positioning Integrated by Satellite

DOS : Department Of Space

DRDO : Defence Research and Development Organisation

DRS : Direct Reception Systems

DRT : Data Relay Transponder

DSC : Decision Support Centre

DSD : Drop Size Distribution

DSNG : Digital Satellite News Gathering

DSS : Decision Support Systems

DTH : Direct To Home (TV)

EBW : Electron Beam Welding

ECLSS : Environmental Control & Life Support System

ECMWF : European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts

EIA : Equatorial Ionization Anamoly

EIRP : Effective Isotropic Radiated Power

EMC : Electro Magnetic Compatibility

EME-VS : Energy and Mass Exchanges in Vegetative Systems

EMI : Electro Magnetic Interference environment

EO : Earth Observation

EOL : End Of Life

ERNET : Education and Research Network

ESA : European Space Agency

ESF : Equatorial Spread-F

ETV : Educational Television

EUMETSAT : European Organisation for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellite

FAC : Failure Analysis Committee

FADS : Flush Air Data Systems

FAS : Fire Alarm System

FASAL : Forecasting Agricultural output using Space Agro-meteorology and Land based

observations

115

FM : Flight Model

FMIS : Flood Management Information System

FOP : Final Operational Phase

FSAT : Final System Acceptance Test

FYP : Five Year Plan

GAC : Global Area Coverage

GAGAN : GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation

GBP : Geosphere Biosphere Programme

GCP : Ground Control Point

GCPL : Ground Control Points Library

GEO LUT : GEOSAR Local User Terminal

GEO : Geostationary Earth Orbit

GEOSAR : Geostationary Earth Orbit Search And Rescue

GIS : Geographical Information System

GMRT : Giant Meter Wave Radio Telescope

GNSS : Global Navigation Satellite System

GOES : Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GPM : Global Precipitation Measurement

GPS : Global Positioning System

GSD : Ground Sampling Distance

GSLV : Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

GSO : GeoSynchronous Orbit

GTO : Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit

HDAS : Hybrid Data Acquisition System

HDTV : High Definition Television

HEX : High Energy X-Ray Spectrometer

HILS : Hardware In-Loop Simulation

HMC : Hybrid Micro Circuits

HPT : High Power Transmitter

HSP : Human Space Flight Program

HYLAS : Highly Adaptable Satellite

HySi : Hyper Spectral imager

IADC : Inter Agency Debris Coordination Committee

IAF : International Astronautical Federation

IAO : International Astronomy Olympiad

ICAR : Indian Council of Agricultural Research

ICARB : Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, Gases and Radiation Budget

ICC : INSAT Coordination Committee

ICG : International Committee for GNSS

ICT : Information &Communication Technology

IDCA : Integrated Detector Cooler Assembly

116

IGCAR : Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

IGM-MLDF : ISRO GIVE Model-Multi Layer Data Fusion

IGNOU : Indira Gandhi National Open University

IGOS : International Global Observing Strategy

IIA : Indian Institute of Astrophysics

IIRS : Indian Institute of Remote Sensing

IISc : Indian Institute of Science

IIST : Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

IISU : ISRO Inertial Systems Unit

IIT : Indian Institute of Technology

IMD : India Meteorological Department

IMDPS : INSAT Meteorological Data Processing System

IMGEOS : Integrated Multi mission Ground segment for Earth Observation

Satellite

IMS-1 : Indian Mini Satellite-1

INCOIS : Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

INCOSPAR : Indian National COmmittee for SPAce Research

INLUS : Indian Navigation Land Uplink Station

INMCC : Indian Mission Control Centre

INMCC : Indian Navigation Master Control Centres

INRES : Indian Navigation Reference Earth Stations

INSAT : Indian National Satellite

INTELSAT : International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation

IOAA : International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics

IOCL : Indian Oil Corporation Limited

IOT : In Orbit Testing

IPDR : Incremental Preliminary Design Review

IPR : Intellectual Property Rights

IR : Infra Red

IRIMS : Indian Ranging Integrity and Monitoring Station

IRNSS : Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System

IRNWT : IRNSS Network Timing

IRS : Indian Remote sensing Satellite

ISAC : ISRO SAtellite Centre

ISEB : International Space Education Board

ISECG : International Space Exploration Coordination Group

ISITE : ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment

ISPRS : International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

ISRO : Indian Space Research Organisation

ISRO-GBP : ISRO - Geosphere Biosphere Programme

ISRO-SSPS : ISRO Space Science Promotion Scheme

117

ISTRAC : ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network

ITP : Interactive Training Programme

ITR : Integrated Technical Review

ITRF : International Terrestrial Reference Frame

JCM : Joint Consultative Machinery

KMML : Kerala Minerals & Metals Limited

LAC : Local Area Coverage

LAI : Leaf Area Index

LAM : Liquid Apogee Motor

LAXPCs : Large Area Xenon-filled Proportional Counters

LC : Lander Craft module

LEOP : Launch & Early Orbit Phase

LEOS : Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems

LEOSAR : Low Earth Orbit Search And Rescue

LH2 : Liquid Hydrogen

LHS : Laser Heating System

LIDAR : Light Detection and Ranging

LISS : Linear Imaging Self Scanner

LiVHySI : Limb Viewing Hyper Spectral Imager

LLRI : Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument

LMS : Learning Management System

LN2 : Liquid Nitrogen

LOX : Liquid Oxygen

LPSC : Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre

LPT : Low Power Transmitter

LRA : Laser Retro reflector Array

LU/LC : Land Use / Land Cover

LUT : Local User Terminal

M3 : Moon Mineralogy Mapper

MADRAS : Microwave Analysis and Detection of Rain and Atmospheric structures

MAN : Marine Aerosol Network

MAST : Multi-Application-Solar Telescope

MCC : Mission Control Centre

MCF : Master Control Facility

MCIT : Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

MCPC : Multi-Channel Per Carrier

MDDC : Meteorological Data Dissemination Centre

MEMS : Micro Electro Mechanical Systems

MEOSAR : Medium Earth Orbit Search And Rescue

METF : Main Engine Test Facility

MIP : Moon Impact Probe

118

MIS : Management Information System

MMIC : Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit

MMU : Mission Management Unit

MOEF : Ministry of Environment Forests

MOSDAC : Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre

MOU : Memorandum of Understanding

MOX : Mission Operations CompleX

MSS : Mobile Satellite Service

MT : Megha-Tropiques

MX : Multi Spectral

NAL : National Aerospace Laboratories

NARL : National Atmospheric Research Laboratory

NBSS&LUP : National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning

NCP : National Carbon Project’

NDEM : National Data base for Emergency Management

NDMA : National Disaster Management Authority

NE-SAC : North Eastern-Space Applications Centre

NGO : Non Government Organisation

NHN : Nickel Hydrazine Nitrate

NIAS : National Institute of Advanced Studies

NICNET : National Informatics Centre Network

NIR : Near Infrared Region

NNRMS : National Natural Resources Management System

NOEDA : NRSC Open EO Data Archive

NPL : National Physical Laboratory

NPP : Net Primary Production

NRC : Natural Resources Census

NRDB : Natural Resources Data Base

NRSA : National Remote Sensing Agency

NRSC : National Remote Sensing Centre

NRTP : Near Real Time Processing

NSDI : National Spatial Data Infrastructure

NSGU : Navigation Signal Generation Unit

NUIS : National Urban Information System

OBC : Other Backward Classes

OBTP : Oxidizer Booster Turbo Pump

OC : Orbiter Craft

OCM : Ocean Colour Monitor

OFC : Optical Fibre Cable

OLIC : Official Language Implementation Committee

OSR : Optical Solar Reflector

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PAN : Panchromatic Camera

PC-NNRMS : Planning Committee of NNRMS

PDR : Preliminary Design Review

PI : Principal Investigators

PIO : Public Information Officer

PLANEX : Planetary Science and Exploration

POLIX : X-ray Polarimeter Experiment

PRL : Physical Research Laboratory

PS : Parallel Sessions

PSAT : Preliminary System Acceptance Test

PSLV : Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

QA : Quality Assurance

QM : Qualification Model

RaBIT : Radio Beacon for Ionospheric Tomography

RADOM : RAdiation DOse Monitor

RAWEX : Regional Aerosol Warming Experiment

RCC : Rescue Co-ordination Centres

RCI : Rehabilitation Council of India

RCS : Reaction Control System

RESPOND : Research Sponsored by ISRO

RH : Rohini

RISAT : Radar Imaging Satellite

RLV : Reusable Launch Vehicle

RLV-TD : RLV-Technology Demonstrator

RN : Radio Networking

ROS : Radio Occultation System

ROSA : Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies

ROTs : Receive Only Terminals

RRI : Raman Research Institute

RRSC : Regional Remote Sensing Centre

RS : Restricted Service

RTI : Right to Information

SAC : Space Applications Centre

SADA : Solar Array Drive Assembly

SAG : Scientific Analysis Group

SAPHIR : Sounder for Probing Vertical Profile of Humidity

SAR : Synthetic Aperture Radar

SARA : Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser

SARAL : Satellite with ARgos and ALtika

SAS&R : Satellite Aided Search and Rescue

SASI : Shortwave Angle Slope Index

120

SAW : Surface Acoustic Wave

SBAS : Satellite Based Augmentation System

SCARAB : Scanner for Radiation Budget Measurement

SCL : Semi-Conductor Laboratory

SCPC : Single Channel per Carrier

SDSC SHAR : SatishDhawanSpace Centre SHAR

SFCG : Space Frequency Coordination Group

SHARES : Sharing of Experience in Space

SIS-DP : Space based Information System for Decentralised Planning

SITs : Satellite Interactive Terminals

SITVC : Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control

SNG : Satellite Navigation Group

SOLRAD : Solar Radiation Detector

SPL : Space Physics Laboratory

SPS : Standard Positioning Service

SRE : Space capsule Recovery Experiment

SRS : Software Requirement Specifications

SSB : Small Satellite Bus

SSIF : Space Science and Instrumentation Facility

SSM : Scanning X-ray Sky Monitor

SSPA : Solid State Power Amplifier

SSS : Small Satellite Systems

SST : Sea Surface Temperature

STC : Space Technology Cell

STFS : Standard Time and Frequency Signal

SWIR : Short Wave InfraRed

SXT : Soft X-ray Imaging Telescope System

TAD : Travelling Atmospheric Disturbance

TCA : Total Carbonaceous Aerosols

TCR : Telecommand Control and Ranging Services

TCXO : Temperature Controlled Crystal Oscillator

TDCC : Training and Development Communication Channel

TDMA : Time Division Multiple Access

TEC : Total Electron Content

TERLS : Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station

TES : Technology Experiment Satellite

TGA : Total Geographical Area

TMC : Terrain Mapping stereo Camera

TOSS : Transfer Orbit Support Service

TSP : Total Suspended Particulate

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TSTC : Technical Support and Training Centre

TSTO : Two Stage To Orbit

TTC : Telemetry, Tracking and Command

TTF : Terrain Test Facility

TWTA : Travelling Wave Tube Amplifier

UFA : Unfurlable Antenna

UHF : Ultra High Frequency

UHMWPE : Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

ULV : Unified Launch Vehicle

UN-COPUOS : United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

UN-ESCAP : United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

UNSPIDER : UN Platform for Space based Disaster Management and Emergency Response

UoP : University of Pune

UTC : Coordinated Universal Time

UV : Ultra Violet

UVIT : Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope

VHF : Very High Frequency

VHRR : Very High Resolution Radiometer

VIC : Variable Infiltration Capacity

VLPT : Very Low Power Transmitter

VLSI : Very Large Scale Integration

VNIR : Visible and Near Infrared Region

VPT : Video Picture Transmission

VRC : Village Resource Centre

VSAT : Very Small Aperture Terminal

VSSC : Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

WiFS : Wide Field Sensor

WOFOST : World Food Studies

WRIS : Water Resource Information System

WSIS : Water-Soluble Inorganic Species

XRF : X-ray Fluorescence