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Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav: ISRO 'Space On Wheels' Chronicles 75 Satellites Launched Under Indian Space Programme

Since the inception of the Indian space programme, ISRO has designed and developed satellites for a wide variety of applications, such as communication, meteorology, Earth observation & space science.

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently shared a documentary titled "Space on Wheels" which portrays an exhibition on 75 Indian satellites as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative by the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of India's independence. 

The documentary also highights ISRO's upcoming missions including the Gaganyaan Programme and Chandrayaan-3 mission.

History Of ISRO

Space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960s. The American satellite 'Syncom-3' conducted live transmission of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, demonstrating the power of communication satellites. 

Seeing this, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the Father of the Indian space programme, recognised the benefits of space technologies for India.

Dr Sarabhai envisioned that the resources in space have the potential to address the real problems of society.

In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up under the Department of Atomic Energy, to spearhead space research activities. In August 1969, the Indian Space Research Organisation was established in place of INCOSPAR. 

In the early stages of the Indian space programme, St Mary Magdalene Church in the fishing village of Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, served as the main office for scientists. 

The Indian space programme had three distinct elements — satellites for communication and remote sensing, the space transportation system, and application programmes. The Indian satellite programme commenced on April 19, 1975, with the launch of India's first experimental satellite Aryabhatta. Launched using a Soviet launcher, Aryabhatta was placed in low-Earth orbit. The satellite carried out communication with ground stations in the very high frequency (VHF) range. 

Since the inception of the Indian space programme, ISRO has designed and developed satellites for a wide variety of applications, such as communication, meteorology, Earth observation, space science, and navigation. 

Rohini Series

In the video, the narrator talks about the Rohini series of satellites, which carried launch vehicle monitoring instruments. The Rohini Satellite RS-1 was a 35 kilogram-satellite designed with a power handling capacity of 16 Watts. Launched aboard Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3), which is India's first experimental satellite launch vehicle, the RS-1 satellite carried digital sun sensors, a magnetometer, and temperature sensors. RS-1 became the first satellite of India to be launched by an SLV-3. 

The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE)

During 1975-1976, an experiment called the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was conducted under the Indian Space Programme. SITE benefitted around 200,000 people, covering 2,400 villages of six states and transmitted development oriented programmes using the American Technology Satellite (ATS-6). As many as 50,000 science teachers in primary schools were trained in one year through this experiment.

APPLE

Based on the lessons learnt from the experiment, the Indian space agency launched its first dedicated communication satellite, the Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE). 

This was an experimental satellite successfully launched by Ariane-1, from Kourou, French Guiana, on June 19, 1981.

APPLE was the first satellite to be placed in geostationary orbit, and also the first three-axis stabilised satellite built by ISRO. Three-axis stabilisation is a method used to orient satellites. Three-axis stabilised satellites have small spinning wheels, called reaction wheels or momentum wheels, which rotate in order keep the satellite in the desired orientation with respect to the Earth and Sun. The spinning wheels speed up or slow down if satellite sensors detect that the satellite is moving away from the proper orientation. 

APPLE became the forerunner for future communication satellite systems. 

INSAT And GSAT Series

The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system was established in 1983, with the commissioning of INSAT-B. The INSAT series initiated a major revolution in India's communication sector. The INSAT system was followed by the GSAT series. 

Both INSAT and GSAT have served as multipurpose geostationary satellite systems providing S band, Ku-band, and Ka-band transponders for high power television broadcast and telecommunications, mobile satellite services, and Direct-To-Home services, the narrator explained. 

The frequency range of the S band is two to four Gigahertz. The Ku-band ranges from 12 to 18 Gigahertz. The frequency range of Ka-band is 27 to 40 Gigahertz.

INSAT and GSAT satellite series have also proved helpful during search and rescue operations. 

INSAT-2A

INSAT-2A is the first multipurpose satellite built by ISRO. It was successfully operationalised in August 1992. 

The satellite boosted the telephony and television applications in India, and drastically changed the telecommunications sector. INSAT-2A also provided meteorology services, and aided in search and rescue operations. 

INSAT-2C 

This is the first satellite to carry Ku-band Payload. It was launched on December 7, 1995.

INSAT-2E

INSAT-2E marked the first time charge-coupled device (CCD) transponder and water vapour channels were introduced in a satellite. A CCD is a light-sensitive integrated circuit that captures images by converting photons to electrons. 

Launched on April 3, 1999, INSAT-2E was the last of the INSAT-2 series of satellites, and was a multipurpose satellite for telecommunication, television broadcasting, and meteorological services. The satellite extended beam coverage outside India. 

INSAT-3B

THE INSAT-3B satellite was launched on March 22, 2000, from French Guiana, atop an Ariane-5 rocket. The satellite is the first of the five ISRO satellites built under the INSAT-3 series. INSAT-3B primarily served the purposes of business, mobile,and developmental communications.

GSAT-1

The GSAT-1 satellite was launched on April 18, 2001 by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-D1. It was the first geostationary satellite to be launched using the GSLV.

The satellite carried three C-band transponders and one S-band transponder. C-band is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum allotted for satellite transmissions in the frequency range of four to eight Gigahertz. 

GSAT-1 is used for conducting communication experiments such as digital audio broadcast, according to ISRO. It was specifically designed as a payload for the first mission of GSLV.

INSAT-3A

Launched on April 10, 2003, INSAT-3A was the third satellite of the INSAT-3 series. It was a multipurpose satellite which provided services such as telecommunications, television broadcast, and aided in metrological activities and search and rescue operations. It had a mission life of 12 years. 

INSAT-3A had satellites in three bands: C band, extended C band, and Ku-band. The bands from 3.4 to 3.7 Gigahertz (space-to-Earth), and 6.425 to 6.725 Gigahertz (Earth-to-space) are known as the extended C band. 

GSAT-2 

The satellite was launched on May 8, 2003, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India. It carried four scientific experimental payloads — Total Radiation Dose Monitor (TRDM), Surface Charge Monitor (SCM), Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS), and Coherent Radio Beacon Experiment (CRABEX), which was used to investigate the equatorial ionospheric processes. 

GSAT-2 was the second satellite to be launched using GSLV. 

INSAT-3E

This is the fourth satellite launched in the INSAT-3 series. INSAT-3E was launched on September 28, 2003, as an exclusive communication satellite to further augment the communication services provided by the INSAT system. 

EDUSAT

EDUSAT, or GSAT-3, is the first geostationary satellite with dedicated application in the field of education. It drastically improved several government schools by introducing distance learning and tele-education. The "educational satellite" was launched on September 20, 2004, atop the GSLV-F01, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre. 

HAMSAT

HAMSAT was launched on May 5, 2005, using the launch vehicle PSLV-C6, as a micro-satellite for providing satellite-based amateur radio services to the national and international community of amateur radio operators (HAM). These are individuals who typically use equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals. 

INSAT-4A

Launched on December 22, 2005, INSAT-4A was the first Indian satellite to start DTH transmission in India. 

GSAT-8

It was launched on May 21, 2011, and is the first satellite to carry the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload, which is primarily meant for aviation. It also provides benefits beyond aviation such as intelligent transportation, maritime, highways, railways, surveying, security agencies, and telecommunications, among others. 

GSAT-12

This was the first communication geostationary satellite launched by PSLV. 

GSAT-6 

The satellite was launched on August 27, 2015. It is the first Indian satellite with spot beams in S band with an unfurlable antenna, which is an antenna that can be unfolded in space to form a bigger antenna. A spot beam is a satellite signal that is especially concentrated in power so that it will cover only a limited geographical area. 

GSAT-15

Launched on November 11, 2015, GSAT-15 is a high power satellite. 

GSAT-18 

Launched on October 6, 2016, GSAT-18 carried 48 communication transponders to provide services in normal C band, upper extended C band, and Ku-bands. 

GSAT-19

It was launched on June 5, 2017, and was designated as the "South Asian Satellite" as it was utilised by South Asian countries.

The Indian space agency has one of the most vibrant remote sensing programmes in the world. 

GSAT-11

GSAT-11 is a high-throughput satellite (HTS), a communications satellite which provides more throughput than conventional communication satellites, called Fixed Satellite Service. Throughput is a measure of how many units of information a system can process in a given amount of time. Higher throughput means there is a significant increase in capacity when using the same amount of orbital spectrum, which is a segment of radio spectrum that becomes available when satellites are placed into orbit.  

GSAT-11 provides multi-beam coverage, and excellent broadband services to users. It is the heaviest satellite built by ISRO, and was launched on December 5, 2018, from Kourou launch base, French Guiana, atop an Ariane-5 VA-246 rocket.

GSAT-30 

The Indian telecommunication satellite GSAT-30 was successfully launched into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) on January 17, 2020, atop an Ariane-5 VA-251 rocket, from Kourou launch base, French Guiana. To attain geosynchronous Earth orbits, a spacecraft is first launched into an elliptical orbit called geosynchronous transfer orbit. 

According to ISRO, GSAT-30 replaced the spacecraft services provided by INSAT-4A with enhanced coverage. GSAT-30 provides coverage in the Indian mainland and islands in Ku-band, and extended coverage in C-band, in the Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries, and Australia. 

Bhaskara-1

Bhaskara-1 was the first operational remote sensing satellite launched by ISRO. It carried a television camera with one kilometre-resolution and a satellite microwave radiometer (SAMIR), which was utilised in environmental applications such as weather forecasting and climate monitoring. SAMIR provided data on water vapour and liquid water content on a global scale. It had a resolution of 150 to 200 kilometres. 

The satellite was launched on June 7, 1979.

IRS-1A

IRS-1A, the first of the series of indigenous state-of-the-art remote sensing satellites, was launched on March 17, 1998. 

With the launch of IRS-1A, ISRO operationalised the Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor (LISS), Wide Field Sensor (WiFS), Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), and Panchromatic (PAN) Earth observation imaging sensor. 

Resourcesat Series

The series is providing useful data for applications in agriculture, forestry, land mapping, urban planning, disaster management, among others. 

Cartosat Series

The Cartosat series significantly helped remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) applications. 

According to ISRO, the era of very high-resolution optical imaging started with the launch of Cartosat-2, on January 10, 2007.

Kalpana-1

Kalpana-1 is the first in the series of exclusive meteorological satellites built by ISRO. It was launched on September 12, 2002. 

It carried two payloads: Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) and Data Relay Transponder (DRT). 

VHRR was designed to obtain atmospheric cloud cover, water vapour, and temperature data. 

Oceansat-1

Oceansat-1 marked the beginning of space-based observations for oceanographic applications for ISRO. It was launched on May 26, 1999.

Oceansat-1 carried an eight-channel Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Multi-frequency scanning microwave radiometer (MSMR).

Oceansat-1 was followed by Oceansat-2, which provided vital inputs for weather forecasting, and cyclone tracking and prediction. 

SCATSAT-1

SCATSAT-1 is a continuity mission for Oceansat-2 Scatterometer to provide data for weather forecasting, cyclone detection, and tracking services to users. Scatterometers are active remote sensing instruments for deriving wind direction and speed from the roughness of the sea. 

RISAT-1

Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) was a microwave remote sensing satellite carrying a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload. The satellite was launched on April 26, 2012.

The SAR operated in C-band, which enabled imaging of surface features during both day and night, in all weather conditions.

This facilitated applications in agriculture, particularly monitoring of paddy in the Kharif season, and management of natural disasters like floods and cyclones.

EOS-04

Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)-04 is a radar imaging satellite designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions and to facilitate applications such as agriculture, forestry, plantations, soil moisture, hydrology, and flood mapping. It was launched on February 14, 2022. 

DFSAR

A compact, light-weight dual frequency synthetic aperture radar (DFSAR) was flown on board Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, with full polarimetric capability. Polarimetry is the measurement of the angle of rotation of plane polarised light. This is a beam of light in which the vibrations of the electromagnetic waves are confined to one plane. 

The narrator said that the data received from remote sensing satellites is utilised for cartography (process of drawing maps), oceanography, land use, and climate studies. 

Megha-Tropiques 

Megha-Tropiques is an Indo-French joint satellite launched on October 12, 2011, for studying the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics. The main objective of the mission was to understand the life cycle of convective systems that influence the tropical weather and climate.

It provided scientific data on the contribution of the water cycle to the tropical atmosphere, with information on condensed water in clouds, water vapour in the atmosphere, precipitation, and evaporation. It was a unique satellite for climate research. 

In April 2022, ISRO announced the end of the mission for Megha-Tropiques because of some technical issues. 

SCATSAT-1

SCATSAT-1 carried the scatterometer-2 payload and helped measure wind velocity over the ocean. It was launched on September 26, 2016. 

HysIS

HysIS was launched on November 29, 2018. Its primary goal is to study Earth's surface in visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. 

The data provided by HysIS is used in a wide array of applications including agricultural and forestry.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS): NavIC

IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system that provides accurate real-time positioning and timing services to users in the country as well as the region extending up to 1500 kilometres from its boundary. NavIC is the acronym for Navigation with Indian Constellation. 

According to ISRO, IRNSS provides two types of services, namely Standard Positioning Service (SPS), which is provided to all users, and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to authorised users. 

Currently, the Indian Constellation is being extended to 11 satellites. 

Space Recovery Experiment Satellite (SRE)

This was the first step towards preparation for human spaceflight missions. SRE-1 was an Indian experimental spacecraft launched on January 10, 2007, from Sriharikota. 

ISRO Nano Satellites (INS)

On June 22, 2016, ISRO launched 14 nanosatellites for Indian universities, and 12 for the United States, during the PSLV-C34 mission.

On February 15, 2017, the Indian space agency launched 103 nanosatellites during the PSLV-C37 mission.

SROSS-C

The Stretched Rohini Satellite Series (SROSS) are a series of satellites developed by ISRO as follow ons to the Rohini series for conducting astrophysics, Earth remote sensing, and upper atmospheric monitoring experiments, and were the payload of the developmental flights of the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV).

IMS-1

IMS-1 was a low-cost microsatellite imaging mission of ISRO. It was the first microsatellite to be launched to provide educational institutes, research organisations, and government agencies with easy access to remote sensing data. 

Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, was launched successfully on October 22 2008, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The spacecraft orbited the Moon at a height of 100 kilometres from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical, and photo-geologic mapping of Earth's satellite. 

SARAL

SARAL was launched on February 25, 2013 for oceanographic studies. 

It carried two payloads built by the Paris based-National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), namely ALTIKA and AGROS. 

The applications included marine meteorology, sea state forecasting, operational oceanography, seasonal forecasting, climate monitoring, and climate research. 

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is India's first interplanetary mission. Also known as Mangalyaan, the space probe was launched on November 5, 2013. 

Mangalyaan has been orbiting Mars since September 24, 2014. The mission made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt. 

Mangalyaan carried out observations of the physical features of the Red Planet. The primary objective of the mission is to develop the technologies required for designing and planning operations of an interplanetary mission. 

ASTROSAT

ASTROSAT is the first Indian satellite fully dedicated to the study of astronomy. It is the space telescope of India, and was launched on September 28, 2015. It is India's first space observatory mission.

Its scientific objectives include understanding high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes, estimating the magnetic field of neutron stars, study star birth regions and high energy processes in stars systems lying beyond the Milky Way, detecting new X-ray sources in the sky, and performing a limited deep field survey of the universe in the ultraviolet region. 

Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by ISRO. The spacecraft consisted of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover. 

However, the lander crashed when it deviated from its intended trajectory while attempting to land on the Moon on September 6, 2019. 

ISRO has released more than 100 satellites in the last five decades. Of these, about 50 satellites are providing valuable services to the nation. 

ISRO Future Missions

ISRO is working on future satellite missions like Aditya L-1, Chandrayaan-3 mission, Gaganyaan mission, Venus Orbiter Mission, and  NISAR mission among others. 

Aditya L-1 is a planned coronagraphy spacecraft to study the solar atmosphere. Chandrayaan-3 is a planned third lunar exploration mission by ISRO, and will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2. However, it will not have an orbiter. 

The Gaganyaan Programme aims to demonstrate indigenous capability to undertake human spaceflight missions to low-Earth orbit.

Three flights will be sent into low-Earth orbit under the Gaganyaan Programme. These include two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight.

The upcoming missions will enhance the technological capabilities of the nation and will make a significant contribution to scientific research and development.

ISRO is making a humongous effort for the betterment of mankind in various fields such as meteorology, communication, tele-education, and telemedicine, among others.

Towards the end of the documentary, the narrator said: "Thus, ISRO is successful in translating the dreams of Dr Vikram Sarabhai for the upliftment of the society."

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