MEGHA-TROPIQUES,VesselSat,Jugnu,SRMSat=PSLV-C16(CA)-12.10.11

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http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2113608.ece

GSLV to launch GSAT–14 during mid-2012[/size]

The Indian Space Research Organisation, which has planned to put three satellites into the orbit with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle before end of this year, will send its GSAT -14 with its indigenously developed Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle D-5 during mid-2012, Chairman, ISRO, K. Radhakrishnan has informed.

Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the two-day national conference on 'Expanding frontiers in propulsion technology' at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in Mahendragiri in the district on Friday, Dr. Radhakrishnan said the ISRO, which had learnt a lot of highly valuable lessons from the unsuccessful flight of GSLV D-3 in April 2010, was working hard on the rectifying the problems to make the GSLV D-5 flight a resounding victory. GSAT–14 satellite would have C-band communication transponders.

Towards achieving self-reliance in the development of the Mark III engine for GSLV, the S-200 solid propellant motor would be subjected to static test, which would be the repeat of the successful test that was conducted in January 2010.

Moreover, the ISRO has planned to launch GSAT – 12, which will have extended C-band transponders, with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle during next month.

After launching Meghatropique satellite, an Indo – French joint venture, in September 2011, the ISRO will be concentrating on the launching of Microwave Remote Sensing Satellite – RISAT – 1 – during December this year.

"Our PSLVs will launch these satellites that will provide us clear and excellent pictures even though the sky is overcast," Dr. Radhakrishnan said.

According to the ISRO chief, his prestigious testing centre at Mahendragiri had been adorned with one more most-modern facility – Thrust Chamber Test Facility – for testing the GSLV Mark III engine's cryogenic stage. "It will be ready for commissioning within next 60 days".

Inaugurating the conference, Dr. Radhakrishnan stressed the need for engaging more private firms with adequate and state-of-the-art research and development facilities in ISRO's missions and the leading educational institutions as is being done in the United States and Russia.

He stressed the need for developing non-chemical, electro and ionic propellants, "which will have longer life and propel the satellite in its orbit for more period."

Releasing the conference proceedings, Sathish Dhawan Space Centre Director M.C. Dathan hoped that the ISRO, with its highly committed and enthusiastic young workforce, would scale greater heights in the days to come.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director P.S. Veeraraghavan said due importance should be given for developing eco-friendly 'green propellants' and for launching a payload with nuclear fission.

LPSC Director S. Ramakrishnan delivered the keynote address on 'Expanding frontiers in propulsion technology'. Former LPSC director AE. Muthunayagam and Aeronautical Society of India secretary general Ashok Bhushan offered felicitations.

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http://www.orari.or.id/read.php?id=256

LAPAN-ORARI Satellite[/size]
24 Februari 2010, Reporter: Wisnu YB0AZ
The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) in collaboration with the Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universit

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http://meghatropiques.ipsl.polytechnique.fr/

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http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/megha-tropiques.htm

Megha-Tropiques[/size]



Megha-Tropiques [ISRO]

The french-indian Megha-Tropiques satellite is devoted to the atmospheric research. The data collected by the satellite will allow to improve our knowledge on the water cycle contribution to the climate dynamic in the tropical atmosphere and our understanding of the processes linked to the tropical convection.

The basic principles of the Megha-Tropiques mission are to:

    provide simultaneous measurements of several elements of the atmospheric water cycle : water vapour, clouds, condensed water in clouds, precipitation and evaporation,
    measure the corresponding radiative budget at the top of the atmosphere,
    ensure high temporal sampling in order to characterise the life cycle of the convective system and to obtain significant statistics.

Megha-Tropiques will be built on ISRO's IRS bus instead of the originally planned Proteus Bus to reduce the pressure on CNES budget. The payload is constituted of:

    MADRAS : a microwave imager aimed mainly at studying precipitation and clouds properties,
    SAPHIR : a 6 channels microwave radiometer for the retrieval of water vapour vertical profiles and horizontal distribution,
    SCARAB : a radiometer devoted to the measurement of outgoing radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere.

MADRAS is to be developed jointly by ISRO and CNES. SAPHIR and SCARAB are to be developed by CNES.
Nation:    India, France
Type / Application:    Earth Science
Operator:    ISRO, CNES
Contractors:    Alcatel Space, ISRO
Equipment:    MADRAS, SAPHIR, SCARAB
Configuration:    IRS Bus
Propulsion:    
Power:    2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime:    
Mass:    ~1000 kg
Orbit:    867 km x 867 km, 20°

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http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/lapan-a2.htm

LAPAN A2[/size]



LAPAN A2 [LAPAN]

LAPAN A2 is an indonesian microsatellite based on the LAPAN-Tubsat. It carries an AIS (Automatic Identification System) to identify the ships in the waters of Indonesia and a video camera with a range three times wider than the Lapan-Tubsat.

The satellite structure and many subsystems are the same as in it's sister satellite LAPAN-ORARI (LAPAN A3).

The earth observation payload of LAPAN A2 consists of a Video camera (Kappa PAL) for 80 km width ground coverage and a Video camera (Kappa HDTV for high resolution satellite color video observation with a ground resolution of 6 m and a ground coverage of 11

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http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/lapan-orari.htm

LAPAN-ORARI (LAPAN A3)[/size]



LAPAN-ORARI [LAPAN]

LAPAN-ORARI (LAPAN A3) is a indonesian microsatellite for disaster management by amateur radio communication, as well as earth observation (multi-spectral remote sensing) for land use, natural resource and environment monitoring.

The satellite structure and many subsystems are the same as in it's sister satellite LAPAN A2.

LAPAN-ORARI carries a payload of voice repeaters and an APRS Repeater for communications of the Organisation for Amateur Radio Indonesia (ORARI) during a disaster. The earth observation payload consists of a Video camera (PAL RGB) for 80 km width coverage and a 3 band multi-spectral imaging camera with a ground resolution of 24 m and 154 km swath width. This satellite will also carry the ADI (Attitute Determination Instrument) star tracker.
Nation:    Indonesia
Type / Application:    Communication
Operator:    LAPAN, ORARI
Contractors:    LAPAN
Equipment:    voice repeater, APRS repeater, ADI
Configuration:    
Propulsion:    None
Power:    Solar cells, batteries

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2260309.ece

It is now getting ready for the launch of Megha-Tropiques satellite, an Indo-French joint venture, from the spaceport at Sriharikota by the end of September.

 The PSLV-C18 will put the 1,000-kg Megha-Tropiques (Megha in Sanskrit means cloud and Tropiques in French means tropics), being built by the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, into an 867 km orbit. It will be useful in studying the weather in tropical countries.[/size]

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http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/110809-strong-quarter-has-orbcomm-feeling-bullish.html

Eisenberg said a satellite Orbcomm is leasing from LuxSpace of Luxembourg to provide AIS ship identification for maritime authorities is scheduled for launch Sept. 25.

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Lapan A2 и A3 ушли вправо на другие пуски:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=1173.msg791265#msg791265

Lapan-A2 is now planned to be launched in January 2012.
(source in Indonesian)
Originally it was supposed to be launched with Astrosat
(source)

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http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/content/83057611-recent-successful-missions-indias-space-program

Preparations are on for launching Megha-Tropiques satellite on board PSLC-C18 during end September. Megha-Tropiques (or MT -Megha means "cloud" in Sanskrit; Tropiques is the French word for "tropics.") is a cooperative experimental mission of ISRO and CNES, the space agencies of India and France, with the objective to study the convective systems (water cycle and energetic exchanges) that affect the ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone), in particular in the latitudes between 10

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/isro-getting-ready-for-climate-research-satellite-megha-tropiques-launch/articleshow/9636393.cms

17 Aug, 2011, 04.13PM IST, PTI
ISRO getting ready for climate research satellite Megha-Tropiques launch[/size]

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation has set in motion preparations for launch of Megha-Tropiques, an advanced weather and climate research satellite, on board PSLV from Sriharikota spaceport next month-end.

"Preparations are underway for launch of the satellite in September end", sources in the Bangalore-headquartered space agency told PTI today.

ISRO and French National Space Centre (CNES) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for development and implementation of the joint atmospheric satellite mission nearly seven years ago.

Sources said top CNES officials are slated to witness the launch by PSLV, ISRO's work-horse launch vehicle.

Megha-Tropiques (Megha meaning cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques meaning tropics in French) is meant for investigating the contribution of the water cycle in the tropical atmosphere to climate dynamics.

The satellite would carry four scientific instruments, including a Microwave Analysis and Detection of Rain and Atmospheric Structures (MADRAS) radiometer developed jointly by ISRO and CNES to provide information on rain above the oceans and integrated water vapour content in the atmosphere.

ISRO has built the Megha-Tropiques spacecraft, which is similar to the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites.

"The satellite will be placed in 867 km high orbit at an inclination of 20 degrees with respect to the equatorial plane. In this orbit, the satellite will be able to collect scientific data covering the tropical regions", a senior ISRO official said.

Placing it in a low inclination orbit would facilitate high temporal re-visit capability over the tropical region. This orbit would enhance observational capability of the rapidly developing tropical systems and enable monitoring of weather and climate over the entire tropical world.

ISRO would control the satellite in orbit and also receive, process and distribute the scientific data from the satellite.

"Megha-Tropiques is an important mission which will provide vital atmospheric data over the tropical region that would help in monsoon variability studies", the official said.

Megha-Tropiques, with its unique combination of scientific payloads and its special orbit,is expected to provide valuable data for climate research.Besides Indian and French scientists scientists, international teams of scientists working on global climate related studies had evinced keen interest in the Megha-Tropiques mission.

Megha-Tropiques, one of the most advanced and complex tropical weather and climate monitoring satellites, has been conceived primarily to investigate the tropical regions as they receive maximum energy from the Sun than they radiate back into space.[/size]

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http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/isro-to-launch-3-nano-spacecraft-along-with-meghatropiques/799165.html

ISRO to launch 3 nano spacecraft along with Megha-Tropiques[/size]
PTI | 07:08 PM,Aug 24,2011

Bangalore, Aug 24 (PTI) ISRO plans to launch three nano satellites, including one from Luxembourg, and an advanced weather and climate research satellite, on board PSLV from Sriharikota spaceport next month.The other two nano "piggy-back" satellites, which would be co-passengers of Megha-Tropiques, are one from SRM University and the other named "Jugnu" is a research spacecraft from IIT Kanpur, ISRO sources told PTI.The SRM satellite, aimed at monitoring green house gases, is a student-driven research project funded by the university.Megha-Tropiques is a joint atmospheric mission of ISRO and French National Space Centre (CNES).Sources said top CNES officials are slated to witness the launch by PSLV, ISRO's work-horse launch vehicle.Megha-Tropiques (Megha meaning cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques denoting tropics in French) will investigate the contribution of water cycle in the tropical atmosphere to climate dynamics.[/size]

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http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/isro-to-launch-satellite-meghatropiques/808742.html

ISRO to launch satellite Megha-Tropiques[/size]
PTI | 09:09 PM,Sep 01,2011

Chennai, Sep 1 (PTI) The Indian Space Research Organisation today said it planned to launch Megha-Tropiques, an advanced weather and climate satellite, onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) later this month. The satellite would be launched this month-end onboard ISRO's workhorse PSLV from spaceport Sriharikota, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of a function. "The preparations are going on," he said adding the satellite would carry four scientific instruments, developed jointly by ISRO and French national space agency centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) to provide information on rain above the oceans and water vapour content in the atmosphere. Megha-Tropiques is similar to Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite. According to ISRO, the agency and CNES were pursuing co-operative programmes since 1993 under which joint satellite missions like Megha-Tropiques were taken up to study the atmosphere and the oceans. Besides Megha-Tropique, Radhakrishnan said, the PSLV would also carry three nano satellites for monitoring green house gases. While one nano satellite was from Luxembourg, SRM University and IIT Kanpur have developed one each.[/size]

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http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-08-29/news/29941347_1_nano-satellite-jugnu-iit-kanpur

IIT-Kanpur plans to launch nano satellite 'Jugnu' in September[/size]
PTI Aug 29, 2011, 03.35pm IST

KANPUR: IIT-Kanpur's indigenously built nano satellite 'Jugnu' is likely to be launched by the end of September from Sriharikota, an official of the institute said today.

ISRO scientists have given the green signal to the engineering model, while the flight model is being assembled in Banglore, IITK Registrar Sanjeev Kashalkar said.

Over 62 students and faculty members of the institute worked hard to built 'Jugnu' weighing 3 kg, he said.

On being asked about the delay in the project, he said it took some time for the faculty members and students as it was an indigenously built satellite.[/size]

http://www.indiablooms.com/EnvironmentDetailsPage/environmentDetails290811a.php

IIT Kanpur's satellite to launch in September[/size]
India Blooms News Service

Kanpur, Aug 29 (IBNS): An indigenous nano satellite 'Jugnu', designed and developed by students and faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) is expected to be launched by the end of September, a media said on Monday.

Three years in the making by team of 62 students and faculty members, and completed at less than its Rs 2 crore budget, the 3 kg satellite with an expected life span of one year, is likely to be launched Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The development of satellite, started in the year 2008 with a team of 3 students and was expected to be launched during the varsity's Golden Jubilee year (Aug 2009 - Dec 2010) by Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

"These low weights, cost effective nano-satellite have significant role to play in the cost reduction, experimentation, reduction in the development and testing time for the new technologies and will significantly change the satellite development activity in the future," IITK had said.[/size]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/iit-k-to-launch-nano-satellite-jugnu-in-sept_728923.html

IIT-K to launch nano satellite 'Jugnu' in Sept[/size]
Last Updated: Monday, August 29, 2011, 15:37
 
IIT-K to launch nano satellite `Jugnu` in Sept Kanpur: IIT-Kanpur's indigenously built nano satellite 'Jugnu' is likely to be launched by the end of September from Sriharikota, an official of the institute said today.

ISRO scientists have given the green signal to the engineering model, while the flight model is being assembled in Banglore, IITK Registrar Sanjeev Kashalkar said.

Over 62 students and faculty members of the institute worked hard to built 'Jugnu' weighing 3 kg, he said.

On being asked about the delay in the project, he said it took some time for the faculty members and students as it was an indigenously built satellite.

"Jugnu is likely to be launched by the end of next month if everything goes according to our plans," he said.

Even though Rs two crore was sanctioned for developing the satellite, the cost was brought down to a lesser amount as the institute came up with indigenous technique, he said.

Both ISRO and IIT-K had signed an MoU to develop the micro satellite in 2008.

The satellite which will be in the space for about a year will be launched with the help of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), he said.

The data received from 'Jugnu' will be studied with the help of a tracking system installed at IIT-K and the received pictures and information from it will be used for research purpose.

The satellite will help in gathering information regarding flood, drought and disaster management, he said, adding its control room and ground station both will be at IIT-K.

PTI [/size]

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http://www.thalesgroup.com/Press_Releases/Markets/Space/2011/The_atmospheric_sounder_for_the_Megha-Tropiques/?pid=16721

Thales Alenia Space has delivered the atmospheric sounder for the Megha-Tropiques environmental satellite[/size]


05 September 2011

Cannes, September 5 2011. Thales Alenia Space has delivered to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) the flight model of the Radio Occultation Sounder for the Atmosphere (ROSA), which will be integrated into the Indian-French Megha-Tropiques mission designed to study our planet's atmosphere. The delivery took place at ISRO's Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bangalore.

Developed and built under ASI contract, the ROSA instrument is composed of a GPS receiver and two dual frequency antennas to pick up signals through the atmosphere. The instrument conducts its atmospheric sounding by monitoring navigation signals from the satellites of the GPS constellation while – as seen from the observing satellite – they set through the atmospheric limb on the Earth's horizon or raise from it.

Raw data measured by ROSA are beamed back to Earth where the analysis of the phase delay on GPS signals crossing through the troposphere give a wealth of information, from which it is possible to determine the temperature, pressure and humidity of the atmosphere, and thus to issue forecasts on the evolution and motion of weather fronts, to evaluate climatic trends, and to map the electron density as well as irregularities in the ionosphere in order to predict magnetic storms. The radio-occultation method allows to achieve a better vertical resolution than other infrared or microwave sensors.

The ROSA instrument was entirely designed and built by Thales Alenia Space Italy as prime contractor on behalf of ISRO. The instrument to be integrated on Megha-Tropiques will complement a science payload also consisting in three other instruments, one of which was jointly developed by ISRO and CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales), the French Space Agency, and the other two by CNES alone. This is the third similar sounder to be delivered by Thales Alenia Space. The previous two flight models were launched on September 23, 2009, onboard India's Oceansat 2 satellite for ISRO, and on June 10, 2011, on Argentina's SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas) for CONAE (Comisi

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http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/srmsat.htm

SRMSAT[/size]
 

SRMSAT [SRM]

SRMSAT is a microsat developed by the SRM University. Its purpose is to provide hands on experience to the students and the faculty of SRM University, to develop a 10 kg satellite, to monitor greenhouse gases and to develop a "Nano Satellite Bus" for future missions.

The scientific objective of SRMSAT is to monitor green house gases in Near Infrared region 900 nm - 1700 nm. A grating spectrometer is employed for the monitoring of Earth-based sources and sinks of anthropogenic and natural sources of greenhouse gases.
Nation:    India
Type / Application:    Technology, earth observation
Operator:    SRM University
Contractors:    SRM University
Equipment:    
Configuration:    
Propulsion:    None
Power:    Solar cells, batteries
Lifetime:    
Mass:    10 kg[/size]

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http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/jugnu.htm

Jugnu[/size]
 

Jugnu [IITK]

Jugnu is a 3U-cubsat built by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

The 3 kg nanosatellite will be used to provide data for agriculture and disaster monitoring. Jugnu has a design life of one year.

Jugnu's carries the Micro Imaging System, a near infrared camera which will be used to observe vegetation. Also on board is a GPS receiver to aid tracking, and is intended to demonstrate a microelectromechanical inertial measurement unit.

Jugnu will be launched piggy back into low Earth by a PSLV rocket.
Nation:    India
Type / Application:    Technology, earth observation
Operator:    Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Contractors:    Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Equipment:    Micro Imaging System, GPS receiver
Configuration:    CubeSat (triple)
Propulsion:    None
Power:    Solar cells, batteries
Lifetime:    1 year
Mass:    4 kg[/size]

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http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/BAN-isro-to-launch-2-satellites-this-month-2410715.html

ISRO to launch 2 satellites this month[/size]

Source: DNA   |   Last Updated 05:39(07/09/11)

BANGALORE: When Isro's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota later this month, the dreams of about 100 students would be realised.

For over three years now, students from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and the Chennai-based SRM University have been working on the design and development of two nano satellites.

Jugnu and SRMSAT designed and developed by the IITK and SRM University, respectively, will ride piggy-back on the Indo-French Megha-Tropiques when it will be launched from the spaceport later this month.

Professor Nalinaksh S Vyas, Jugnu project coordinator, told DNA that over 50 students from IITK were currently in Bangalore to give final touches to the satellite. "Final tests and integration are currently on at the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore," he said.

According to the Jugnu team, the programme development started in 2008 with a team of just three students and over time, the team has grown to 50 students drawn from I year undergraduate course to final year postgraduate courses and 14 professors from different disciplines.

The main objectives of the mission are to initiate research activities for the development of MEMS-based Nano-satellite, to test new cheap solutions for the future cost-effective space missions, to set the path for future upgradations and study such validation concepts for possible upgradations.

The SRMSAT is a 10 kg satellite, which has been designed and developed by SRM University's Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, and Chemical Engineering students. The satellite will monitor green house gases in the atmosphere.

ISRO has in the past launched student satellites. The space agency had launched STUDSAT, India's first pico-satellite which was developed by a consortium of seven engineering colleges from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

It had also launched the Indo-Russian satellite YOUTHSAT for stellar and atmospheric studies earlier this year.IIT Kanpur students who are part of the project.[/size]

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http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_indo-french-satellite-mission-to-launch-on-october-12_1585886

Indo-French satellite mission to launch on October 12[/size]
Published: Saturday, Sep 10, 2011, 21:50 IST
Place: Bangalore | Agency: PTI

India's top space agency today said the launch date of the Indo-French 'Megha-Tropiques' mission to study tropical climate, is slated for October 12.

"October 12th 11 o'clock is our target (for the launch) at the moment," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
Chairman K Radhakrishnan, who is also Secretary in the Department of Space and Space Commission, told reporters in Bangalore. It will be launched from the Sriharikota spaceport.

Bangalore-headquartered ISRO today held a pre-shipment review of Megha-Tropiques craft, weighing about 1,000kg, that has undergone all ground tests.

Megha-Tropiques (Megha meaning cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques denoting tropics in French), would be launched by India's workhorse rocket, the Rs90-crore PSLV (C18).

The satellite, with a five year life, will investigate the contribution of water cycle in the tropical atmosphere to climate dynamics.

ISRO has built the Megha-Tropiques spacecraft at a cost of Rs80 crore, along with an "equal contribution" from the French Space Agency CNES, officials said.

PSLV-C18 would also launch three nano satellites -- one from Luxembourg, "Jugnu" research spacecraft from IIT Kanpur and the third one to monitor greenhouse gases from SRM University.

Megha-Tropiques would carry three payloads (two by CNES and one jointly by ISRO and CNES) and a complementary scientific instrument.

"It's quite different from the remote sensing satellite or earth observation satellite that we have built so far," Radhakrishnan said.

"What's unique about this mission is of interest for the entire tropical region. As far as the output of this system (Megha-Tropiques) is concerned, the entire group of climate researchers are going to benefit.

"What we have today is a firm request from US and Europe for using Megha-Tropiques data," he added.[/size]

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http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26391.msg805645#msg805645

the Orbcomm AIS-Sat is named "VesselSat 1"