Indian Space and Defence Programmes

Indian Space and Defence Programme

eBook
Developed By

A site for Current Affairs & General Studies

Table of Contents

58 ISRO Space Missions For 12th Five Year Plan, 2012-17 ..................................................................... 2

ISRO Announces Mangalyaan Mission .................................................................................................... 3

Dhanush Ballistic Missile Successfully Test-Fired ................................................................................... 6

India Test-Fires Prithvi-II Ballistic Missile ................................................................................................ 7

India Successfully Test Fires BrahMos .................................................................................................... 8

India Test-Fires K-5 Ballistic Missile ........................................................................................................ 9

India Developing Nuke Missile Agni-VI ................................................................................................. 10

Nuke Capable Agni-II Successfully Test Fired ........................................................................................ 11

Indian Navy Successfully Test-Fires BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile ............................................. 12

India’s Heaviest Satellite GSAT-10 Launched ........................................................................................ 13

India Launches 100th Space Mission Successfully ................................................................................ 15

AGNI I Ballistic Missile Successfully Launched ...................................................................................... 17

INS Vikramaditya On Final Sea Trials .................................................................................................... 18

India To Have Its Own Navigation Satellite By 2013 ............................................................................. 19

Free eBook Free Sharing

58 ISRO Space Missions For 12th Five Year Plan, 2012-17

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has submitted a plan for 58
space missions to be undertaken as a part of 12th Five Year Plan, 2012-17.

The 12th five-year plan of the organisation, which has been cleared for Rs
39,750 crore, encompasses 33 satellite missions and 25 launch vehicle missions
that will take place till 2017. During the current year 2012-13, a sum of Rs.
5,615 crore has been allocated and the amount spent up to End October, 2012
is Rs.1,871.53 crore.

While several new missions will be launched on the communication front, an
interesting one will be GSAT 7 that has been mentioned as a communication
satellite for ‘special users’.


ISRO Announces Mangalyaan Mission

The first model of ISRO’s Mangalyaan was unveiled at the Indian Science
Congress in Kolkata on January 6. The Rs 450-crore mission will be launched
from Sriharikota using the workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV).

The spacecraft, with a 1350 kg lift-off mass, will have a single solar array with
three panels of 1400 x 1800 mm capable of generating 750 watts of power in
the Martian orbit. It will also be equipped with a 36 AH Lithium-ion battery for
power storage. For attitude and orbit control, the spacecraft will be equipped
with four reaction wheels, eight thrusters of 22 Newton each and a 440
Newton liquid rocket engine.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam underlined the importance of the project by
saying, “Mars is international property, all the planets belong to the

international community. It is essential to establish that we have done our job
and our job has important scientific goals and we should do that only then we
can say then that Mars belongs to us.”

Key Facts
 India will be the sixth country to launch a mission to the Red
Planet after the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and China;
 If the mission is successful, India will be the first Asian country to
do so as probes sent by China and Japan had to be abandoned en
route;
 The spacecraft is expected to take nearly 300 days to reach the
Martian orbit;
 The spacecraft will be placed in an orbit of 500 x 80,000 km
around Mars;
 The satellite is expected exit Earth’s orbit on November 26 and
embark on the journey to Mars, which is expected to last for
around 300 days;
 Scientists have drawn up plans to insert the satellite into an orbit
around Mars on September 22 next year.

About The Mission
The spacecraft will have a tentative scientific objective for studying the
climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet. Once
in the Martian orbit, the satellite will start taking pictures of the red planet
with an onboard colour camera and infra-red spectrometer, while the Lyman-
alpha photometer would measure atomic hydrogen in the Martian
atmosphere.

Among the payloads for the mission is the Exospheric Neutral Composition
Analyser which would study the Martian atmosphere and a Methane Sensor to
look for of the gas, considered as a signature for life, on the planet.

The Thermal Infrared Imaging System would take pictures of the planet during
the night. A key challenge before the scientists is navigating the spacecraft
from the earth to Mars in deep space using the Deep Space Network at Baylalu
on the outskirts of Bangalore.

Another challenge would be to re-activate the temporary inactive sub-systems
of the spacecraft once it reaches Mars after a 10-month journey through deep
space.

Should Undertake This Mission?
China has been pacing itself and building up its space prowess incrementally.
Their first successful human spaceflight was in 2003, spacewalk in 2008 and
first space docking in 2011. Last December, Beijing unveiled its ambitious five-
year plan for exploration that includes collecting lunar samples and launching a
space laboratory. India’s Mars mission is being seen by some countries as an
attempt to compete with China for space mission.

India’s former announcement to launch Mars mission came under sharp
criticism in the British and American media. In the wake of India’s emergence
as an economic power and these ambitions, questions have been raised as to
whether we ought to be recipients of international aid anymore. Can India
justify the cost of sending a probe to Mars when nearly 42 per cent of its
children under the age of five are moderate to severely underweight and 350
million live in poverty? But first, let’s look at the cost of this Indian space
dream: it is Rs. 4,500 crore ($82 million), a mere 13% of the government’s
budgeted FY 2012-2013 allocation for one scheme – the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). So even if we pumped
the money meant for space research into poverty alleviation programmes, it is
unlikely to make a dent.

Truth be told, the benefits of space exploration cannot be easily calculated, as
there are both tangible and intangible benefits. Besides, the power of wonder
is not to be underestimated. National pride and prestige aside, there will be
rich returns for the government’s current investment in space exploration, as it
will spur high-tech industry and innovation. If the US example is anything to go
by, space exploration has and will continue to lead to path-breaking
technologies and provide an eight-fold return on investment.


Dhanush Ballistic Missile Successfully Test-Fired
India successfully tested the Dhanush, its Naval variant on 5 October. The 350-
km range surface-to-surface ballistic missile was launched from a Naval ship off
the coast of Balasore, Odisha. The missile was test fired by the country’s
strategic forces command (SFC).

Developed by scientists of the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), Dhanush is a short range strategic ballistic missile. It
achieved all the mission objectives.


India Test-Fires Prithvi-II Ballistic Missile
India test-fired its nuclear-capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile with a strike range
of 350 km on 4 October. “The flight test of the surface-to-surface missile was
conducted from a mobile launcher from Integrated Test Range’s launch
complex-III at Chandipur.”

The latest Prithvi is the first ballistic missile developed under the country’s
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme and has the capability to
carry 500 kg of both nuclear and conventional warheads with a strike range of
350 km.


India Successfully Test Fires BrahMos

India on January 9 successfully test-fired a highly manoeuvrable version of the
290-km range supersonic cruise missile BrahMos off the coast of
Vishakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal.

The missile blasted off in a pre-designated war scenario hitting the designated
target ship just one meter above water line. This is the 34th launch of
BrahMos.

BrahMos is capable of acquiring data not only from the American GPS but also
from Russian GLONASS satellite systems, which ensures double redundancy.

The BrahMos missile system was inducted into the Indian Navy in 2005 when it
began arming the Rajput-class guided missile destroyers and inducted
subsequently in many warships.


India Test-Fires K-5 Ballistic Missile

Moving a step closer to completing its nuclear triad, India successfully test-
fired K-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile(SLBM) ballistic missile on January
27. The Missile, with a strike range of around 1500 kilometres, was fired from
an underwater platform in Bay of Bengal.

With this test, development phase of the K-5 missile is over and it is now ready
for deployment on various platforms including the indigenous nuclear
submarine INS Arihant which is under development.

K-5 is part of the family of underwater missiles being developed by Defence
Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for the Indian strategic
forces’ underwater platforms. This is the first missile in the underwater
category to have been developed by India. India is also developing two more
underwater missiles including K-15 and Brahmos with strike ranges of 750
kilometres and 290 kilometres respectively. K-5 ballistic missile, which is also
known as BO5, has been developed by DRDO’s Hyderabad-based Defence
Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).


India Developing Nuke Missile Agni-VI

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has announced that
India is developing a long-range nuclear-capable Agni-VI ballistic missile that
will carry multiple warheads allowing one weapon system to take out several
targets at a time. According to DRDO, Agni-V is major strategic defence
weapon and Agni-VI will be a force multiplier. The force multiplier capability of
the missile is attributed its Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle
(MIRV) capability.

The Agni-V ballistic missile, which was test-fired in April last year, has a range
of upto 5,500 kms and it is believed that the Agni-6 would have a range longer
than its predecessor. Once the Agni-VI is developed, it will propel India into the
elite club of nations with such a capability including the US and Russia.


Nuke Capable Agni-II Successfully Test Fired
India on August, 9 successfully test-fired indigenously-built medium range
nuclear capable Agni-II ballistic missile from the Wheeler Island off Odisha
coast. The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile
launcher from the Launch Complex Number-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR).

The 20-metre long Agni-II is a two-stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has
a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a
distance of 2000 km.
Agni-II Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) has already been inducted
into the services and the latest test was carried out by the Strategic Forces
Command (SFC) of the Army with logistic support provided by the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) first tested the
Agni-II in 1999. Since then it has been tested several times.


Indian Navy Successfully Test-Fires BrahMos
Supersonic Cruise Missile
The Navy successfully test-fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile, capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg, from a warship
off the Goa coast.

“The cruise missile was test-fired from guided missile frigate INS Teg–the
Indian Navy’s latest induction from Russia off the coast of Goa. The INS Teg,
which has been built at the Yantar shipyard in Russia, had fired the missile
successfully during pre-induction trials in Russia last year.

The two remaining warships of the project namely INS Tarkah and INS Trikand
will also be armed with the lethal missile in vertical launch mode. The two-
stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid
propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy, and the Air
Force version is in final stage of trial.


India’s Heaviest Satellite GSAT-10 Launched
India’s advanced communication satellite GSAT-10 that would augment
telecommunication, direct-to-home broadcasting and radio navigation services
was successfully launched on board Ariane-5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in
French Guiana in South America.

Ariane-5 ECA rocket injected GSAT-10 into an elliptical Geosynchronous
Transfer Orbit (GTO). At 3,400 kg at lift-off, GSAT-10 is the heaviest built by
Bangalore-headquartered ISRO.

Soon after GSAT-10 was hurtled into space, ISRO’s Master Control Facility
(MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of the
satellite and declared the launch of Indian space agency’s 101st space mission
a success.


Arianespace’s rocket first injected European co-passenger ASTRA 2F into orbit
followed by GSAT-10.

With a 15-year design life, GSAT-10 is expected to be operational by November
and will augment telecommunication, DTH and radio navigation services by
adding 30 more to the much-in-demand transponder capacity. GSAT-10 will be
positioned at 83 deg East orbital location along with INSAT-4A and GSAT-12.

GSAT-10 is fitted with 30 transponders (12 Ku-band, 12 C-band and six
Extended C-Band), which will provide vital augmentation to INSAT/GSAT
transponder capacity.

GSAT-10 also has a navigation payload – GAGAN (GPS aided Geo Augmented
Navigation) — that would provide improved accuracy of GPS signals (of better
than seven metres) to be used by Airports Authority of India for civil aviation
requirements.

This is the second satellite in INSAT/GSAT constellation with GAGAN payload
after GSAT-8, launched in May 2011.

The satellite will be moved to the Geostationary Orbit (36,000 km above the
equator) by using the satellite propulsion system in a three step approach.


India Launches 100th Space Mission Successfully
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made history as it launched its
100th indigenous mission. The space agency’s old warhorse, the Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle(PSLV), successfully blasted off into space with two foreign
satellites from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

ISRO’s PSLV, on its 22nd flight placed in orbit France’sSPOT-6 satellite and
Japanese spacecraftPROTIERES from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The 720
kg French satellite, the heaviest satellite to be launched by India for a foreign
client.

The launch has yet again demonstrated the versatility and robustness of PSLV
with the rocket completing its 21st successful mission in a row since its first
failed flight in September 1993.

No Indian satellite was on board today’s flight which is the third wholly
commercial launch undertaken by ISRO for foreign clients.

SPOT-6 is the biggest commercial lift so far since India forayed into the money
spinning commercial satellite launch services after 350 kg Agile of Italy put in
orbit in 2007 by PSLV. Twelve other foreign commercial satellites launched by
ISRO weighed below 300 kg. France’s five earlier SPOT satellites were launched
by European Araine rocket.

SPOT-6, built by ASTRIUM SAS, a subsidiary of EADS, France, is an earth
observation satellite, while the micro satellite PROITERES, developed by
students and faculty of Osaka Institute of Technology, will study Kansai region
of Japanese island of Honshu.

The launch was a landmark for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
which began its space odyssey on a humble note when it launched the
indigenous ‘Aryabhatta’ on board a Russian rocket on April 19, 1975.

Till now, ISRO has launched 63 Indian-made satellites and 36 indigenous
rockets. The country’s first unmanned moon mission in October
2008, Chandrayaan-1, was a huge success. The space agency has also
pioneered satellite television in the country and also catalysed the telecom
boom.


India plans to launch, in 2013, its maiden mission to Mars Called Mangalyaan,
it will be an unmanned orbiting mission to study the atmosphere of the Red
Planet. In the next five years, ISRO is also scheduled to have nearly 60 more
missions.


AGNI I Ballistic Missile Successfully Launched
India’s 700 km rangeballistic missile, ‘AGNI I’ was successfully conducted
another test of the 700-km Agni-I nuclear-capable ballistic missile on July 13
from the wheeler island off the coast of Odisha. It was a textbook launch
meeting all mission objectives and the missile reached the target point in the
Bay of Bengal following the prescribed trajectory.

The missile was launched from Road Mobile Launcher System and was tracked
by Radar and Telemetry stations located along the coastline. Two Naval Ships
located near the target point tracked the missile in the terminal phase of the
Flight.

Indigenously developed by DRDO the missile is already in the arsenal of Indian
Armed Forcesand was launched by the Strategic Forces Command as part of
training exercise to ensure preparedness.

The Agni-I is a Medium Range Ballistic missile (MRBM), developed by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Currently the
missiles are being manufactured by the DRDO and the Bharat Dynamics
Limited (BDL). Although the first test launch of the missile was conducted in
1989, the induction of the missiles in to the army was delayed due to technical
snags.

The DRDO has so far developed five versions of the Agni missile – I, II, III, IV and
V. Recently it had tested the Agni-V, which is having a strike range of 5,000 km.
The Agni-I and II are considered to be Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM),
while the III and IV fall in the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM)
category. The Agni-V is currently the only Indian Inter-Continental Ballistic
Missile (ICBM). The DRDO is currently developing Agni-VI, another ICBM with a
strike range of 10,000 kms.


INS Vikramaditya On Final Sea Trials
INS Vikramaditya had undergone pre-trial exercises last month. INS
Vikramaditya is the name for the former Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral
Gorshkov, which has been procured by India, and is estimated to enter service
in the Indian Navy after 2012.

It is now fitted with modern communication systems, a protective coating, a
telephone exchange, pumps, hygiene and galley equipment, lifts and many
more facilities. Officials said that at any given time, there would be a 2000-
strong staff on the completely remodelled aircraft carrier which has an
extended flight deck and a full runway with a ski jump and arrestor wires. The
vessel has new engines, new boilers, new generators, electrical machinery,
communication systems and distillation plants.

INS Vikramaditya will replace INS Viraat, the Indian Navy’s sole carrier at
present.Delivery of the aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, has been delayed by
four years.


India To Have Its Own Navigation Satellite By 2013

K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and
the Space Commission has said that India will include its name among the
countries that have their own Navigation satellite by 2013.

ISRO is planning to launch their own navigation satellite system that will
include 7 satellites. This he said while addressing the 2nd convocation of The
National Degree College. He said that the first of the seven satellites of the
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System would be launched in 2013.
Besides Astrosat, an Indian multi wavelength astronomy satellite would also be
launched in 2014.He added that Chandrayaan I had helped discover water
molecules on the Moon and ISRO would work in this area in the coming years
too. The system would be developed at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore, providing
Indian users accuracy levels of less than 20 metres throughout India and
across an area stretching over 1,000 km from Indian borders. This would be
capable of both military and civilian applications.


India is one among the six nations to build and launch its own satellites and
one among the four nations to succeed in precise re-entry and recovery of
satellites.

What Is Satellite Navigation System?

Satellite navigation (sat nav system) is systems of satellites that can help users
determine the position of an enabled device anywhere on the earth’s surface
to within a few hundred metres. The same system with global coverage may be
termed a global navigation satellite system or ‘GNSS’. The receiver picks up
signals transmitted by navigational satellites. With satellite navigation, it is
easy to trace location and is often helpful for users to find directions.

Currently, the United States NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) and the
Russian GLONASS are the fully globally operational GNSSs. But of late, a
Russian rocket launched the first two satellites of the European Union’s Galileo
navigation system after years of delay in an ambitious bid to rival the
ubiquitous American GPS network. (Source: Explained:Satellite Navigation
System)

Emerging Satellite Navigation Systems

The future for satellite navigation is very exciting over the next ten years, a
period where we could see 70+ positioning satellites available to be used.
Global Positioning System (GPS) is being modernized over the years until
around 2015. This will mean that GPS derived raw positions will become
increasingly more accurate and quicker to determine. The European satellite
navigation system Galileo will consist of 30 satellites and will provide a range
of free and subscription services. Galileo satellites are due to be launched from
2008 with full constellation in 2010. The Russian GLONASS navigation system
has been underfunded for many years but now looks to be becoming stronger
in the coming years.

Overview of GPS

GPS provides 24-hour navigation services which includes:

 Extremely accurate three-dimensional location information (latitude,
longitude and altitude), velocity and precise time.
 Passive all-weather operations.

 Continuous real-time information.
 Support to an unlimited number of users and areas.
 Support to civilian users at a slightly less accurate level.

GPS satellites orbit the earth every 12 hours emitting continuous navigation
signals. With the proper equipment, users can receive these signals to
calculate time, location and velocity. The signals are so accurate, time can be
figured to within a millionth of a second, velocity within a fraction of km per
hour and location to within a few feet. Receivers have been developed for use
in aircraft, ships and land vehicles as well as for hand carrying.

GPS promises to significantly enhance many of the functions being provided by
current positioning and navigational equipment and will result in greater
accuracy at lower cost. Such functions as mapping, aerial refueling and
rendezvous, geodetic surveys, and search and rescue operations will benefit
from GPS capabilities.


Thank You

For downloading this EBook

Developed by

A site for Current Affairs & General Studies

Ekalavvya is the Online Learning Platform For Career And Competition. It
provides a balanced outlook, in-depth and insightful information towards
General Studies and Current affairs for your competitive exams. It helps
competition oriented youth to spend less time looking for news, information,
views and analysis, and more time using them for their career and
competitive goals.

For more EBooks and Information on Current Affairs & General Studies,
visit: Ekalavvya.com

Indian Space and Defence Programmes

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (15)

More from Ekalavvya

More from Ekalavvya (7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Indian Space and Defence Programmes