IN THE first dedicated mission of its commercial arm NSIL, the ISRO on Sunday successfully launched Brazil’s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passengers, including five built by students, onboard a Polar rocket from the spaceport here. The satellites were placed in precise orbits one after another after the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted off at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), in the first mission this year for the Indian Space Research Organisation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on the success of the first dedicated commercial launch mission of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1, saying it ushers in a new era of space reforms in the country. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also lauded ISRO, whose tally of foreign sattelites launched rose to 342 with Sunday’s mission.

 

The co-passengers included Satish Dhawan Satellite (SD-SAT) nano satellite from Chennai-based Space Kidz India (SKI) which is engraved with a picture of Modi and also carried Bhagavad Gita in a Secured Digital card format. According to SKI, the picture of Modi has been engraved on the top panel of the spacecraft to show solidarity and gratitude for his Atmanirbhar initiative and space sector reforms. Of the five built by students, the SD-SAT is intended to study radiation levels among others, while UNITYsat, a three-in-one satellite by universities, is for providing radio relay service and Sindhu Netra developed by Bengaluru-based PES University would be used for identifying suspicious ships through satellite imaging, officials said.

 

Amazonia-1, a fully Brazil built satellite with a mission life of four years, is intended for providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory. SKI said besides the picture of Modi, it was also sending 25,000 names on-board the SD-SAT. “Congratulations to NSIL (NewSpace India Limited) and @isro on the success of the 1st dedicated commercial launch of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 Mission. This ushers in a new era of space reforms in the country,” Modi tweeted. The Prime Minister also congratulated Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the successful launch of Amazonia-1, and said this is a historic moment in space cooperation between the two countries. Earlier, at the end of the 25.5 hour countdown, the four-stage 44.4 metre tall PSLV, a workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO in its 53rd mission, soared into clear a sky at the scheduled time of 10.24 am from the first launch pad here, over 100 kms from Chennai.

 

“After a flight of about 17 minutes, the vehicle injected the Amazonia-1 into its intended orbit and in the succeeding 1 hour 38 minutes, all 18 co-passenger satellites successfully separated from the PSLV in a pre-determined sequence,” the ISRO said. Describing it as a special mission for the country, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said the agency guided the universities in building the satellites, adding it will enthuse industry and academic institutions to build their own satellites in future. Sivan, also the Secretary, Department of Space, said the mission was also special as the five satellites come under the new space reforms announced by the Union Government last year.

 

The co-passenger satellites placed in the orbit are -- four from ISRO’s Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and 14 from NSIL, including 13 from the USA. Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Marcos Pontes, who witnessed the launch here, said this was the beginning of a stronger relationship between his country and India. Appreciating ISRO for the successful launch, he said, India and Brazil would work together a lot. “...I am talking here on behalf of the Brazilian Government. We are going to work together and we are going to win together..”, he said, speaking at the mission control centre here. The 637-kg Amazonia-1 which became the first Brazilian satellite to be launched from India is an optical earth observation satellite of National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The universities involved in UNITYsat development are Jeppiar Institute of Technology, Sriperumbudur (JITsat), G H Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur (GHRCEsat), Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore (Sri Shakthi Sat). Sunday’s launch also marked the 78th mission from Sriharikota and with this the number of foreign satellites launched by ISRO has risen to 342 from 34 countries. 

 

 

IN A boost for the country’s surveillance capabilities to monitor activities of both military warships and merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the ‘Sindhu Netra’ satellite developed by a team of young scientists from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully deployed in space on Sunday. The satellite was launched using the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) PSLV-C51 which took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. SindhuNetra was developed by students of Bengaluru-based PES University, which was awarded the Rs 2.2 crore contract by the Research Centre Imarat, part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Sindhu Netra is capable of automatically identifying the warships and merchant ships operating in the IOR.

 

The satellite has also started communicating with the ground systems, Government sources told ANI. The satellite, if required, can also help in carrying out surveillance in specific areas such as the South China Sea or the pirate-infested areas near the Gulf of Aden and the African coast, the sources said. They added that the Sindhu Netra is one of the first in the series of satellites that would help the nation in enhancing its surveillance capabilities on land in areas such as the Ladakh region with China and the border areas with Pakistan. Seeking to keep a closer eye on the activities of the Chinese military both near the Indian territory as well as in its depth areas all along the 4,000 kilometre Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian security agencies feel there is a requirement of four to six dedicated satellites which can help them keep a check on the adversary’s moves. Along with the setting up of the Defence Space Agency, the Government also created a defence space research organisation to look after the ability to protect space assets from being attacked by adversaries there. The space arm of the defence forces would also be bolstered significantly in near future.