ITV

Tag: mission

  • Nat Geo partners ISRO to showcase Mangalyaan: India’s Mission to Mars

    Nat Geo partners ISRO to showcase Mangalyaan: India’s Mission to Mars

    MUMBAI: With a view to increase its focus original productions in India, National Geographic Channel has partnered with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to celebrate the successful space mission to Mars – Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).

     

    The channel will premiere an exclusive one-hour special documentary on India’s first interplanetary mission – Mangalyaan: India’s Mission to Mars on 5 November at 10 pm, which also happens to the date when the mission was launched two years back. Mangalyaan entered the Martian orbit on 24 September, 2014.

     

    Nat Geo will capture Mangalyaan’s journey of over 650 million km through live action visuals, graphic representations and expert interviews. The documentary will feature all the excitement, last minute preparations, the countdown and the successful launch of the mission.

     

    Commenting on the success of Mangalyaan, ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar said, “It was a proud moment for our team, and in fact for the entire country, when Mangalyaan successfully entered the Martian orbit. We are glad that a brand like National Geographic Channel has partnered us in showcasing not only this historic journey, but also the science and technology behind it. This documentary will give viewers an exquisite glimpse into the Mangalyaan journey, the salient features of the mission, and the major milestones accomplished by the team behind it.”

     

    Fox International Channels (India) business head Swati Mohan added, “Nat Geo is pleased to be associated with ISRO in showcasing the success of Mars Orbiter Mission. Nat Geo has been a pioneer in showcasing landmark events and ‘Mangalyaan: India’s Mission to Mars’ is another breakthrough production that underlines our focus on original productions in India. To showcase the scale of this mission, our special episode will feature the subject experts who will not only explain the nuances behind this delicate technology, but also demonstrate the subtle nature of this inter planetary mission.”

  • 2014’s first space mission to be India’s GSAT-14

    2014’s first space mission to be India’s GSAT-14

    MUMBAI: The first time it was about to launch in August 2013, a technical snag forced an abortion. But now, India’s Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s)  twenty third communication satellite GSAT-14 by the is all set to be launched into space on 5 January 2014 on the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-D5.  The launcher will propel the bird into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTS) after which it will use its own propulsion system to reach its geostationary orbital home at 74 degrees east longitude.

     

    The mission is important for ISRO which has been seeking to get a piece of the satellite launch action globally. But it has found things difficult since four out of the seven launches of GSLV have been failures and three previous attempts to use indigenous cryogenic engine have also ended up in a mess.

     

    The previous attempt to blast off GLSV into space in August 2013 was aborted following a fuel leak which developed in its engine hours before launch. ISRO worked on it and gave it a better metal covering, following which it has decided to give it another shot.

     

    A three stage rocket – the first stage runs on solid fuel, the second on liquid fuel and third on a cryogenic engine – the GSLV- D5 will be carrying the 1982 kgs (lift off mass) GSAT-14, which will be replacing GSAT-3 that was decommissioned in 2010. The new satellite’s structure is based on ISRO’s two ton weighing (I-2K satellite bus). The satellite has six Ku band (51.5 dBW EOC-EIRP) transponders, six C band (36 dBW EOC-EIRP) transponders and two Ka band beacons and will be co-located with INSAT-3C, INSAT-4CR and KALPANA-1.

     

    Most of the C- and Ku-band capacity on GSAT-14 will be utilized for long distance education and telemedicine, while the Ka band transponders will help in studying rain and atmospheric effects. This ninth operational geostationary satellite is expected to have a mission life of 12 years and will be able to provide enhanced broadcasting as compared to GSAT-3 for the whole of India.

     

    According to the ISRO website, the mission has three main objectives- to augment the in-orbit capacity of extended C and Ku-band transponders and to provide a platform for new experiments such as fiber optic gyro, active pixel sun sensor, Ka band beacon propagation studies and thermal control coating experiments.

     

    The 29 hour countdown to the launch began at 11:18 am on 3 January with the launch time set as 4:18 pm on 4 January from its launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. GSLV-D5 is expected to have a 17 minute, eight second flight duration. If successful, this will be 2014’s first space launch as SpaceX’s launch of Thaicom-6 has been postponed from 3 January to between 6 and 9 January. The Elon Musk backed company decided to go in for a later liftoff as problems had emerged with Falcon 9 rocket’s fairing.

     

    If ISRO’s GSLV-D5 successfully plants GSAT- 14 into orbit, it is likely to have a beneficial spinoff which it badly needs. It could lead to orders to build more rockets that can carry payloads of up to four tonnes. Till now ISRO has been using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that carries loads of around a tonne.

     

    The mission will be telecast live on Doordarshan and on the web from 3: 52 pm on Sunday.