AzadiSAT: An ambitious satellite mission
Recently, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the first flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) carrying the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) and the student-built satellite Azadi SAT.
However, the mission failed to place the satellites in their assigned orbits, and communication was lost between the satellites that had already separated from the launch vehicle.
After launch, the satellites were put into the wrong elliptical orbits instead of circular ones.
Orbit: Orbit is a curved path on which celestial bodies like stars, planets, moons, asteroids, etc or spacecraft orbit around another body due to gravity.
Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)
- It is a three stage fully solid fuel based spacecraft. It has the capability to launch 500 kg mass satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 500 km.
- It aims to meet the emerging market demand for launching small satellites into LEO. It is the smallest spacecraft of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Its mass is 110 tons.
Advantages of SSLV –
- Its turnaround time (time taken to prepare for the next launch) is very less. Normally the turnaround time of a vehicle is 70 days, but that of SSLV is only 70 hours. It is also a cost-effective spacecraft. Its launch cost is only around Rs 30 crore.
- It requires simple infrastructure and fewer workforces.
- The spacecraft can be assembled within just seven days by a team of six experts. Unlike the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), SSLV can be assembled both vertically and horizontally.
- It can launch multiple satellites. These include nano, micro and small satellites.
Small Satellite Launch Vehicle- D1/EOS-02 Mission:
It was intended to gain a larger share in the small satellite launch vehicle market, as it could place satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
The plan was to launch two satellites under this mission-
- The first EOS-2 earth-observing satellite, it is an earth observation satellite designed and implemented by ISRO.
- This MicroSAT satellite series provides advanced optical remote sensing operating in the infra-red band with high spatial resolution.
- The second, AzadiSAT student satellite, is an 8U CubeSATthat weighs about 8 kg.
- It carries 75 different payloads weighing about 50 grams and carries out femto-experiments.
- It carried small experiments that could measure ionizing radiation in its orbit, and a transponder that worked at ham radio frequencies to enable operators to access it.
- Girl students from rural areas across the country were provided guidance for manufacturing these payloads.
- The payload has been integrated by a team of students from “Space Kids India”.
Different orbits of space-
- Geostationary Orbit (GEO): The satellites in GEO revolve around the Earth over the equator from west to east in line with the Earth’s rotation. Therefore, satellites in GEO appear ‘fixed’ in a fixed position.
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO): This orbit is relatively close to the Earth’s surface. It is usually located at an altitude of less than 1000 km, but it can also occur at altitudes as low as 160 km from Earth.
- Polar Orbit: Satellites in polar orbits usually orbit the Earth’s poles in a north to south direction rather than west to east.
- Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO): This is a special type of polar orbit. The satellites in SSO are synchronous with the Sun, orbiting in the Polar Regions.
Source – The Hindu
