The new rocket launched today by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) comes with three satellites and costs Rs. 230 crores. One of the satellites - the ResourceSat-2 will help map forests glaciers, and monitor crop yields.
But is this what India really needs? Experts point out that India already has the largest constellation of 10 civilian remote sensing satellites in the world. And the government's auditor has reported that almost 90% of the photographs and images delivered by ISRO's satellites are not used. Many of these images are needed both by the government and private sector especially for development of infra-structure like roads, airports and town planning.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) highlights that despite the abundance of data available via satellite images, a wasteland mapping project undertaken by ISRO had been delayed by 14 years. The project was to help in rural development.
The auditor has also found that the place where data from the satellites is processed - the National Remote Sensing Center in Hyderabad - is showing worrying levels of inefficiency as images are not being processed fast enough.
At a press conference today, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan admitted that `the findings of the CAG were one hundred percent correct.'
The criticism directed at ISRO is boosted by a comparison to two similar American remote-sending satellites - Geoeye and Digital Globe - both of which use as much 90% of all the images they collect.
PSLV-C16, is the eighteenth flight of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV. In this flight, the standard version of PSLV with six solid strap-on motors is used.
PSLV-C16 will place three satellites with a total payload mass of 1404 kg - RESOURCESAT-2 weighing 1206 kg, the Indo-Russian YOUTHSAT weighing 92 kg and Singapore's X-SAT weighing 106 kg – into an 822 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). PSLV-C16 will be launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
The major changes made in PSLV since its first launch include changes in strap-on motors ignition sequence, increase in the propellant loading of the first stage and strap-on solid propellant motors as well as the second and fourth stage liquid propellant motors, improvement in the performance of the third stage motor by optimising motor case and enhanced propellant loading and employing a carbon composite payload adapter.
PSLV has also become a more versatile vehicle for launching multiple satellites in polar SSOs as well as Low Earth Orbits (LEO) and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). With sixteen successful launches, PSLV has emerged as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO and is offered for launching satellites for international customers also. During 1994-2010 period, PSLV has launched a total of 44 satellites, of which 25 satellites are from abroad and 19 are Indian satellites.
PSLV-C16 will place three satellites with a total payload mass of 1404 kg - RESOURCESAT-2 weighing 1206 kg, the Indo-Russian YOUTHSAT weighing 92 kg and Singapore's X-SAT weighing 106 kg – into an 822 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). PSLV-C16 will be launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
The major changes made in PSLV since its first launch include changes in strap-on motors ignition sequence, increase in the propellant loading of the first stage and strap-on solid propellant motors as well as the second and fourth stage liquid propellant motors, improvement in the performance of the third stage motor by optimising motor case and enhanced propellant loading and employing a carbon composite payload adapter.
PSLV has also become a more versatile vehicle for launching multiple satellites in polar SSOs as well as Low Earth Orbits (LEO) and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). With sixteen successful launches, PSLV has emerged as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO and is offered for launching satellites for international customers also. During 1994-2010 period, PSLV has launched a total of 44 satellites, of which 25 satellites are from abroad and 19 are Indian satellites.
PSLV- C16 Stages at a Glance | ||||
STAGE-1 | STAGE-2 | STAGE-3 | STAGE-4 | |
Nomenclature | Core Stage(PSI) + 6 Strap-on Motors | PS2 | PS3 | PS4 |
| Propellant | Solid (HTPB Based) | Liquid (UH25+N2O4) | Solid (HTPB Based) | Liquid (MMH + MON-3) |
| Mass (Tonne) | 138.0 (Core) + 6 x 9.0 (Strap-on) | 41.0 | 7.6 | 2.5 |
| Max Thrust (kN) | 4703 (Core) 6 x 635(Strap-on) | 804 | 244 | 7.3 x 2 |
| Burn Time (Sec) | 107 (Core) 50 (Strap-on) | 151 | 116 | 510 |
| Stage Dia (m) | 2.8 (Core) 1.0 (Strap-on) | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.8 |
| Stage Length (m) | 20 (Core) 11.3 (Strap-on) | 12.8 | 3.6 | 2.6 |
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