Bangalore: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment and Forests was on a study visit to Department of Space (DOS)/Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bangalore on October 18, Dr. T Subbarami Reddy, Chairman of the Standing Committee was accompanied by three members from Rajya Sabha and six members from Lok Sabha.
The committee was taken on a tour of ISRO's facilities at ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE), Bangalore.
The committee witnessed GSAT-6, GSAT-7 and GSAT-14 communication satellites and INSAT-3D meteorological satellite under fabrication and testing. The committee also visited Compact Antenna Test Facility (CATF) and Comprehensive Assembly and Test Vacuum Chamber (CATVAC) facilities at ISITE.
Highlights of the progress made in the area of space technology and the benefits that have accrued to the country were presented to the committee. A detailed presentation on the activities on communication satellites, navigation satellites, remote sensing satellites, small satellites and space science missions undertaken at ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) were also presented.
Dr T Subbarami Reddy, the chairman of the committee and members evinced keen interest in the programmes of ISRO and expressed their appreciation on the progress made by the nation in space science and technology. Members asked wide ranging questions covering drought monitoring, flood relief, glacier inventory, weather forecasting and prediction of earthquakes.
Dr. K Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DOS welcomed the Chairman and Members of the Standing Committee to ISRO. Dr T Subbarami Reddy commended the remarkable achievements of the Indian space scientists and the phenomenal contribution of space systems towards the national development.
Dr T Subbarami Reddy congratulated the entire ISRO family on the successful launch of PSLV-C18, which launched Megha Tropiques, and three more small satellites on October 12, 2011. He said the country was proud of this achievement.
It is pertinent to note that MEGHA-TROPIQUES is only the second mission of this kind globally, next to the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) launched in 1997 by USA and Japan. USA and Japan are presently coordinating for establishing a “Global Precipitation Measurement Mission” with 8-Satellite Constellation.
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18) successfully launched the Indo-French MEGHA-TROPIQUES Satellite on October 12, 2011. This has been the nineteenth successive successful flight of PSLV. Three co-passenger Satellites – (a) JUGNU from IIT, Kanpur (b) SRMSat from SRM University, Chennai and (c) VesselSat-1 from Luxembourg – were also launched by PSLV-C18. The user institutions also have confirmed establishing contact with the satellites.
MEGHA-TROPIQUES Satellite, a joint endeavour of ISRO and the French National Space Agency (CNES), is intended to study the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropical region covering 20 deg on either side of the Equator. |
