Dear friends Of science and astronomy,

India's eye in the sky
Far away from public glare, a team of top-notch scientists are working at
building Astrosat, a unique observatory that will explore the invisible universe


When Krishnaswamy Kast u r i r a n g a n walked into the auditorium at
the D.Y.Patil College of Engineering in Navi Mumbai a couple of years ago, the
chatter quickly gave way to hushed tones. It wasn't everyday the awestruck
audience got an opportunity to listen to the chief of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). His PowerPoint presentation started off as a routine one
and even managed to elicit a few yawns. Those familiar with India's space
programme knew all of it. And then, without a hint, he shifted gears and jaws
started to drop.
On the drawing board, he said, were plans to launch a revolutionary
new space observatory. Called the Astrosat, it will weigh 1.6 tonnes and explore
deep space for five years. It will study the stars and other sources of high
radiation which will eventually help mankind understand the universe better.
When done, it will catapult India into an exclusive league of nations that have
the wherewithal to put something like this into space. The minute his
presentation was done, an overwhelmed audience mobbed him.
Cut now to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), a
60-minute drive from the auditorium where Kasturirangan first spoke on the
mission. Ensconced in its idyllic environment is P C Agarwal, a self-effacing
space scientist and now Astrosat's principal investigator. His excitement is
palpable. "When the Astrosat finally goes up, Indian astronomers can study the
invisible universe," he says. "Of course, the data we gather will be available
to astronomers from all over the world," he quickly adds.
What he means by an invisible universe is fairly simple. Looking into
space from Earth is limited due to the filtering and distortion that occurs in
the atmosphere that envelopes our planet. But when you put an observatory into
space, above the atmosphere, you get around this problem.
What makes the Astrosat even more unique is that unlike similar
missions put in place by countries like the US, Germany and Japan, this
satellite will cover multiple energy frequencies. "That will allow us to
understand what's going on in exotic stars like neutron stars, black holes and
active galaxies," Agarwal added.
When the mission was being put in place, the scientists working on it
were clear that it would largely have to be an indigenous mission with most of
the instruments designed and fabricated in the country. To prove his point, he
takes me across his room to a mezzanine floor buzzing with activity. The first
thing the untrained eye catches is something that seems unusually large.
Apparently, it's what the scientists call a thermovac chamber. It simulates a
space-like environment and was built in Nashik, a six hour drive from Mumbai.
Peep around a little more and you'll spot a cadmium zinc telluride
imager. Offers A R Rao, a scientist working on this mission rather helpfully,
"This is something we recently acquired from Israel. It can point energies from
X-rays very precisely." Incidentally, X-rays in the universe are sudden bursts
of energy from distant astronomical objects. "This instrument will help us study
objects in space a lot more deeply and holds the potential to revolutionise our
understanding of astronomy and physics," he adds.
You don't have to look to hard to spot K P Singh, yet another
scientist on the project working intently. "I'm in charge of the soft X-Ray
imaging telescope. It's the first time we're attempting anything like this in
India," he says in a very matter-of-fact tone. When done, this instrument will
measure the energy X-rays emit. That will eventually help astronomers figure out
where in the universe it originated from.
Work on various parts of the mission is in progress at other labs in
the country. This includes ISRO's Satellite Centre, the Indian Institute of
Astrophysics, the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, the Inter-University
Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, and Physical Research Laboratory,
Ahmedabad.
Six months prior to the actual launch, all the various parts that have
to finally take flight will be dispatched to Bangalore. This is where it will
all be integrated with the satellite. Having done that, the satellite will be
transported to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota near Chennai for
mating with a rocket before take off.
The rocket will eventually take Astrosat to an altitude of 650
kilometres above Earth and deploy it on the intended mission. Having done that,
Astrosat will start transmitting the data to ISRO's telemetry and tracking
centre near Bangalore. The information collected here will then weave its way to
the Indian Science Data Centre for dissemination to various universities and
research centres for analysis. Now to keep your fingers crossed and wait until
2008.
India's milestones in space
1962: Indian National Committee for Space Research formed 1963: First
sounding rocket launched from TERLS 1975: First Indian Satellite, Aryabhata,
launched 1979: Bhaskara-1, an experimental satellite launched 1980: Second
experimental launch of SLV-3 Rohini 1982: INSAT-1A launched; deactivated later
1984: Rakesh Sharma became first Indian to reach space 1999: INSAT-2E, the last
satellite in the INSAT-2 series, launched 2001: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle-D1, the first developmental launch of GSLV with GSAT-1 onboard partially
successful


Forwarded By yours Dr.BHUDIA-Science Group Of INDIA.
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