by Gurbir Singh
To support missions with special requirements, such as Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) and RLV-TD, ISTRAC has also developed an airborne TT&C provision as a rapid deployment asset. A 4.6-m transportable TT&C station can also be used from a ship or a temporary ad hoc location. It was deployed during the SRE-1in 2007, launch of MOM in 2013 and the 2016 RLV-TD mission.
Today, ISTRAC is the backbone of ISRO’s national, international and extra-terrestrial communication systems. It is an extensive infrastructure operating at international standards. ISTRAC is an observer agency within the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), which publishes standards to promote interoperability and cooperation between space agencies. This allows ISTRAC to ensure that its infrastructure conforms to CCSDS standards allowing it to work with other nations that also comply with CCSDS standards. ISTRAC has supported space missions from Malaysia, Taiwan, Germany, France, the US, Thailand, Canada, Italy, Norway, Japan and China.[456] To support Indian remote-sensing satellites, ISTRAC has established TT&C stations in Norway, Sweden, the US, Brazil and Brunei and is currently in negotiations with Malaysia and Vietnam.
Master Control Facility
To manage the INSAT series of satellites, India's first series of satellites positioned in GSO, the Master Control Facility was established in 1982. Today, it handles all ISRO satellites in Earth orbit and beyond. Once a satellite is delivered to space by the launch vehicle, engineers at the MCF activate the deployment of solar panels and through a series of engine burns shepherd the spacecraft to its final orbit. MCF is located in a large 17.2-hectare (0.172 km/0.107 miles) picturesque site 8 km north of Hassan close to the historic monument of Halebidu from the 12th century Hoysala Empire. ISRO preferred it to be located in Bangalore. However, to minimise interference that may arise from high-power C-band transmission, a minimum distance of 500 km from the nearest similar transmitter had been mandated by the International Telecommunications Union. Intelsat happened to have one in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and Bangalore was within that range, so an alternative location had to be found.[457] The current location was also ideal because its low population and minimal urban development contributed to low radio noise, which was helpful when listening to faint radio signals from spacecraft thousands or millions of kilometres away.
Figure 8‑8 Main Building of Master Control Facility, Hassan. Credit ISRO
The site was selected in the early 1980s and became operational with the launch of INSAT-1A on 10 April 1982. The MCF complex consists of three full-motion and about a dozen limited-motion antennae. The full-motion antennae can be rotated 360° and can be tilted from 0° to 90° in elevation so that they can look at and track satellites in any part of the sky. They send commands to the spacecraft and receive data from them. The full-motion antennae are mostly used during launch, but once the satellite is in its prescribed orbit, the limited-motion antennae are used. In mid-2016, the MCF was responsible for managing 19 satellites (INSAT 3A, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B and 4CR; Kalpana-1; GSAT 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16 and IRNSS 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D).
From its location, MCF can track any launch with its apogee over the Indian Ocean. The MCF consists of a Mission Control Centre, where operational decisions are taken, a Spacecraft Control Centre, where commands to the satellites are issued and several Earth Stations, which consist of antennae that send and receive signals between the spacecraft and the Earth. When established, MCF had two Earth Stations and a single Spacecraft Control Centre. While most of the equipment was produced in India, the Spacecraft Control Centre was initially fitted out by Ford Aerospace Communications Corporation because it had built the first four INSAT satellites.
Figure 8‑9 Ground Stations Used for Tracking Mars Orbiter Mission Including
International and ISTRAC Centres. Credit ISRO
In 2005, MCF operations were boosted by the addition of another smaller facility in Bhopal to support the MCF. MCF Bhopal consists of a Spacecraft Control Centre, an Earth Station and a power complex. With one 11-m and three 7.2-m antennae, MCF Bhopal is responsible for managing three of the seven IRNSS satellites. It also offers some level of redundancy. However, MCF Bhopal's smaller size allows it to operate only a smaller number of satellites compared to MCF Hassan. S.V . Shivakumar, a former MCF Director, regards the MCF as the “hottest seat in ISRO”, given its responsibility of managing so many high-value assets.[458]
The telemetry data received by MCF from each spacecraft consists of around 800 parameters (for example, the power generated by the solar panels, state of charge of the battery, quantity of remaining propellant, the temperature of the units housing the electronics, location and attitude in orbit) transmitted once every second. Computers at MCF display these data in a usable graphical form in real time.
Over time, a spacecraft can drift from its designated position. The cause of the drift can be a combination of the accumulative gravitational influence from the Sun and the Moon, solar-radiation pressure, the impact of high-speed particles emanating from the Sun and the non-uniform gravitation field of the Earth caused by the Earth not being a perfect sphere. These forces can shift a satellite in a GEO left or right (in longitude) or up and down (in latitude). It is the MCF’s responsibility to manage this displacement. In the case of INSAT series of satellites with a mass of about 1,000 kg, an engine burn using 4 kg of fuel is required approximately every 80 days to maintain latitude. Corrections in longitude require more frequent (perhaps once every two weeks) but shorter burns using much smaller (0.5 kg) quantity of fuel. These corrections can take up to four hours, and although the satellite is moving, services are not affected.[459]
In addition to maintaining orbit, MCF must maintain the satellites’ orientation. The antennae of satellites must point to the Earth with high precision. From a height of 36,000 km, an error of just 0.1° will shift the signal by 600 km along the Earth’s surface, potentially resulting in a loss of signal for many users.
MCF also has to manage periods of solar eclipse. The duration of an eclipse varies through the year with the longest being 72 minutes around the equinoxes. The solar panels of a satellite cannot generate electricity for the duration it is in the Earth’s shadow. It is critical that the battery sustains the satellite during this period of darkness. The capacity of the battery is largely mandated by this requirement. Further, the temperature of the satellites drops when in shadow, so heaters are necessary, further increasing the demand for battery power. To compensate, some services or subsystems may have to be switched off temporarily.
Recovering Costs - Antrix
By the early 1990s, ISRO’s operations were sufficiently mature to engage with the blossoming commercial market in space. In September 1992, the Government of India established Antrix Corporation Limited. Antrix is an anglicised version of the Sanskrit word antariksh, meaning space or sky. It is headquartered at Antariksh Bhavan within the site of ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru. An autonomous body, Antrix’s primary objective is to negotiate commercial space services with national and international clients, which are ultimately delivered by ISRO’s centres. As ISRO’s marketing agency, operating under the DOS, Antrix markets and delivers customised services, which include data from satellites, transponders and launch services for national and international clients.
Figure 8‑10 Indian Remote-Sensing Satellite RISAT-1. Credit ISROData from remote-sensing satellites are has a commercial value. Using a variety of spectral bands (wavelengths of light that are in the optical, infrared, ultraviolet or radio and spatial resolution (level of detail), these satellites capture information of the Earth's atmosphere, land and oceans. These images can be exploited for numerous purposes, including meteorology, agriculture, forestry, irrigation, mining, fishing, tracking sea currents and l surveillance. Remote-sensing satellites make use of a Sun-synchronous polar orbit that typically has an inclination of 98° at an altitude of 800 km. Each pole-to-pole orbit takes about 100 minutes, moving slightly eastward each orbit. The whole globe is covered in a period of 16 days, an
d the cycle gets repeated. As the number of India's remote-sensing satellites grew, so did the quantity of data collected from around the globe. ISRO could potentially generate income from selling these data to countries that did not have an EO programme of their own, just like the US's Landsat programme had been doing since the mid-1980s.
The American Landsat Programme had been designed with precisely this objective in mind. Landsat had its origins in NASA during the early 1970s but was transferred to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under presidential directive 54 issued by President Jimmy Carter (born 1924).[460] He also instructed NOAA to transfer Landsat operations to the private sector. In 1985, with five Landsat satellites launched, but only two, Landsat 4 and Landsat 5, were operational at the time, NOAA selected the private sector entity Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT) to exclusively operate and market Landsat 4 and 5 data on a commercial basis and build Landsat 6 and 7 for future launch.
Figure 8‑11 Profit After Tax Rs (Lakhs) Antrix Corporation Limited. Credit Antrix
ISRO's satellites, like all EOSAT satellites, collect data of all the countries under their orbit. In October 1993, EOSAT's Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit and was lost. By chance, at that time, ISRO had two EO satellites IRS-1A and IRS-1B in orbit and significant experience in operating them. EOSAT approached India to help fill the gap. As ISRO's chairman, Professor U.R. Rao signed an agreement for EOSAT to have exclusive worldwide rights to IRS imagery. ISRO helped to establish a ground station in Oklahoma in the US to receive IRS data, the first one outside India.[461] EOSAT had an existing global network of 16 ground stations to receive Landsat data. The agreement that Rao signed required EOSAT to pay ISRO $0.6 million (Rs.1.89 crore) per year for every ground station that received IRS imagery. The ground station in Oklahoma was inaugurated in May 1994. In its publicity material, EOSAT declared that “the country that gave the Taj Mahal to the world has now delivered a highly sophisticated satellite capable of producing high-resolution imagery over our planet.”[462]
From this beginning in 1994, ISRO has expanded its offering with additional IRS satellites and, in 2014, was generating approximately $20 million (Rs.123 crore) per year. By the end of 2014, 11 EO satellites were operational in orbit, Resourcesat-1 and 2, Cartosat-1, 2, 2A, 2B, RISAT-1 and 2, OCEANSAT-2, Megha-Tropiques and SARAL.
Antrix was established to generate income from ISRO operations to help recoup some of the costs and provide a source for further investment. Speaking in 2011, former ISRO Chairman U.R. Rao stated “When we set up Antrix, our vision was clearly to delink the commercial and business side from day-to-day governmental functions. Moreover, we wanted to professionalise marketing activities and expand the reach of ISRO's products and services across the world.”[463] Today, India is one of an increasing number of nations with an indigenous capability to build, launch and operate satellites in orbit. Antrix's services have expanded beyond IRS data to include technological consultancy services, leasing of transponders aboard the GSAT and INSAT satellites and designing, building and launching satellite services. Over time, ISRO has signed memoranda of understanding with 28 countries that have allowed Antrix to develop alliances and grow a portfolio on the global stage.
Despite the global economic downturn at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the funding of space institutions globally has remained either constant or increased. The number of countries actively participating in space has also increased. The OECD report The Space Economy at a Glance 2014, lists more than 40 countries with an active space programme.[464] Globally, the space sector employs almost a million people, and growth is expected to continue in the short and medium terms. Although the space sector is healthy with strong growth potential, Antrix does not necessarily increase its profits year on year. Infrastructure investments, loss of a satellite or a launch failure can have a significant impact on its bottom line. For instance, the 16.52% decrease in profits in 2009–2010 was attributed “mainly to the capacity constraints.”[465]
In a formal answer to a written question in the Parliament of India on 17 July 2014, the Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Science quantified Antrix’s income since its establishment in 1992.[466] A total income of Rs. 4,408 crore ($709 million) came from (i) direct reception of data from IRS satellites to national and international clientele and (ii) leasing of satellite transponders on-board. INSAT/GSAT satellites used for communication or TV broadcasts. ISRO has also launched 40 satellites for customers from 19 different countries, generating a further $74 million (Rs.445 crore). The minister also outlined Antrix's future objectives: (i) expanding the data and direct reception services of the Indian remote-sensing satellites to international clientele, (ii) enhancing leasing of satellite transponders to Indian customers, (iii) increasing launch services for foreign satellites on-board Indian launch vehicles and (iv) enhancing marketing of satellites and subsystems.
ISRO has an established track record of building and launching satellites successfully. In February 2017 ISRO launched a record 104 satellites of which Cartosat-2D was the primary payload and 100 smaller foreign satellites less than 10 kg. The income helped to recover about half of the launch costs and brought the tally of commercial satellite launches by ISRO to 209. Even though accurate and unambiguous statistics on income generated from international commercial launches are not available, the global revenue from commercially procured satellite launches in 2013 was $5.4 billion (Rs. 32,111 crore). According to one source, the US's share accounted for almost half (45%) of this revenue.[467] The US dominated the market in producing the spacecraft launched in 2013. Of the 107 satellites launched, the US claimed the lion’s share of 70%, Europe 17%, China 5%, Russia 3%, Japan 3% and all the other nations combined accounted for the remaining 2%.
Although these figures do not necessarily illustrate this, the space programme in Russia could be considered the most commercial of all. Since the retirement of US’s Space Shuttle, the Russian Soyuz is the only route for astronauts to reach the ISS. The Soyuz is operated by the state-owned Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities. In the context of such a vast global commercial space market, ISRO’s market share is smaller than it should be. One analyst suggests that India is still recovering from the strict sanctions regime introduced in 1998 following its nuclear tests.[468] Intriguingly, the same sanctions were the motivation for India to develop its indigenous capability for building and launching satellites. ISRO is gradually building its international reputation as a reliable integrator and launcher of medium-sized satellites. The significant potential for growth in the international market for satellite services has been established. Three key factors determine the extent and speed at which Antrix can grow: i) government procedures: in their current form, they do not encourage small and medium-sized Indian companies to engage with ISRO, ii) infrastructure: the existing infrastructure requires several months of lead time between rocket launches. Cutting project lead time by building additional launch facilities would not only increase capacity but make it more competitive in the international market. The building of a second vehicle assembly unit at Sriharikota is designed in part to meet this need iii) timeline for operationalising the GSLV Mk3.
Establishing routine access to space using its own heavy-lift vehicle is probably ISRO’s most pressing goal. With it, not only will India enter the market for launching heavier geosynchronous communication satellites but it will finally become self-sufficient. With the success of first developmental flight of the GSLV-Mk3 in June 2017, ISRO is expected to end its reliance on Ariane 5 to launch its communication satellite at the cost of around Rs 400 crore ($73 million) sometime in 2018. Despite being a government agency operating under multiple layers of traditional government bureaucracy, Antrix has been successful in its objectives for the same reason that ISRO has been. ISRO is refreshingly praised as an example of how public organisations in India can succeed in the private sector. One essential ingredient for this success was articulated in 20
08 by Antrix Managing Director K.R. Sridhara Murthi “neither ISRO nor Antrix experienced any political interference in their functioning and [they] were left to follow their own professional objectives and styles in the running of the organisations.”[469]
Year
Rs
(Lakhs)
USD
(Million)
EURO
(Million)
2007–2008
12,679.57
20.56
0.894
2008–2009
14,031.38
24.428
2.412
2009–2010
13,228.97
12.159
5.911
2010–2011
8,077.64
17.998
4.086
2011–2012
3,135.54
2.199
0.629
11th FYP Total
51,153.1
77.344
13.932
2012–2013
11,157.01
3.99
13.097
2013–2014
17,470.66
5.578
17.598
12th FYP Total
28,627.67