Astrosat

Astrosat
Operator ISRO
COSPAR ID 2015-052A
SATCAT № 40930
Website http://astrosat.iucaa.in/
Mission duration 5 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass 1,650 kg (3,640 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date September 28, 2015 (2015-09-28)[1][2]
Rocket PSLV-XL
Launch site Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Near-equatorial
Semi-major axis 7020 km
Perigee 643.5 km
Apogee 654.9 km
Inclination 6.0°
Period 97.6 min
Main
Wavelengths Far Ultraviolet to Hard Xray
Instruments
UltraViolet imaging telescope (UVIT)
Soft X-ray telescope (SXT)
LAXPC
CZTI

Astrosat is India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory. It was launched on a PSLV-XL on 28 September 2015.[1][2]

Overview

After the success of the satellite-borne Indian X-ray Astronomy Experiment (IXAE), which was launched in 1996, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) approved further development for a full-fledged astronomy satellite, Astrosat, in 2004.[3]

A number of astronomy research institutions in India, and abroad have jointly built instruments for the satellite. Important areas requiring coverage include studies of astrophysical objects ranging from nearby solar system objects to distant stars and objects at cosmological distances; timing studies of variables ranging from pulsations of hot white dwarfs to those of active galactic nuclei can be conducted with Astrosat as well, with time scales ranging from milliseconds to days.

Astrosat is a multi-wavelength astronomy mission on an IRS-class satellite into a near-Earth, equatorial orbit. The five instruments on board cover the visible (320–530 nm), near UV (180–300 nm), far UV (130–180 nm), soft X-ray (0.3–8 keV and 2–10 keV) and hard X-ray (3–80 keV and 10–150 keV) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Astrosat was successfully launched on 28 September 2015 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on board a PSLV-XL vehicle at 10:00AM.

Mission

Artist's conception of a binary star system with one black hole and one main sequence star

Astrosat is a proposal-driven general purpose observatory, with main scientific focus on:

Astrosat performs multi-wavelength observations covering spectral bands from radio, optical, IR, UV, and X-ray wavelengths. Both individual studies of specific sources of interest and surveys are undertaken. While radio, optical, and IR observations would be coordinated through ground-based telescopes, the high energy regions, i.e., UV, X-ray and visible wavelength, would be covered by the dedicated satellite-borne instrumentation of Astrosat.[4]

The mission would also study near simultaneous multi-wavelength data from different variable sources. In a binary system, for example, regions near the compact object emit predominantly in the X-ray, with the accretion disc emitting most of its light in the UV/optical waveband, whereas the mass of the donating star is brightest in the optical band.

The observatory will also carry out:

In particular, the mission will train its instruments at active galactic nuclei (such as that of the core of the Milky Way), which are believed to contain super-massive black holes.[6]

Payloads

The scientific payload has a mass of 1513 kg and contains six instruments.

Ground support

The Ground Command and Control Centre for Astrosat will be ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bangalore, India. Commanding and data download will be possible during every visible pass over Bangalore. Ten out of 14 orbits per day will be visible to the ground station.[10] The satellite is capable of gathering 420 gigabits of data every day that can be down loaded in 10 to 11 orbits visible at Tracking and Data receiving center of ISRO in Bangalore.[11] A third 11-meter antenna at the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) was operational in July 2009 to track Astrosat.

Timeline

Two of the instruments were harder to complete than expected. "The satellite’s soft x-ray telescope proved to be a huge challenge that took 11 years..."[3]

Participants

The Astrosat project is a collaborative effort of many different research institutions. The participants are:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "India’s eye on universe ready for tests". Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "ASTROSAT: A Satellite Mission for Multi-wavelength Astronomy". IUCAA. 2012-04-20. Archived from the original on 2013-04-22. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  3. 1 2 "India set to launch Astrosat next year". The Hindu. 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  4. "India plans for X-ray spacecraft 2009 launch". Yourindustrynews.com. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  5. "Welcome To Indian Space Research Organisation :: Current Programme". Isro.org. 2009-09-23. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  6. "ISRO schedules Astrosat launch for 2010". Kuku.sawf.org. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  7. "Photek UVIT Detectors". University of Leicester. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ASTROSAT". Indian Space Research Organization. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  9. Chattopadhyay, T.; Vadawale, S.V.; Rao, A. R.; Sreekumar, S.; Bhattacharya, D. (2014-05-09). "Prospects of hard X-ray polarimetry with Astrosat-CZTI". Experimental Astronomy 37 (3): 555–577. Bibcode:2014ExA....37..555C. doi:10.1007/s10686-014-9386-1.
  10. http://astrosat.iucaa.in/
  11. "ASTROSAT: India's first space telescope". Newsbytesapp. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  12. "PSLV-C30/ASTROSAT Launch Live Webcast". Indian Space Research Organization. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  13. "ASTROSAT crossed a major milestone – Spacecraft fully assembled and tests initiated". ISRO. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  14. "ASTROSAT to be launched in mid-2010 – Technology". livemint.com. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  15. "India Works With University Of Leicester On First National Astronomy Satellite". Indodaily.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.

External links

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