Re: India Launches Geosynchronous Satellite For Educational Services

From: harmony (aka_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 09/23/04 

Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:26:13 -0500

hopefully it will beam the right history lessons to brit schoolls.

"Dr. Jai Maharaj" <usenet@mantra.com> wrote in message
news:Sxk4w16JwRR8@HD962F5NYEIBjB...
> In article <c62ede76.0409202243.6c699619@posting.google.com>,
> nkdatta8839@bigmailbox.net (nkdatta8839) posted:
> >
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3672608.stm
> >
> > BBC News
> > Monday, 20 September, 2004, 12:35 GMT 13:35 UK
> >
> > India launches learning satellite
> >
> > India has launched its first satellite to be used for expanding the
> > country's educational network.
> >
> > The Edusat, weighing around 2,000kg, will help train teachers and
> > provide primary and secondary education by linking classrooms across
> > India.
> >
> > It is hoped the satellite will help revolutionise learning in India by
> > taking education to remote classrooms.
> >
> > About a third of India's billion-plus population cannot read and only
> > 13% finish high school.
> >
> > 'Beautiful bird'
> >
> > The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) took nearly three years
> > to build the $17m satellite.
> >
> > It was sent into space by India's locally-made geo-synchronous
> > satellite launch vehicle from Sriharikota island in southern Andhra
> > Pradesh state.
> >
> > "We have got a perfect launch. I hope in the next few days we will
> > have major operations running," PS Goel, director of the satellite
> > centre, told reporters.
> >
> > "It will be another beautiful bird in the sky spreading education."
> >
> > A spokesman for Isro told the French news agency AFP that universities
> > in three Indian states would be linked through the satellite, which
> > has a mission life of seven years.
> >
> > The states are Karnataka in the south, Maharashtra in the west and the
> > central state of Madhya Pradesh.
> >
> > In the second phase, the satellite will link more than 1,000
> > classrooms in two more states.
> >
> > Isro chairman Madhavan Nair said the satellite would help beam
> > lectures by eminent persons to classrooms across the country.
> >
> > Launch history
> >
> > India launches its own satellites and plans to enter the lucrative
> > commercial satellite launch market.
> >
> > In September 2002, India successfully launched its first weather
> > satellite to help the country predict cyclones and storms more
> > accurately.
> >
> > In 2001, it successfully tested its first geostationary launch
> > vehicle, which is capable of launching bigger satellites into a higher
> > orbit.
> >
> > India also plans to send a spacecraft to the moon by 2008.
> >
============================================================================
==
> > ==
> > http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/21/stories/2004092111440100.htm
> >
> > The HINDU
> > Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004
> >
> > EDUSAT placed in orbit
> >
> > SRIHARIKOTA, SEPT. 20. India once again demonstrated that it is a
> > world leader in space when its Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch
> > Vehicle (GSLV-FO1) raced into the sky from the spaceport at
> > Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 4.01 p.m. today and put EDUSAT in a
> > perfect orbit 17 minutes later.
> >
> > This is the third successful flight for the GSLV after the earlier
> > successful flights from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota
> > in April 2001 and May 2003. For the Indian Space Research Organisation
> > (ISRO), this is the 10th successful flight in a row.
> > The 1,950-kg EDUSAT is the heaviest satellite launched so far by ISRO.
> > EDUSAT is India's first exclusive satellite for educational services.
> >
> > `Excellent mission'
> >
> > This is the first operational flight of the GSLV. The previous two
> > GSLV flights were developmental missions. G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman,
> > ISRO, called it an "excellent" mission. "We did not have any hold at
> > all. The entire launch sequence went on as planned. The trajectory was
> > unbelievably good."
> >
> > The success was all the more sweeter because heavy rains and thunder
> > clouds threatened to disrupt the launch. There was lightning too. "We
> > thought we should postpone the launch," Mr. Nair said. But using a
> > radar that ISRO had developed and a balloon launch for measuring the
> > height of the cloud and the wind velocity, and thereby redesigning the
> > trajectory of the flight, ISRO decided at 8.30 a.m. today to go ahead.
> > And the countdown proceeded without any hitch.
> >
> > Spectacular
> >
> > The GSLV-FO1 lifted off on the dot at 4.01 p.m., and the giant vehicle
> > soaring into the sky on top of balls of orange flames. The three
> > stages of the vehicle ignited on schedule and they jettisoned with
> > clockwork precision. Seventeen minutes after the lift-off, the third
> > cryogenic stage injected EDUSAT into orbit at a velocity of 37,000 km
> > an hour. It went into a perfect geo-synchronous transfer orbit with an
> > apogee of 35,985 km and a perigee of 180.54 km.
> >
> > EDUSAT would revolutionise distance education. From a television
> > studio, a teacher can teach any subject, and if schools/colleges have
> > reception facilities, they can simultaneously listen to him.
> >
============================================================================
==
> > ==
> > EDUSAT launched successfully
> >
> > Sriharikota, Sept. 20 (PTI): EDUSAT, the world's first and India's
> > exclusive satellite for educational services, was successfully
> > launched from the Space Centre here this evening despite murky weather
> > conditions.
> >
> > The 1950-kg. satellite, the heaviest built by the Indian Space
> > Research Organisation, and carried by the 49-metre Geosynchronous
> > Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F-01) was placed in the Geosynchronous
> > stationary orbit, about 17 minutes after the vehicle's perfect
> > take-off at 4.01 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here into the
> > murky sky.
> >
> > The satellite, which will provide a fillip to distance education in
> > the country, has a mission life of seven years. It will be co-located
> > with Kalpana-1 and INSAT-3C satellites already in orbit. This is the
> > first operational flight of GSLV.
> >
> > Scores of scientists, including the ISRO Chairman, Madhavan Nair, and
> > his predecessor, Dr Kasturi Rangan, witnessed the "perfect" launch.
> >
> > Though in his immediate reaction, Nair said India had once again
> > proved that it can undertake satellite projects with "perfection and
> > thoroughness" to meet any global standards, at a press briefing later,
> > he said the launch took place against "many odds" as the scientists
> > were worried over atmospheric conditions.
> > "Yesterday, there was heavy downpour and lightning. We virtually
> > thought of postponing the launch," Nair said adding "scientists, using
> > radar systems, looked at meteorological parameters and by 9.30 am
> > today, we took a decision to go ahead with the final countdown."
> >
> > "This is one of the finest missions ISRO has had. The launch went off
> > well without any deviation and on dot," Nair said.
> >
> > The main motor, and various stages including the cryogenic stage
> > supplied by Russia, and all on-board computers performed well as
> > planned.
> > The scope of the Edusat programmes would be realised in three phases.
> > In the first phase, Visvesvariah Technological University in
> > Karnataka, Y B Chavan State University in Maharashtra and Rajiv Gandhi
> > Technical university in Madhya Pradesh would be covered.
> >
> > The second phase would see inclusion of two more States and a national
> > institution and in the third and final phase, Edusat network would
> > become fully operational.
> >
> > Nair said there was heavy shortage of quality teachers in various
> > fields. "There is also need to reach the remote parts of the country
> > and providing adult literacy programme. All these are planned to be
> > fulfilled by distant connectivity which can be achieved by Edusat."
> >
> > "We will be able to link various institutions at higher education
> > levels, primary schools, secondary schools and also the villages,"
> > Nair said adding "we have already linked the Visvesvariah University
> > with 100 engineering colleges and the programmes are being conducted
> > on a regular basis."
> >
> > "We have already signed an MOU with IGNOU and will soon be signing
> > with All India Council for Technical Education. In the next three
> > months, we will sign with 20 major educational institutions in the
> > country and discussions are already on with various agencies."
> >
> > The Edusat has specially been configurated for the audio-visual
> > medium, employing digital interactive classrooms and multi-media and
> > multi-centric systems.
> >
> > The satellite will have multiple regional beams covering different
> > parts of India -- five Ku-band transponders with spot beams covering,
> > northern, north-eastern, eastern, southern and western regions, a
> > Ku-band transponder with its 'footprint' covering the mainland and six
> > other C-band transponders with their 'footprints' covering entire
> > country.
> >
> > The concept of beaming educational programmes through satellites was
> > effectively demonstrated for the first time in India in 1975-76
> > through Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE),
> > conducted using the American Application Technology Satellite.
> >
> > Later, with the commissioning of INSAT system in 1983, a variety of
> > educational programmes were telecast. With the success of the
> > INSAT-based educational services, a need was felt to launch a
> > satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services and the ISRO
> > conceived the Edusat project in October 2002.
> > The cost of the satellite was Rs. 90 crores and that of the launch
> > vehicle around Rs.160 crores.
> >
> >
============================================================================
==
>
> Good show!
>
> Jai Maharaj
> http://www.mantra.com/jai
> Om Shanti
>

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