[amsat-bb] VUsat aka Hamsat launch date.

[Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've been scratching my head about when this was going up this month, and really hadn't found anything solid until this AM. This article is reposted from another email list, CARTOSAT is the primary satellite on the same launch as VUsat.

73, Drew KO4MA

ISRO plans four satellite launches this year: 
[India News]: Bangalore, Feb 26 : The Indian Space Research 
Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch four satellites this year, including two 
remote sensing payloads, from Sriharikota off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

ISRO chairman G. Madhvan Nair Saturday told reporters that the first 
launch was scheduled for the last week of April. This would place remote 
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sensing satellite Cartosat-1 in the polar orbit with 2.5-metre 
resolution cameras for mapping applications.

"The satellite has been integrated and final tests are being conducted. 
The polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) is under preparation at the 
Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota," Nair said.

The first of its kind of satellite in the world for mapping and 
creating atlases, the 1300 kg Cartosat will orbit at a height of 620 km above 
the earth.

The space agency will also send a mini-satellite called Hamsat along 
with Cartosat-1 for boosting communication among amateur radio operators.

The 50 kg mini-satellite will be carried by Cartosat-1 as a piggyback 
for deployment in the lower orbit. Hamsat will have two transponders, 
one made by ISRO and another built by Dutch amateur radio operators. 

The main remote sensing satellite (Cartosat-1) will be equipped with 
two sophisticated camera systems for cartography and taking stereoscopic 
pictures.

In the INSAT series, ISRO is awaiting confirmation from Arianespace - 
the European Space Agency (ESA) - for the launch of its INSAT-4A 
satellite from Korou in French Guyana this summer. 

"We are waiting for a slot in the Arianespace launch programme. We hope 
to get the right slot by May or June to launch the first communication 
satellite in the INSAT-4A series," Nair said.

The 3-tonne (3000 kg) INSAT-4A will have 12 Ku band transponders for 
direct-to-home (DTH) telecast applications and 12C band communication 
transponders.

In the second half of the year, ISRO plans to launch Cartosat-2, which 
will be an advanced remote sensing satellite with a single panchromatic 
camera to undertake spot imageries for cartographic applications. 

By the year-end, ISRO is scheduling to launch INSAT-4C from Korou with 
18 Ku band transponders for providing dedicated broadcasting 
applications, including DTH services from 2006.


Indo-Asian News Service 
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