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Bangalore, June 25: A constellation of four environmental satellites for forecasts on cyclones and management of agriculture and maritime activities would be fabricated and launched by the US and India as part of the initiative to enhance cooperation in space.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) of the US and Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) would work together on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). The first of the satellites would be launched in 2009.
The venture was announced at the concluding session of the Indo-US conference on space science, applications and commerce.
“This is the second significant outcome of this conference (the first one was on Boeing Satellite Systems and Isro to build communication satellites). We will develop the sensors for these satellites and set up one ground station in India to receive the data. We have not worked out the cost of this joint effort,” Isro chairman Madhavan Nair said today.
Isro has shortlisted two American organisations for inclusion of 10-kg payload on board Chandrayaan-I, a spacecraft planned to orbit the moon in 2007. “One of them will make it, but it’s too early to name them,” Nair said.
A joint “Vision Statement” issued by Noaa and Isro said: “The NPOESS will provide rapid distribution of global and regional environmental imagery, meteorological, climatic, terrestrial, oceanic and solar-geophysical data for use by the international community. Data from this system will aid in the timely prediction of cyclones, support disaster management effort and benefit the development and management of agriculture, fisheries, maritime industries and other economic sectors.”
Nair said the statement would serve as the precursor to specific joint ventures in remote sensing, satellite communications technology and applications in telemedicine and tele-education, satellite navigation and research in management of disasters. “We have made a beginning and we will continue the discussions with them,” he said.
In the statement, India and the US vowed to utilise each other’s strengths in space science, technology and applications and step up cooperation and commerce in civil space through a high-level mechanism. It said cooperation and commerce could be facilitated through a high-level mechanism involving key representatives of government, business, academic and other non-governmental organisations from the US and India. US ambassador David C. Mulford and Nair would take the initiative to catalyse civilian space collaboration, it said.
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam also made a mark with his “virtual presence” through a video link. Kalam said he visualised an Indo-US team establishing a habitat in Mars, setting up mining industrial units in space and working on a joint programme to destroy or deflect asteroids when the earth faces a calamity. “Such a mission will be beautiful and purposeful for India and the US in partnership with other countries. It will be a challenging journey and meaningful voyage, symbolising evolution of nano-structured satellites,” he said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/104062...ecast~+]~--%3E
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) of the US and Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) would work together on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). The first of the satellites would be launched in 2009.
The venture was announced at the concluding session of the Indo-US conference on space science, applications and commerce.
“This is the second significant outcome of this conference (the first one was on Boeing Satellite Systems and Isro to build communication satellites). We will develop the sensors for these satellites and set up one ground station in India to receive the data. We have not worked out the cost of this joint effort,” Isro chairman Madhavan Nair said today.
Isro has shortlisted two American organisations for inclusion of 10-kg payload on board Chandrayaan-I, a spacecraft planned to orbit the moon in 2007. “One of them will make it, but it’s too early to name them,” Nair said.
A joint “Vision Statement” issued by Noaa and Isro said: “The NPOESS will provide rapid distribution of global and regional environmental imagery, meteorological, climatic, terrestrial, oceanic and solar-geophysical data for use by the international community. Data from this system will aid in the timely prediction of cyclones, support disaster management effort and benefit the development and management of agriculture, fisheries, maritime industries and other economic sectors.”
Nair said the statement would serve as the precursor to specific joint ventures in remote sensing, satellite communications technology and applications in telemedicine and tele-education, satellite navigation and research in management of disasters. “We have made a beginning and we will continue the discussions with them,” he said.
In the statement, India and the US vowed to utilise each other’s strengths in space science, technology and applications and step up cooperation and commerce in civil space through a high-level mechanism. It said cooperation and commerce could be facilitated through a high-level mechanism involving key representatives of government, business, academic and other non-governmental organisations from the US and India. US ambassador David C. Mulford and Nair would take the initiative to catalyse civilian space collaboration, it said.
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam also made a mark with his “virtual presence” through a video link. Kalam said he visualised an Indo-US team establishing a habitat in Mars, setting up mining industrial units in space and working on a joint programme to destroy or deflect asteroids when the earth faces a calamity. “Such a mission will be beautiful and purposeful for India and the US in partnership with other countries. It will be a challenging journey and meaningful voyage, symbolising evolution of nano-structured satellites,” he said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/104062...ecast~+]~--%3E
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