Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SPACE SCOPES
Launch Of Astrosat: First Indian Astronomy Satellite
by Staff Writers
Sriharikota, India (SPX) Sep 29, 2015


illustration only

The first Indian astronomy satellite Astrosat (http://astrosat.iucaa.in) was launched on 28 September 2015 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from Sriharikota on a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket. Astrosat has unprecedented capability to simultaneously observe cosmic objects in visible light, the ultraviolet waveband and the entire X-ray waveband from very low energy to very high energy X-rays. This unique ability to observe the universe in multi-wavelengths, simultaneously, is aimed at performing cutting-edge research in astrophysics.

Researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) have led this multi institutional effort and have made significant contributions to the design, fabrication and development of three out of five payloads that are on board Astrosat.

The Large Area Xenon Proportional Counters (LAXPC), a Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT), and a Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride Imager (CZTI), all of which will observe the universe in the X-ray wavebands, are the three payloads built in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (DAA) of TIFR Colaba, Mumbai. These instruments demonstrate a major Indian technological advance.

In addition, DAA/TIFR has significantly contributed to the twin Ultraviolet Imaging Telescopes (UVIT) on board Astrosat. 'The instruments developed by TIFR will give us a capability unrivaled in the world for the next 5 to 10 years. We look forward to some great science results' says Prof. S. Trivedi, Director TIFR.

Cosmic objects (stars, galaxies, quasars etc.) emit in multiple wavebands. Therefore, in order to unravel their mysteries it is essential to observe them in as many wavebands as possible. As X-rays and ultraviolet (UV) energy from cosmic objects cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere, suitable instruments must be sent above the atmosphere by satellites.

TIFR has been a pioneer in X-ray astronomy research in India. Soon after the discovery of the first extra-solar X-ray source in 1962, TIFR scientists built X-ray instruments for astronomical research, and sent them above the atmosphere by sub-orbital rockets and balloons.

Astrosat is a legacy of these activities. As Prof. P.C. Agrawal, one of the lead scientists who gave shape to the concept of this mission, says, 'Astrosat is a quantum leap from previous modest sized payloads on other Indian satellites. It is an internationally competitive observatory that will enable Indian scientists to work in frontier areas of high energy physics'.

The LAXPC detectors with the largest collecting area among any X-ray instrument ever built in the world, have been fully fabricated at TIFR, by a series of leaders, namely Prof. P.C. Agrawal, Prof. R.K. Manchanda, Prof. J.S. Yadav, and Prof. H.M. Antia. For the next 5 to 10 years LAXPC will be the only instrument in the world that will be able to study X-ray intensity fluctuations of cosmic objects on time scales as small as a millisecond. This will be essential to probe the fundamental physics of exotic objects, like black holes and super-dense neutron stars.

The SXT is the first X-ray focusing telescope built in India. The SXT will conduct imaging and X-ray spectroscopy of hot plasma in cosmic sources and the absorption of x-rays by intervening matter. The SXT team at TIFR, overcame major challenges in building and assembling the mirrors of this X-ray telescope.

'It is common knowledge that X-rays easily penetrate through materials but it is extremely difficult to focus x-rays with a telescope. Placing the 320 mirrors in the telescope, required great precision,' says Prof. K.P. Singh, lead scientist of the SXT team. The focal plane camera for the SXT containing a cooled charge coupled device (CCD) was built in collaboration with the University of Leicester (UK).

The CZTI, will image celestial objects in the high-energy X-ray band using a coded mask. It has the ability to also perform unique polarization measurements in very high energy X-rays. Built under the leadership of Prof. A.R. Rao of TIFR, the team overcame several challenges to ensure a uniform response from a large number of detectors, as the development of such detectors and electronics for use in high-energy X-ray imaging is a recent technology.

Scientific data obtained through Astrosat will be distributed from a few payload operation centers (POC), two of which will be located at TIFR. These two POCs, will control the operations of SXT and LAXPC, making DAA/TIFR a major center of worldwide X-ray astronomical activities for the next few years.

Astrosat will be available to the Indian astronomy community as an observational opportunity. It will address fundamental scientific problems that cannot be probed in terrestrial laboratories.

These will include testing Einstein's general theory of relativity, studying superdense cold matter deep inside a neutron star which is a fundamental problem of particle physics, and understanding flow of matter in astronomical scales, often in extremely strong gravity regions, relativistically accelerated plasma jets, extremely hot ionized plasmas, and absorption by cold matter.

Astrosat will observe a variety of objects in the universe, such as black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, explosive events like supernovae, stars, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
ASTROSAT
Space Telescope News and Technology at Skynightly.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SPACE SCOPES
India launches first space observatory
Bangalore, India (AFP) Sept 28, 2015
India successfully launched Monday its first high-tech telescopes into space to study the stars, as New Delhi seeks to take another major step in its ambitious and low-cost space programme. A rocket carrying the 150-tonne mini space observatory called Astrosat, along with six foreign satellites, blasted off on schedule from India's main southern spaceport of Sriharikota. "About 20 minute ... read more


SPACE SCOPES
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's Dance with Eclipses

China to rehearse new carrier rocket for lunar mission

NASA's LRO discovers Earth's pull is 'massaging' our moon

Moon's crust as fractured as can be

SPACE SCOPES
Evidence of brine 'flows' on Mars: water study

Celebrating one year of Mars Orbiter Mission in Orbit; Release of Mars Atlas

NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today's Mars

Space experts swoon for 'The Martian' despite inaccuracies

SPACE SCOPES
Airbus Defence and Space builds first hardware for Orion space vehicle's service module

India PM heads to Silicon Valley chasing a digital dream

Next stop for the Perlan 2 Glider: The edge of space

Space Architecture: From Outer Space to the Ocean Floor

SPACE SCOPES
China's new carrier rocket succeeds in 1st trip

China launches new type of carrier rocket: state media

Long March-2D carrier rocket blasts off in NW China

Progress for Tiangong 2

SPACE SCOPES
Fire in the Hole: Studying How Flames Grow in Space

NASA Selects Five New Flight Directors to Lead Mission Control

Space fish detail effects of microgravity on bones

US astronaut misses fresh air halfway through year-long mission

SPACE SCOPES
Ariane 5 ready to orbit Sky Muster and ARSAT-2 on September 30

Air Force welcomes Blue Origin to Launch Complex 36

Arianespace targets record year of new business and launch operations in 2015

Moscow to Launch Telecom Satellites on Rokot Carrier Rocket

SPACE SCOPES
Stellar atmosphere can be used to predict the composition of rocky exoplanets

Watching an exoplanet in motion around a distant star

Study: 'Hot Jupiter' exoplanets formed extremely rapidly

Europlanet 2020 launches new era of planetary collaboration in Europe

SPACE SCOPES
Lockheed Martin moves forward with Space Fence program

Virtual reality stretching beyond video games

Physicists defy conventional wisdom to identify ferroelectric material

A thermal invisibility cloak actively redirects heat




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.