Brazilian satellite to be orbited by Indian rocket reaches Chennai

Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1, slated to be put into orbit by Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), has landed here on an Emirates SkyCargo flight, it was announced on Wednesday. In a statement, Emirates said its freight division Emirates SkyCargo flew the Amazonia-1 satellie from Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil to Chennai.

This is the first time that Emirates SkyCargo has transported a space satellite from South America.

Amazonia-1 is the first satellite to have been developed completely in Brazil by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil's apex body dedicated for space research and exploration.

The satellite took eight years to be developed and once launched into space, will help monitor the ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest tropical rainforest, the statement said.

The satellite is due to be sent to space in February 2021 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre located in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.

Emirates SkyCargo, together with the INPE, the airport and local partners, conducted two comprehensive simulation sessions ahead of the transport date to be able to transport the sensitive cargo safely.

During the transportation process, the Amazonia-1 satellite was dismantled into multiple components to facilitate easy loading and unloading from the aircraft.

The satellite components were packed inside large containers to avoid any damage during the transport.

ISRO Chairman K.Sivan had told IANS: "End of February or early March 2021, we will be sending our rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C51 (PSLV-C51). The primary payload will be the Brazilian satellite called Amazonia, an earth observation satellite."

"The PSLV-C51 mission will be a very special mission not only for ISRO but also for India as the rocket will be carrying the earth observation satellite Anand made by an Indian startup called Pixxel (incorporated as Syzygy Space Technologies Pvt Ltd)," he had added.

The PSLV-C51 will also carry a communication satellite built by the students of city-based Space Kidz India and another satellite built by a consortium of three Indian universities. (IANS), Source: https://southasiamonitor.org

Read More........→December 31, 2020

Modi impressed with rise in leopard population In India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed happiness over the increasing population of leopards in India which has registered more than 60 per cent rise in the latest report. 

"Great news! After lions and tigers, the leopard population increases," the Prime Minister tweeted.

Extending congratulations to all those who are working towards animal conservation, the Prime Minister appealed to such institutions and people to keep up these efforts and ensure "our animals live in safe habitats".

Prime Minister's message came after Union Minister Prakash Javadekar released the "Status of Leopard in India 2018" report.

Javadekar informed in a tweet that "India now has 12,852 leopards", saying it is "more than 60 per cent increase in the population compared to the previous estimate which was conducted in 2014". Source: https://southasiamonitor.org/

Read More........→December 24, 2020

India puts into orbit its 42nd communication satellite

India on Thursday successfully placed its 42nd communication satellite CMS-01 (formerly GSAT-12R) in the geosynchronous transfer orbit in a textbook style.

India's brand new communication satellite CMS-01 with a life span of seven years will provide services in Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum. The satellite will cover Indian mainland, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country's space agency.

The CMS-01 will be a replacement for GSAT-12 that weighed 1,410 kg and was launched on July 11, 2011 with a mission life of eight years.

Expressing his happiness at the successful launch of CMS-01 satellite, ISRO Chairman K.Sivan said: "In four days time the CMS-01 satellite will be taken to its intended geosynchronous orbit. The satellite's solar panel has been deployed."

He said the next rocket that would fly in Feb-March 2021 will be PSLV-C51 which will be a special one for ISRO as well as for the country.

Sivan said the rocket will be carrying India's first earth observation satellite from a start-up called Pixxel. The rocket will also carry communication satellite built by students part of SpaceKidz team and another satellite built by consortium of three Indian universities.

"The primary payload for PSLV-C51 rocket will be a Brazilian satellite weighing between 600-700kg," Sivan told IANS.

He also said Team ISRO has a busy schedule ahead with the launch of Aditya satellite, Gaganyaaan-India's human space mission, realisation of small rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). Source: i

Read More........→December 19, 2020

Indian, Russian satellites barely miss collision in space

India's 700 kg cartography satellite Cartosat-2F and Russia's 450 kg Kanopus-V satellite had a near-miss in the outer space on Friday morning, said Roscosmos, Russia's state space corporation. Both the satellites were as close as 224 metres.

Roscosmos said in a statement that as per the TsNIIMash main information and analytical centre of the Warning Automated System of Hazardous Situations near the earth space-part of Roscosmos, at 1.49 UTC (IST 7.19 a.m.), Cartosat-2F, an active Indian satellite, dangerously approached Russia's Kanopus-V satellite.

According to the TsNIIMash calculations, the minimum distance between the Russian and the foreign satellite was 224 metres.

Both the spacecraft are designed for Earth's remote sensing.

Kanopus is an Earth observation sattelite with a launch mass of 450 kg mini-satellite mission of the Russian Space Agency.

The overall objective is to monitor Earth's surface, atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere to detect and study the probability of strong earthquake occurrence.

On the other hand, Cartosat-2F is the eighth in the Cartosat-2 series launched in January 2018.

While Roscosmos made the matter public, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has maintained silence on the issue so far.

However, it is not known how the Indian satellite came so close to the Russian satellite  Source: https://southasiamonitor.org

Read More........→November 30, 2020

India's first vaccine candidate Covaxin's Phase-3 trials begin

Vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has announced that it has commenced Phase-3 trials of Covaxin, India's first indigenous vaccine for COVID-19.

The Phase-3 trials, which involve 26,000 volunteers across India, are being conducted in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

This is India's first Phase-3 efficacy study for a COVID-19 vaccine, and the largest Phase-3 efficacy trial ever conducted in India, the Hyderabad-based company said.

Trial volunteers will receive two intramuscular injections approximately 28 days apart. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive Covaxin or a placebo. The trial is double blinded, such that the investigators, the participants and the company will not be aware of who is assigned to which group.

The trials are being conducted at 22 institutes in India including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital (both New Delhi), the Aligarh Muslim University, the Grant Government Medical College and Sir J.J. Group of Hospitals, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College (Sion Hospital) (all three Mumbai), the ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Chennai and King George Hospital, Vizag.

Participating volunteers, who undergo vaccination in the Phase-3 trials, will be monitored to detect occurrence of COVID-19.

Covaxin has been evaluated in about 1,000 subjects in Phase-1 and Phase-2 clinical trials, with promising safety and immunogenicity data. Volunteers who wish to participate in this trial should be adults over 18 years of age.

Covaxin by Bharat Biotech is developed in collaboration with the ICMR - National Institute of Virology (NIV). This indigenous, inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) bio containment facility.

Covaxin is a highly purified and inactivated vaccine, manufactured in a vero cell manufacturing platform with an excellent safety track record of more than 300 million doses supplied.

"The development and clinical evaluation of Covaxin marks a significant milestone for vaccinology in India, for a novel vaccine. It is important for Indian companies to innovate and develop indigenous vaccines, especially during a pandemic. Covaxin has garnered interest from several countries worldwide for supplies and introduction," said Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director of Bharat Biotech Source: https://southasiamonitor.org/

Read More........→November 20, 2020