NASA, ISRO gearing up to launch joint space mission to map globe every 12 days
Bengaluru (PTI): The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is set to be launched in the first quarter of 2024 after a few tests, particularly those related to vibration, NASA officials have said.
"ISRO is projecting the first quarter of next year. So, I mean, that's ready," NASA NISAR Project Manager Phil Barela said during a media interaction here on Wednesday.
He is expecting the launch of NISAR (spelt as 'Naisar') "not earlier than January" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota aboard the ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-II.
The mission, which has three-year duration, aims to survey all of Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces every 12 days. This will start after a 90-day satellite commissioning period.
Regarding the key tests that are pending to be undertaken, Barela said, "The vibration testing that's underway, but there's a whole slew of performance tests that we need to do."
Battery and simulation tests have to be done to make sure that the system works fine, he said.
"...we'll be doing performance testing on the radars and various spacecraft electronics. So, a lot of testing remains but the big environments test, the only one remaining now, is vibration," Barela said.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Dr Laurie Leshin said the NISAR project is "better than anything that was flown in the past".
"While there are datasets from past missions that can form sort of a baseline, this is a new level of capability that we will have with NISAR," she had told reporters on Tuesday.
"If it's working very well, we will almost certainly extend that mission to get that longer baseline. It is a very important thing to see the Earth change on multi-year timescales. This is what we are looking for," Leshin had said.
According to ISRO, NISAR is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being jointly developed by it and NASA.
NISAR will map the entire globe in 12 days and provide spatially and temporally consistent data for understanding changes in the Earth's ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, ground water and natural hazards, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides.
In a handout, NASA said the project aims to understand the dynamics of carbon storage and uptake in wooded, agricultural, wetland and permafrost ecosystems and the response of ice sheets to climate change, the interaction of sea ice and climate, and impacts on sea level rise worldwide.
NISAR will have Synthetic Aperture Radar Instrument (SAR), L-band SAR, S-band SAR and Antenna reflector.
According to NASA, the onboard instruments can even see a minor change of even one centimetre from space.
The SUV-size satellite has a mass of roughly 2,800 kg, which will be powered by two solar arrays providing about four kilowatts of power.
The six feet tall spacecraft bus' will contain the command and communication systems for the instrument payload, which houses the two SAR instruments.
"The bus' will also support the radar antenna reflector and its boom. There is enough fuel aboard to support at least five years of operations," the handout said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pune accident: Porsche car's registration was pending since March due to non-payment of Rs 1,758 fee
Mumbai, May 21: The permanent registration of the luxury Porsche car involved in the accident in which two IT professionals were fatally knocked down by in Pune city was pending since March due to non-payment of Rs 1,758 fees by the owner, top officials of the Maharashtra transport department said on Tuesday.
The electric luxury sports sedan - Porsche Taycan - was being driven allegedly by a prominent builder's 17-year-old son, who the police claim was drunk at the time of the accident that took place in Kalyani Nagar area in the early hours of Sunday.
Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar told PTI that the Porsche car was imported in March by a dealer in Bengaluru and from there it was sent to Maharashtra on a temporary registration.
"When it was produced at the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO), it was found that a certain registration fee was not paid and the owner was asked to pay the amount for completion of the procedure. However, the vehicle was not brought to the RTO for the completion of the registration process after that," he said.
According to officials, road tax is exempted for electric vehicles registered in Maharashtra, and hence for the registration of this Porsche Taycan model, the registration fees that were applicable were only Rs 1,758 with the break-up of Rs 1,500 hypothecation fees, Rs 200 smart card RC fees and Rs 58 postal charges.
Interestingly, as per Porsche India's website, the ex-showroom price of the vehicle manufacturer's various cars starts at Rs 96 lakh and goes over Rs 1.86 crore. Though the price of the Porsche Taycan model is not given on the website, transport department sources said that it could be in crores.
The officials said that as per their records, the vehicle had a valid temporary registration certificate issued by Karnataka with a validity of six months from March to September 2024.
They said that the Porsche dealer in Bengaluru was not at fault as he had handed over the car after doing the temporary registration. Hence, it was the responsibility of the owner to get it registered at the RTO before plying it on the roads. During the temporary registration period, the vehicles can only be used to drive to and from the RTO.
Bhimanwar said that the teenage boy, who was said to be driving the car, will be barred from getting a driving licence until he turns 25 years of age, and the luxury car will also not be allowed to register at any RTO office for 12 months as its existing temporary registration will be cancelled as per the provisions in the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
Under the sub-sections of Section 199A (offenses by juveniles) of the MV Act, the transport authorities can take this action.
Bhimanwar said that their department is going to take stringent action in this case and the Pune RTO has been asked to register the police complaint for violation of provisions in the MV Act
"Whatever violations related to the Motor Vehicles Act happened in the issue, those will be registered in the FIR," Bhimanwar said, adding that they will also invoke the procedure for cancellation of the temporary registration of the vehicle as per the provisions in the act.
"The vehicle will be impounded for 12 months," another top official of the transport department said, adding that there is gross negligence in this case as the vehicle was driven at a speed over 160 kmph, allegedly in an inebriated state as per media reports.
The official said that there are several violations in this case, including driving the vehicle without a driving licence and without its registration, among others.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a press conference in Pune this evening that the car was purchased in Bengaluru and was brought here.
"As per the primary information, the RTI had carried out its inspection but the tax which was required to be paid was not paid. If there is any violation regarding that, a separate FIR will be registered," he said.
