International - India & World   

Launch of YouthSat satellite postponed to year-end

MOSCOW: The launch of Indo-Russian micro-satellite YouthSat – originally scheduled for the first quarter of this year – has been postponed to 2008-end; purportedly at the request of Indian Space Research Organisation.

This was disclosed to a visiting group of Indian journalists by Mikhail I. Panasyuk, Director of the Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) at Moscow State University (MSU) which is collaborating with ISRO on this joint venture to study solar flare activity and its effect on space weather.

Professor Panasyuk said ISRO suggested rescheduling of the launch as the Sun was not particularly active this year and the number of solar flares were likely to be more next year. Such being the case, ISRO’s contention was that a 2008-end launch would be ideal for the project.

The Russian instrument to study the Sun’s influence on the terrestrial ionosphere and magnetosphere was ready and waiting to be shipped to be fitted in YouthSat, which would be launched from India. ISRO was yet to take a call on the SINP’s suggestion that the micro-satellite – aimed at facilitating collaborative research at the level of young scientists and not just leading experts – be renamed ‘LoYa’ (rhythm) after the 18th Century Russian scientist who contributed to the establishment of MSU, Mikhail Lomonosov, and the ancient Indian astronomer Yajnavalkya. The project was under consideration since the former President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, visited Russia in the summer of 2005. On the collaborative front, the purpose of the project was to provide a platform for students from universities on both sides to develop scientific instruments and analyse the data. Primarily, it provided Russian and Indian students hands-on experience in space experiment and data processing. As for the scientific research, it was divided between the two countries: While Russia will study solar activity, India would monitor its influence on ionosphere.

Describing the research project as important to the “so-called solar-terrestrial relationship in the frame of space physics problems,” the young Russian scientists involved in ‘YouthSat’ said their instrument could be used to make short-term forecasts of energetic solar events that could impact manned and unmanned space missions.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Musharraf main obstacle, say ex-servicemen
"Handover reins"
Illegal custody: Pakistani lawyer
Cowardly act, says Colombo
Asian, black groups in U.K. protest new police powers
Verdict on Hindraf plea set for February 26
Asterix movie set for release
Launch of YouthSat satellite postponed to year-end

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu