Aryabhata (satellite)

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Aryabhata
Aryabhata Satellite.jpg
Aryabhata, India's first indigenously built satellite
Mission type Astrophysics
Operator ISRO
COSPAR ID 1975-033A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 7753
Mission duration5 years, 11 months
(Experiments ended during 5th day in orbit) [1]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer ISRO
Launch mass360 kg (790 lb) [2] [3]
Dimensions1.4 × 1.4 m (4.6 × 4.6 ft)
Power46 watts [3]
Start of mission
Launch date19 April 1975, 07:30 (1975-04-19UTC07:30Z) UTC [4]
Rocket Kosmos-3M [5]
Launch site Kapustin Yar 107/2
Contractor Yuzhnoye
End of mission
Last contactMarch 1981 (1981-04) [3]
Decay date10 February 1992 [3]
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee altitude 563 km (350 mi) [3]
Apogee altitude 619 km (385 mi) [3]
Inclination 50.7 degrees [3]
Period 96.46 minutes
Epoch 19 May 1975 [6]
Transponders
Bandwidth256 bit/sec [7]
Capacity137.44 MHz [7]

Aryabhata was India's first satellite, [2] named after the astronomer. [3] It was launched on 19 April 1975 [2] from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by ISRO and launched by the Soviet Union as a part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme which provided access to space for friendly states.

Contents

Launch

It was launched on 19 April 1975 [2] from Kapustin Yar, a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast, using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). [8] The launch was based on an agreement between India and the Soviet Union directed by UR Rao and signed in 1972. The USSR agreed to launch various Indian satellites in exchange for using Indian ports for tracking ships and launching vessels. [9]

On 19 April 1975, the satellite's 96.46-minute orbit had an apogee of 619 kilometres (385 mi) and a perigee of 563 kilometres (350 mi), at an inclination of 50.7 degrees. [6] [3] It was built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polyhedron 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) in diameter. All faces (except the top and bottom) were covered with solar cells supported by a Ni-Cd battery. It employed passive thermal systems and cold gas jets for spin stabilisation. [5] [10] Following launch, the satellite experienced tumbling at 0.3° per second and the aeronomy instrument’s power supply failed. However, engineers stabilised the satellite at 50 revolutions/minute by the 45th orbit. [10] A power failure halted experiments after four days and 60 orbits, with all signals from the spacecraft lost after five days of operation. [1] The Spacecraft mainframe remained active till March 1981. [3] The satellite entered Earth's atmosphere on 10 February 1992 due to orbital decay. [3]

Legacy

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Martand Jha (17 April 2020). "Aryabhata: Remembering India's first satellite". The Interpreter. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Aryabhata". The New Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 1 (15th ed.). Chicago, USA: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 1992. p. 611.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Aryabhata". www.isro.org. ISRO . Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Jonathan McDowell. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Aryabhata". usrc.gov.in. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  6. 1 2 Jonathan McDowell. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 Gunter D. Krebs. "Aryabhata 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  8. ↑ Arun Dev (12 April 2021). "Four sheds in Bengaluru and one big dream: How India's 1st satellite took form". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  9. 1 2 Brian Harvey (2000). The Japanese and Indian Space Programmes: Two Roads into Space. London, UK: Springer. pp. 133–134. ISBN   978-1-852-33199-3.
  10. 1 2 "50 years of Aryabhata: Satellite that launched India's space journey". The Times of India. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 20 April 2025.
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