Isro develops ship-based tracking antenna terminal

Chethan Kumar / TNN / Updated: Jul 13, 2017, 12:01 IST

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ISRO News: Istrac is entrusted with the responsibility of providing tracking support for all satellite and launch vehicle missions of Isro, besides being mandated to provide space operations support for Deep Space Missions.

Isro develops ship-based tracking antenna terminal

Key Highlights

The Istrac had developed a 4.6-metre SBT antenna terminal that meets the launch vehicle TTC requirements.
The SBT antenna helps in tracking requirements of launch vehicles and post-launch activity.
The antenna system was integrated on Sagar Manjusha Ship hired by the National Institute of Ocean Technology.

BENGALURU: In order to cater to specific tracking requirements of launch vehicles and post-launch activity, Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac), Bengaluru, has designed and developed a 4.6-metre Ship Borne Transportable (SBT) Antenna Terminal that meets the launch vehicle telemetry, tracking and command (TTC) requirements.
Istrac is entrusted with the responsibility of providing tracking support for all satellite and launch vehicle missions of Isro, besides being mandated to provide space operations support for Deep Space Missions.

“For supporting Deep Space Missions, a large number of ground stations are required to provide Telemetry Tracking and Command (TTC) support during the launch and initial phase. Based on the launch vehicle trajectory and visibility requirement, many a time TTC stations are to be located mid-sea, where conventional Ground Station Antenna are not suitable,“ Isro said in a statement.
It was in this backdrop that Istrac developed a 4.6 metre SBT antenna terminal that meets the launch vehicle TTC requirements.

“The SBT Antenna system consists of 3-axis antenna mount, a motion simulator, reflector and feed, servo control systems and radio frequency electronics. Mechanical Systems Area (MSA) of Istrac made a detailed study of the technical requirements, availability of similar systems internationally and derived state-of-the-art specifications,“ Isro added.
The final system performance and validation was carried out by a sea trial. The antenna system was integrated on Sagar Manjusha Ship hired by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT). The ship was stationed at a specified observation point in Bay of Bengal and has successfully tracked the PSLV-C38 launch vehicle.

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Chethan Kumar

As a young democracy grows out of adolescence, its rolling out reels and reels of tales. If the first post office or a telephone connection paints one colour, the Stamp of a stock market scam or the ‘Jewel Thieves’ scandal paint yet another colour. If failure of a sounding rocket was a stepping stone, sending 104 satellites in one go was a podium. If farmer suicides are a bad climax, growing number of Unicorns are a grand entry. Chethan Kumar, Senior Assistant Editor, The Times of India, who alternates between the mundane goings-on of the hoi polloi and the wonder-filled worlds of scientists and scamsters, politicians and Jawans, feels: There’s always a story, one just has to find it.

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