Description

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Context:

The Indian government is working on new projects such as a new moon and Venus missions and India is also preparing to launch the NISAR and Proba-3 satellites.

Space-Based Surveillance (SBS) mission

*About*	It is a mission for better land and maritime domain awareness for civilian and military applications. The SBS mission is managed by the National Security Council Secretariat and Defence Space Agency under the Ministry of Defence.
*Objectives*	It aims to enhance land and maritime domain awareness for both civilian and military applications. It also aims to enable real-time surveillance for better national security and monitoring. Strategically it aims to: Develop capabilities to detect enemy submarines in the Indo-Pacific. Monitor adversary infrastructure along India's land and sea borders.
*Satellite Details*	Under the mission, 52 satellites are to be launched over the next decade in low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit. Out of these, 21 satellites will be built by ISRO and the remaining 31 will be constructed by private companies. Under this Separate satellites will be allocated to the Army, Navy, and Air Force for land, sea, and air-specific missions.
*Budget*	The project cost is estimated at 26,968 crore rupees.
*Previous Phases*	SBS 1: It was launched in 2001 under the Vajpayee government. It launched 4 satellites including Cartosat 2A, Cartosat 2B, Eros B, and Risat 2 in space. SBS 2: It was launched in 2013. It launched 6 satellites including Cartosat 2C and Risat 2A in orbit.

Proba-3 mission

*About the Mission*	Proba-3 is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) and the world’s first precision formation flying mission. It demonstrates the formation flying and rendezvous technologies using two satellites flying in a fixed configuration as a 'large rigid structure' in space. Its primary mission goal is to enable large-scale formation flying for future scientific and observational missions.
*Scientific Objective*	It aims to create a 144-meter-long solar coronagraph by the precise alignment of two satellites, Coronagraph spacecraft and Occulter spacecraft to study the corona of the sun. It will study the corona more closely to the solar corona than ever before. It will observe the solar corona in visible, ultraviolet, and polarised light by blocking out the blinding light of the solar disk.
*Mass and Configuration*	The Coronagraph spacecraft weighs 340 kg. Occulter spacecraft on the other hand weighs 200 kg. Both satellites will have a separation distance of approximately 144 meters.
*Technological Innovations*	It demonstrates a precise formation flying technology to achieve a millimeter precision without ground guidance. Autonomous Collision Avoidance Maneuver will also be demonstrated to prevent satellite collisions during formation flying. It utilizes relative GPS navigation, guidance, and control algorithms.
*Future Applications*	Formation flying validated by Proba-3 will aid Earth observation, satellite servicing, and Mars Sample Return missions in future. The Testing of sensors and algorithms for rendezvous operations will be applicable in de-orbiting satellites from low-Earth orbit.

LEAP 3

Mission Type

LEAP-3 is the third mission in the Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP) series.

It is a collaborative project between Dhruva Space (Hyderabad) partners with Manastu Space (Mumbai) to integrate green propulsion technology in space missions.

It is scheduled for launch in late 2025.

Payload

It utilises Dhruva Space’s P-30 platform, which is optimised for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions and supports payloads up to 50 kg.

Features

Green Propulsion System

It is developed by Manastu Space and it utilises a hydrogen peroxide-based fuel for propulsion.

Agility

It is 20 times more agile than conventional systems.

Efficiency

It is 50 percent more efficient and 60% less toxic than other launchers, which leads to a 60% reduction in operational costs.

Sustainability

It is designed to minimize space debris and comply with international regulations for safe deorbiting of satellites.

Enhanced Manoeuvrability

Its advanced propulsion system allows for more precise orbital adjustments and mission capabilities.

Read about the other two topics here:

Sources:

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PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.With reference to recent Space Missions seen in the news, consider the following pairs:

Space Mission	Features
1. Proba-3 mission	The world’s first precision formation flying mission.
2. LEAP-3	It utilises a hydrogen peroxide-based fuel for propulsion.
3. Space-Based Surveillance (SBS) mission	It is a land and maritime domain awareness mission.

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(d) None

Answer: c

Explanation:

Pair 1 is correctly matched:

Proba-3 is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) and the world’s first precision formation flying mission.

It demonstrates the formation flying and rendezvous technologies using two satellites flying in a fixed configuration as a 'large rigid structure' in space.

Its primary mission goal is to enable large-scale formation flying for future scientific and observational missions.

Pair 2 is correctly matched:

LEAP-3 is the third mission in the Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP) series.

It is a collaborative project between Dhruva Space (Hyderabad) partners with Manastu Space (Mumbai) to integrate green propulsion technology in space missions.

Green Propulsion System it utilises is a hydrogen peroxide-based fuel for propulsion.

It is scheduled for launch in late 2025.

Pair 3 is correctly matched:

Space-Based Surveillance (SBS) mission is a mission for better land and maritime domain awareness for civilian and military applications.

The SBS mission is managed by the National Security Council Secretariat and Defence Space Agency under the Ministry of Defence.