ASTROSAT - ISRO Launches India's First Satellite Space-Obervatory
Channel: Spectator
Date: 2015-09-26

Astrosat is a broadband astronomy spacecraft developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to study the outer space in multiple-wavelengths. This space-based observatory is first of its kind to be designed and fabricated in India. Astrosat, in its design, is compact and quite small when compared to the four great observatories with a lift-off mass of 1513 Kgs. The instruments onboard, with a cumulative mass of 834 Kgs, are:
1. Ultra-violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) operating in visible, near UV and far UV bands,
2. Soft X-Ray Telescope (SXT) operating in low energy X-ray region,
3. Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride Imager (CZTI) operating in high energy X-ray region,
4. Large Area Xenon Proportional Counter (LAXPC) operating mainly in medium energy X-ray spectrum,
5. Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM) to keep track of transient X-ray sources, &
6. Charged-Particle Monitor (CPM) to study the South Atlantic anomaly.

The scientific studies associated are:
1. Simultaneous multi-wavelength monitoring of intensity variations in a broad range of cosmic sources.
 2. Monitoring the X-ray sky for new transients.
 3. Sky surveys in the hard X-ray and UV bands.
 4. Broadband spectroscopic studies of X-ray binaries, AGN, SNRs, clusters of galaxies and stellar coronae.
 5. Studies of periodic and non-periodic variability of X-ray sources.

ISRO along with many other Indian and foreign institutes have been involved in developing AstroSat. Some of the notable names are:
1. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) 
2. Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) 
3. ISRO  Satellite Centre (ISAC) 
4. Laboratory for Electro-Optics (LEOS) 
5. Vikram  Sarabhai  Space Centre (VSSC) 
6. ISRO  Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) 
7. University  of Leicester (UoL) 
8. Canadian Space Agency (CSA) 
9. Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA) 
10. Raman Research Institute (RRI) 

The satellite will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota onboard the PSLV-XL C30 rocket on 28th September at 10.00 AM IST. Mission-life of the space craft is 5 years.

This video is an overview of the Astrosat programme covering its scientific importance, its launch, the instruments onboard, and the the main collaborators in development of the spacecraft. 

Official website: http://astrosat.iucaa.in/
Astrosat webpage (ISRO): http://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/astrosat
ISRO's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ISRO

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Music credits: Jason Shaw (http://www.audionautix.com)