ISRO to switch off equipment, monitor meteor storm

BANGALORE, Nov 16: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will take a series of measures tomorrow to protect its five Insat and four ...

BANGALORE, Nov 16: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will take a series of measures tomorrow to protect its five Insat and four IRS satellites besides the scientific satellite, Sross-C2, in view of the meteoroids storm, expected to be at its peak at around 2.10 pm on November 18.

ISRO said the probability of five Insats — Insat 1-D, Insat 2-A, Insat 2-B, Insat 2-C and Insat-2 DT and four IRS satellites — IRS 1B, IRS 1C, IRS 1D and IRS P3 — and Sross C-2, being hit by the the Leonid meteoroid debris is estimated to

be between 0.01 per cent and 0.03 per cent.

So as not to take chances, ISRO will take measures to minimise possible damage to satellites. The storm is expected to last for a couple of hours on either side of its peak, it said.

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ISRO officials said it will closely monitor the health of all its satellites from the spacecraft control centres — ISTRAC at Bangalore for IRS and Sross satellites and master control facility at Hassan for Insat series — to detect any electricalanomalies during the period.

The designers of various satellite subsystems will be at these spacecraft control centres to guide corrective operations, if necessary, the officials said.

The main risk from the meteoroids storm could be physical, mechanical and electrical damage to the satellite, resulting in direct mechanical cratering, plasma and electro-static discharges.

ISRO said the solar panels of the satellites would be oriented in such a way that they present the minimum surface area to the approaching meteoroids debris.

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Some of the operations, like that of the panchromatic camera steering on board the IRS-1C and IRS-1D, the officials said, would be avoided during the meteoroids storm, associated with Comet 55 P/Tempel-Tuttle.

According to ISRO, only essential equipment would be kept on during the period. The gyros on board Insat would be kept on to detect any meteoroid hits. “Isro is taking all necessary precautions to minimise the impact of the meteoroids, if any”, theysaid.