A one-day Industrial Visit to ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, Indian Deep Space Network, U.R. Rao Satellite Centre Division, Bengaluru, was organized by the Department of Electronics and Communication, on 9th December, 2022. 47 students from the 5th semester of the Electronics and Communication Engineering department, along with 2 faculty members (Dr. Ajith A. S. and Prof. Farha Kowser), embarked on this visit. URSC, Bengaluru, is known for tracking and processing satellite data for Indian constellations.
The team first visited the ISRO Navigation Centre, where they witnessed a presentation on different satellites like Lower Earth Orbit (LEO), Middle Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites. The entire process flow, starting from mission plan to launch, was explained to the students.
Different launch vehicles like Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GEO) and Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) were also showcased to the students. The purpose of the launch vehicles and modes of their operation were explained, with recorded video clips.
The team next headed to the NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) control room. It is the regional Geo-positioning system which has been designed in India by ISRO, to provide accurate positioning in India and around the Indian mainland. The real time tracking and monitoring process of all the 26 Indian satellites, with respect to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), was demonstrated.
The team next visited the DSN 32 Station which has installed a 32-metre diameter reflector antenna, and entire control unit associated with the antenna. The process of Deep Space data capture and processing was demonstrated.
The Industrial Visit concluded with a stopover at the Indian Space Science Data Centre where the data received from all the Indian satellites in orbit are stored and processed.
Outcome of the Event
The students gained a comprehensive knowledge about various aspects of satellite communication, and the different types of antennas that are used for the purpose. This Industrial Visit was a much-needed and suitable one for the students of the ECE Department.