Publish Date : 15-Dec-2016
On Monday, Alpha Design Technologies Ltd., leading defence electronics and aerospace firm announced a contract to make navigation satellites for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Alpha Chairman Colonel (Retd) H.S. Shankar said, The contract envisages assembling, integrating, testing and supplying two satellites for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to ISRO.
In July 2013, the state-run space agency has placed a constellation of seven navigation satellites in the earths lower orbit with the first (IRNSS-1A) and the seventh (IRNSS-1G) in April 2016 to provide accurate position information service to users countrywide and the region, extending up to a 1,500 km area. Utilisation of the navigation system is for terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, integration with mobile phones, mapping and geodetic data capture, visual and voice navigation for drivers and others.
According to information, the IRNSS is same like the global positioning system (GPS) of the US, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe, Beidou of China and Quasi Zenith of Japan.
We will fabricate the two satellites with the help of ISRO at its satellite facility in the city, as they are a part of the constellation as spare spacecraft and bid for more satellites through a global tender that the space agency will float soon, added Shankar.
We will set up a dedicated facility in ISROs campus at a cost of Rs 150 crore over the next 18 months to manufacture, assemble, integrate and test satellites for Indian and international customers, said Shankar.
Over a period of next two years, the company plans to appoint around 400 engineers, scientists and technicians for its satellite making facility.
We are confident of securing orders to make satellites for ISRO through the competitive bidding based on our expertise, talent and cost advantage.
The space agency will be launching the Alpha made satellites on its rockets from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.
We are initially selecting 70 engineers, diploma holders and ITI qualified for training at ISROs satellite centre in assembly, integrating and testing the spacecraft, added Shankar.
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