Astronomy & Space Technology

Context: The Space Age began in 1957 with the launch of satellite Sputnik 1, and in 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the world’s first person in space. Neil Armstrong made history by walking on the moon in 1969. The First Space Age became reality.. 

Some of the key highlights of space exploration include

• The first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 launched by Soviet Union in 1957. This marked the beginning of the space age and the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States.
• The first human spaceflight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961. This demonstrated the possibility of safe space travel and return to Earth.
• The Apollo 11 mission in 1969 which landed the first humans on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the lunar surface. This remains one of the greatest technological and scientific achievements in human history.
• The launch of space stations like Salyut 1, Skylab and Mir that allowed long-duration human habitation in space. This paved the way for today's International Space Station.
• The exploration of the solar system using robotic spacecraft like the Voyager probes which revealed mysteries of the outer planets. Spacecraft have explored Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
• Major space-based observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope that have expanded our understanding of the universe. Astronomers have discovered new exoplanets, black holes, dark matter and distant galaxies with these observatories.
• Commercial spaceflight has now become a reality with companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin developing reusable rockets and spaceships. Space tourism may soon become available to more people.

Today, the Second Space Age is here. Though there is no precise date for its beginning, the contrast in today’s space domain is stark. Between the 1950s to 1991, a period dominated by the Cold War, 60 to 120 space launches took place annually and 93% of these were by the United States and the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) governments.

Three decades later, there are not only many more actors in the space scene, but a majority are also private companies. Last year, there were 180 rocket/space launches, 61 by Elon Musk’s Space X; 90% of global space launches since 2020 are by and for the private sector.

The 'Second Space Age' refers to the period from the 1990s onwards which saw increased private sector involvement in space exploration. Some key aspects of the Second Space Age:

• Commercialization of space: Private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, etc. have emerged that offer launch services and space tourism. They are developing reusable rocket technology to lower the cost of access to space. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft have transformed space transportation.
• Space mining: Companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries aim to mine asteroids for resources like water and precious metals. Space mining could revolutionize space-based industries if it becomes economically viable.
• Space tourism: Companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are developing spacecraft for suborbital space tourism. SpaceX has also announced plans to send tourists on a flight around the Moon aboard its Starship spaceship. Space tourism can make space accessible to more people.
• Advancements in robotics: Robotic spacecraft have explored much of the solar system. Robotic probes like New Horizons explored Pluto, Dawn explored Ceres and Hayabusa2 explored asteroid Ryugu. Robotic spacecraft can reach distant and harsh environments where humans cannot easily go.
• Private space stations: Companies like Axiom Space and Bigelow Aerospace are developing private space stations. Axiom Space aims to build a commercial module for the ISS and eventually a free-flying space station. Private space stations can provide more opportunities for tourism, research and manufacturing in space.
• Space-based solar power: Concepts like space solar power satellites that can harness solar energy in space and transmit it to Earth have been proposed. They could provide a constant source of renewable energy but face major technical and economic hurdles.
• Space mining and space-based economy: If space mining and space-based solar power become viable, it could lead to a space-based economy with space resources and space-based products. However, we are still far from developing a strong space-based economy.
• Deep space exploration: Robotic and manned missions are envisioned to destinations like Mars, Venus, asteroids, etc. SpaceX's Starship aims to send humans to Mars. Robotic probes could explore ice giants like Neptune and Uranus. Future space telescopes could study exoplanets and distant galaxies.

India’s space journey begins

India's space program began in the 1960s and has made tremendous progress in the decades since. Some key highlights of India's space journey:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established in 1969 to develop space technology and its application to national development. It replaced the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) set up in 1962.
• India's first satellite Aryabhata was launched by the Soviet Union in 1975. This marked the beginning of India's space program.
• The Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) program in the 1980s aimed to develop indigenous satellite launch capability. The first SLV rocket successfully launched the Rohini RS-1 satellite in 1980.
• The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) program began in the 1990s. PSLV rocket is capable of launching payloads into the Earth’s polar orbit. It has had over 50 successful missions.
• The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) program aims to launch payloads into geostationary orbit. GSLV Mk III, India's most powerful rocket, successfully launched Chandrayaan-2 in 2019.
• The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) program has launched several remote sensing satellites used in fields like agriculture, water resources, forestry and disaster management.
• Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, was India's first lunar mission. It provided evidence for water molecules on the Moon's surface.
• The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan, launched in 2013, made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit. It is studying the Martian surface and atmosphere.
• Chandrayaan-2 and Gaganyaan are upcoming missions. Chandrayaan-2 will land a rover on the lunar surface. Gaganyaan aims to send Indian astronauts to space by 2021.
• Applications of space technology have led to advances in fields like telemedicine, teleeducation, weather forecasting, GIS and navigation. Space technology has become deeply linked with serving societal needs.

India has one of the world's most successful space programs despite its limited resources. Ambitious future goals include human spaceflight, space station, crewed missions to the Moon and Mars, and developing reusable rocket technology. The increasing commercialization of space may provide new opportunities for international collaboration. India's progress in space has established it as a leader in space science and technology across the globe.

Space potential

The origins of the Second Space Age can be traced to the Internet. In India, the process began accelerating as the 1990s saw the emergence of private TV channels, together with cable TV followed by direct-to-home transmissions.

The demand for satellite transponders and ground-based services exploded. Today, more than half the transponders beaming into Indian homes are on foreign satellites.

The last 15 years witnessed another transformation, and this time India was in lockstep with the developed world. The age of mobile telephony, followed by smartphones has shown the world what a data-hungry and data-rich society India is.

Broadband, OTT and now 5G promise a double-digit annual growth in demand for satellite-based services.

In 2020, the global space economy was estimated at $450 billion, growing to $600 billion by 2025. The Indian space economy, estimated at $9.6 billion in 2020, is expected to be $13 billion by 2025. However, the potential is much greater with an enabling policy and regulatory environment. The Indian space industry could easily exceed $60 billion by 2030, directly creating more than two lakh jobs.

Potential of space exploration and space-based technologies

• Space mining: Asteroids contain precious metals like gold, platinum, cobalt, etc. and water in the form of ice. Space mining could provide resources for space-based industries and space exploration. However, it remains technologically and economically challenging.
• Space-based solar power: Giant solar panels in geostationary orbit could collect solar energy and beam it to Earth as microwaves. This could provide a constant source of renewable energy. But it requires major technological capabilities and high costs.
• Space tourism: Suborbital and orbital space tourism could make space accessible to more people. SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, etc. are developing spacecraft for space tourism. While suborbital tourism is emerging, orbital space tourism remains expensive.
• Private space stations: Companies are developing private space stations, either modules attached to ISS or independent space stations. They aim to host tourists, researchers, manufacturers, etc. But space stations require huge investments and the demand for their services is still not proven.
• Space colonization: Establishing long-term human habitation beyond Earth, on the Moon, Mars, space colonies, etc. This could hedge against threats to humanity on Earth and eventually "backup" our species. But space colonization faces daunting technological, economic and physiological challenges.
• Asteroid mining robots: Robotic spacecraft could explore and mine asteroids to extract resources useful for space-based or Earth-based applications. Robots can reach harsh space environments, but robotic manipulation of resources and transportation back to Earth requires major advancements.
• Space-based solar power satellites: Satellites in geosynchronous orbit could capture and transmit solar energy as microwaves to receiver stations on Earth. They could provide a constant renewable energy source. But technology for efficient energy conversion, transmission and receival does not yet exist.
• Space manufacturing: Microgravity environment enables production of materials, composites and biological tissues difficult or impossible to create on Earth. ZBLAN fibers for telescopes and organs grown from stem cells are examples. But space manufacturing and transportation back to Earth needs to become more economically viable. 
• Space resources for deep space exploration: Access to space resources like water, oxygen, hydrogen, etc. on the Moon and asteroids could make deep space exploration more feasible by reducing the amount of supplies launched from Earth. But we have a long way to go to utilize space resources for human missions into deep space.

In summary, while space offers exciting possibilities, most space-based technologies and concepts remain at an early stage and require major advancements before providing tangible and economically sustainable services. Government and private sector support for space technology development and space exploration will be crucial to harnessing these opportunities. Overall, the potential of space is promising but much work lies ahead to unlock the promise.

Creating an enabling environment

• The Indian space start-up industry is growing rapidly with increasing investment and number of start-ups. It has the potential to boost the space sector like the IT industry did for the economy.
• ISRO currently manages limited launches and satellites compared to other space agencies like China. While ISRO has worked with private companies, they were mainly vendors. Space start-ups need a different relationship as their business depends on space.
• ISRO plays multiple roles as an operator, user, service provider, licensor, regulator and incubator. It needs to now focus on research based on its expertise and resources. The government has taken some steps to promote private participation like draft space laws, NSIL, IN-SPACe, etc.
• Specific policies for satcom, earth observation and FDI have been proposed but legislation like a space act is needed to provide a legal framework, set up a regulator and enable venture funding for space start-ups.
• India has an opportunity to be part of the Second Space Age with increased private sector involvement but it needs to act fast before the opportunity is lost.
• A space act should provide guidelines for licensing of space activities, a regulatory body to oversee compliance, and set the overall framework for public-private partnership in space sector. It can boost investment in space start-ups by providing clarity.
• The existing and proposed government initiatives show there is willingness to bring private companies into space sector. But a comprehensive space act is vital to give shape to these efforts and transition ISRO's role to open up the space sector.
• Space start-ups in India want to do more than just build to ISRO's specs. They need freedom and incentives to innovate which can be enabled by a progressive space policy and regulatory environment. Partnership with ISRO remains key but needs to evolve.
• There is significant interest and talent within the private sector to take up new opportunities in space. An enabling policy and regulatory environment can unleash the potential of space start-ups to support the growth of India's space sector. But the window to do so may be limited.
• India's space sector is poised for major transformation with increased private participation. ISRO and government's role in providing an enabling environment through policy, regulation and partnership will influence the pace and scope of this transformation. Overall support for innovation and risk-taking can power India's journey to the forefront of the global space race.

Context: The world is witnessing rapid increase in creative business models and new technologies leading to launch of thousands of satellites in Low-Earth Orbit. There is growing risk that Earth’s capacity to accommodate such a large set of new objects safely may be in jeopardy. In this context, Space Sustainability Rating is an initiative that seeks to foster voluntary action by satellite operators to reduce the risk of space debris, on-orbit collisions and unsustainable space operations.

About Space Sustainability Rating

• Space Sustainability Rating is tool developed for a more sustainable use of space by encouraging space actors to design & implement sustainable space missions and operations.
• It seeks foster voluntary and bold action by satellite operators to reduce risk of space debris, on-orbit collisions and unsustainable space operations.
• Members: It has been developed by World Economic Forum (WEF), European Space Agency (ESA), Space Enabled research group at MIT, University of Texas at Austin & BryceTech. It is based at eSpace at Ecole Polytechnique Lausanne in Switzerland.  
• Rating methodology: 
  • It is a tiered scoring system that takes a series of metrics based on models to quantify and measure sustainability decision taken by operators. 
  • Credits (Points) are awarded for actions leading to positive impact on space environment, actions that result in more sustainable impact receive more points. 
  • It is formulated as a combined score based on evaluation of individual modules, where different aspects of space sustainability are covered. 
  • To rate a mission, the operator in charge of it voluntarily reaches out to the SSR to start the process. The SSR team collects relevant information regarding different aspects of the mission's sustainability efforts and then sends these data to their computation partners. Afterwards, the non-profit gathers it all and computes the rating.
• Tier Score: A rated entity receives a ‘Tier Score’ that will determine the rating between Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. Each of the SSR tiers are achieved after earning a certain combined score between 0 (low) and 1 (high), based on combined evaluation of individual modules. 
• Bonus ‘Step’ Indicator: Enables the possibility to earn additional credit towards a bonus ‘step’ indicator, which highlights certain steps a mission can take to ‘go over and beyond’ the baseline rating towards space sustainability. Bonuses are reported separately and do not contribute to baseline rating of a requesting identity. 

Indicators used in Space Sustainability Rating

• Mission Index: This module is directly derived from European Space Agency’s (ESA) debris index and quantifies the level of harmful physical interference caused by planned design and mission operation. It measures the impact of a space mission on space environment, using the Environmental Consequences of Orbital Breakups (ECOB) based on mission characteristics, collision avoidance strategy and disposal strategy. 
• Detectability, Identification & Trackability: Aims to encourage satellite operators to consider how physical attributes of their satellite design and their operational approach during launch, operations and disposal affect the level of difficulty. Small objects which might be operational but cannot be reliably included in space surveillance and tracking products form a risk to other objects in the space. Also, identification is required for registration and liability purposes. 
• Collision Avoidance Capabilities: These are essential capabilities satellite operators should have to improve their ability to identify, respond to and mitigate collisions. This module aims to emphasise the steps which can be taken by operators to reduce the risk of accidental collision with debris and among active operators. 
• Data Sharing: Measures the information that satellite and launch vehicle operators should share with peers and stakeholders and contribution of such information sharing to spaceflight safety. Sharing of space situational awareness and other information by operators is critical to space safety.
• Design & operation standards: Adoption of internationally endorsed standards in space domain is essential for ensuring compatibility in understanding between operators among themselves and between an operator and space environment, which is being used. Successfully addressing the problem of space sustainability when it comes to avoiding the creation of space debris and operating in congested environments can only be achieved by means of common understanding and objectives.
• External services: Includes a wide range of activities and identifies classes of action that satellite operators can take to make their mission more amenable to receive External Services (ES) or to increase the probability of successful external services such as fixing, improving and reviving satellites and refers to any work to refuel, repair, replace or augment a satellite in space. 

About Space Debris

• According to estimates, there are around 20,000 objects which are drifting through low-earth orbits. 
• Kessler Syndrome: It is a phenomenon in which the amount of junk in orbit around Earth reaches a point where it creates more and more space debris. 
• Conjunctions: Due to rapid increase in number of low-earth objects, close encounters between these objects known as ‘conjunctions’ are at an all-time high, meaning satellites and other spacecraft or debris fragments are increasingly at risk of colliding with each other. 
• Anti-satellite weapons and space warfare are expected to increase space debris by multiple times. For ex. India’s Anti-Satellite Weapon. 

Initiatives for Space Debris Sustainability

• Zero Debris Approach: ESA aims to totally stop the generation of debris in valuable orbits by 2030. ESA has also launched Clean Space Initiative for testing various technologies for debris management.
• Grapple Fixtures: They are used on spacecraft or other objects to provide a secure connection for a robotic arm. 
• Graveyard Orbits: A graveyard orbit, also called a junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit that lies away from common operational orbits. Satellites are moved into such orbits at the end of their operational life to reduce the probability of colliding with operational spacecraft and generating debris. 
• Space Net: Japan’s JAXA launched a test space net satellite to collect space junk. 
• E.Deorbit: A planned active space debris removal mission being developed by Europe’s European Space Agency as part of Clean Space Initiative. It aims to take down a derelict satellite. 
• ClearSpace-1 will be the first space mission to remove an item of debris from orbit, planned for launch in 2025.
• Remove Debris Mission: Aims to test the efficacy of several ADR technologies on mock targets in low earth orbit. The platform is equipped with a net, a harpoon, a laser ranging instrument, a dragsail and two CubeSats. 
• International Guidelines for Space Debris Management: Currently, there is no international treat minimising space debris. However, UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has published voluntary guidelines in 2007 for space debris management.  

Suggestions for space debris

• Design rockets and spacecraft to minimise the amount of ‘shedding’ – material becoming detached during launch and operation, due to the harsh conditions of space.
• Prevent explosions by releasing stored energy, ‘passivating’ spacecraft once at the end of their lives.
• Move defunct missions out the way of working satellites – either by de-orbiting them or moving them to a ‘graveyard orbit’.
• Prevent in-space crashes through careful choice of orbits and by performing ‘collision avoidance manoeuvres’.

More on the news: Scientists are carefully monitoring the situation to assess if the winds will impact our planet’s magnetic field and satellites – with the potential for knock-on effects on the internet, mobile phone networks, and GPS. It is also noteworthy to scientists as it has appeared near the sun’s equator. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured holes.

Coronal holes

• Coronal holes are areas of the Sun's corona where the magnetic field is open and allows for the escape of high-speed solar wind particles. 
• Coronal holes are usually harmless, experts say and are usually found near the sun’s poles.
• These areas appear as dark regions in images of the Sun's corona taken in ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths. 
• Coronal holes are characterized by low magnetic field strength and low temperatures compared to the surrounding areas.
• Coronal holes are thought to be related to the Sun's magnetic field and the Sun's 11-year solar cycle, with more coronal holes appearing during times of high solar activity.
• They are cooler, less dense areas of the star and appear during the less active stage of the sun’s 11-year cycle.
• Coronal holes are magnetically open areas that are one source of the high-speed solar wind.
• At times, the solar wind can generate aurora at higher latitudes on Earth. That coronal hole produced auroras far further south than usual, with the skies over Arizona turning an electric purple and green.
• The solar wind particles that escape from coronal holes can impact Earth's magnetic field, causing auroras and other geomagnetic disturbances. Scientists study coronal holes to better understand the Sun's magnetic field and its effects on the space environment around Earth.

SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLES (SEP), SOLAR WINDS AND FLARES, AND CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS (CMES)

Solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

• CMEs and Solar flares are both explosions that occur on the sun. Sometimes they occur together, but they are not the same thing - they emit different things, they look and travel differently, and they have different effects near planets.
• Both eruptions are created when the motion of the sun’s interior contorts its own magnetic fields. Both originate from corona. 
• Solar flares are giant burst of X-rays and energy which travel at the speed of light in all directions. 
• CME are giant cloud of particles (mostly protons and electrons and powerful magnetic fields) hurled into the space, in particular direction. CMEs take one to three days to reach the earth. Flares only takes eight minutes. 
• Flares and CMEs have different effects at Earth as well. The energy from a flare can disrupt the area of the atmosphere through which radio waves travel. This can lead to degradation and, at worst, temporary blackouts in navigation and communications signals. On the other hand, CMEs can funnel particles into near-Earth space. A CME can jostle Earth’s magnetic fields creating currents that drive particles down toward Earth's poles. When these react with oxygen and nitrogen, they help create the aurora, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights.
• A solar flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun, usually observed near its surface and in close proximity to a sunspot group. Powerful flares are often, but not always, accompanied by a coronal mass ejection. 
• Solar flares affect all layers of the solar atmosphere (photosphere, chromosphere, and corona).
• Flares occur in active regions around sunspots, where intense magnetic fields penetrate the photosphere to link the corona to the solar interior.
• Flares are powered by the sudden release of magnetic energy stored in the corona.

Solar winds constantly occur due to the corona of the sun continually expanding. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles consisting of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between 0.5 and 10 keV. The composition of the solar wind plasma also includes a mixture of materials found in the solar plasma: trace amounts of heavy ions and atomic nuclei C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe.

Solar energetic particles (SEP) 

• They are high-energy particles coming from the Sun. 
• They were first observed in the early 1940s. 
• They consist of protons, electrons and high-energy nuclei with energy ranging from a few tens of keV to many GeV. 
• They are of particular interest and importance because they can endanger life in outer space (especially particles above 40 MeV). But their onset is extraordinarily hard to predict, in part because we still don’t know exactly where on the Sun they come from.
• The greatest mystery about gradual SEPs is not what speeds them up, but where they come from in the first place. For reasons still not fully understood, SEPs contain a different mix of particles than the other solar material streaming off the Sun in the solar wind – fewer carbon, sulfur, and phosphorous ions, for instance. 
• Many scientists thought Solar Energetic Particles would be found at the edges of the active region where the magnetic field is already open and material can escape directly. But the fingerprint matched only in regions where the magnetic field is still closed.
• The SEPs had somehow broken free from strong magnetic loops connected to the Sun at both ends. These loops trap material near the top of the chromosphere, one layer below where solar flares and coronal mass ejections erupt.