The Hindu Business Line : Ground station antenna for Chandrayan spacecraft to be set up near Bangalore

WHEN the Chandrayan spacecraft settles itself in an orbit 100 km from the moon's surface, it will directly communicate to a 300-tonne ground station antenna, with a dish width that equals the height of a 10-storeyed building, being set up near Bangalore.

The 32-metre-diameter Deep Space Network (DSN) antenna, which will point directly at the spacecraft orbiting four lakh km away, will propel India into the orbit of a very select group of countries. Only three such large-sized antennae exist in the world.

The Rs 60-crore antenna, being developed by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), Hyderabad, will be ready by March 2007 to pave the way for India's first attempt of moon exploration slated for September that year.

The Chandrayan mission is aimed at high-resolution mineralogical and chemical imaging of the permanently shadowed north and south Polar regions. It would also look for surface or sub-surface water ice on the moon.

Though India developed several big antennas in the past, this is the first time that a 32-metre-diameter antenna is being established. It will form part of the Rs 100-crore ground station coming up at Byalalu village near Bangalore.

"The size does matter. As we go deep into the space, we need big-sized antennas to send and receive quality signals," Mr S.K. Shivakumar, Director of ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network), said.

The upcoming antenna would generate revenues too for the country in the long run, as it can lease out services to countries that might need its services.

"International norm is $4,000 for every hour of antenna use," he said, giving a hint of commercial options.

Addressing a joint press conference with Mr G.P. Srivastava, ECIL's Chairman and Managing Director, here on Wednesday, Mr Shivakumar said that the antenna would also be used for other space missions.

He was in the city in connection with the three-day Preliminary Design Review (PDR) that began here on Wednesday.

"This marks a major milestone for the project and paves the way for the execution phase," Mr Srivastava said.

Joining ECIL in developing and installation of the antenna are L&T and Godrej.

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