India launches Israeli Spy Satellite

[PegasusOnline]

Re: India launches Israeli Spy Satellite

@burqaposhx

Look Pegs! You don’t have to sound so “conspiratorial” about the cost. Payload may be sensitive, but the cost in $million has nothing to do with that.

Come to think of it. If it was a regular joe shmoe TV booster satellite, at launch cost of $30 million, then it won’t matter much if this “sensitive” satellite was launched at higher than normal $40 mils.

Look burqs,

If a program is of a sensitive nature, you do not go about revealing it’s details, including costs to unrelated parties. You yourself quoted a link in which the cost of launch from a PSLV launcher was quoted. If Indian authorities have been so forthcoming in releasing data about the PSLV, then why did they not reveal the details in this case ? The answer is simple, and one has to try hard to ignore it.

You are essentially making certain assumptions and based upon them you are trying to prove a point. In doing so, you are forgetting certain critical points.

The fact is that an organization such as ISRO has a multi faceted space program and it generates only part of it’s revenues through space launches. In addition to space launches, ISRO also generates revenue through :

1. Leasing transponders of Communication and Remote Sensing services

For Communication ISRO has the following.

The INSAT Constellation of operating missions consists:

* INSAT-2E
* INSAT-3A
* INSAT-3B
* INSAT-3C
* INSAT-3E
* INSAT-4A 

For Remote sensing ISRO has the following.

• Cartosat - 2
• Cartosat -1
• IRS-P6
• IRS-1C
• IRS-1D
• IRS-P4

2. Building of Communication Satellites and associated software.

3. Building of Remote Sensing Satellites and associated software.

4. Key satellite subsystems.

5. Launch Services.

6. Ground Systems.

7. Testing and Lab facilities.

8. Mission Support.

9. Training, Consultancy and Allied services.

For nearly all of these services, ISRO has a diverse customer base of national and international clients. Launch services consitute just one aspect of ISRO’s entire space program, and it can easily divert the funds obtained from any one of these services to any other business, say for example the space launching business. If need be, it can ask for money from the Indian government, but that is besides the point.

@burqaposhx

The only gain is the experience to launch a satellite and build up their resume. The problem is that the market leaders like Russia and USA will not let the business slip that easily. And then there is always a China factor. ISRO have to use Indian taxpayers money to subsidize other “rich” countries for a long time to come.

Patently untrue as shown above. ISRO can easily divert the funds from other businesses to make a strong case for it’s launching capability. It need not rely heavily on Indian taxpayer money. If it does at all, the Indian tax payer will be more than happy to pay it, as this is in the overall benefit of the nation. As has been pointed out by a previous postor, the launches by ISRO are also used to validate and test new technologies for future missions, apart from placing the payload in orbit.

@burqaposhx

If space.com’s $15 million launch fee is correct, then Indian taxpayers funded Israel’s space program by paying their hard earned $15 million. Can you imagine how many shirts, and socks, and BPO hours would have been spent to make those $15 million?

The statement demonstrates the depth and lack thereof of your research. First of all, you can see that as per the 2003 estimates, the launch of PSLV costed $ 9 million. Secondly, that cost was a premium cost for a difficult orbit, therefore it represents the upper limit of launch cost for a PSLV. Third and most weird assumption is that ISRO bore the entire costs of the launch, when infact ISRO was paid handsomely for this launch.

Based upon your demonstratedly ignorant assumptions, you are trying to build up a case for ‘helping the millions of poor, hungry Indians’. While, your ‘concerns’ are appreciated, the Indian space program has always faced this question of affordability, and with the small budget allocated to ISRO, it has produced excellent results.

Apart from this, as per some sources, ISRO charged $20,000+/kg for the launch of the Israeli satellite, which can easily make up for the cost of launching the PSLV.

@burqaposhx

Spy satellites use country specific encryption codes and target based “secret” orbits. Those codes and the orbit data are never shared (They are simply stolen, but they are never shared. Not even with the allies).

You say that the orbit data is never released. You mean to say that ISRO launched the satellite in a precise orbital pattern without knowing what the orbit is going to be ?

Then you say that spy satellite data is never shared, when the fact is that there exist well known precedents for the same. For some information, you can read about the RADARSAT program.

And finally, as per some sources

The satellite will be controlled by the Israeli defence ministry but some of the secret images taken by the satellite are likely to be shared with India, sources said.

While your ability to exercise by jumping to conclusions is appreciated, please try to make correct assumptions first. Peace.