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The India program only started launching a couple years ago. Galileo has been launching since 2006. Perhaps the clocks fail only after x amount of hours in spac
by drzaiusapelord 10y ago
The India program only started launching a couple years ago. Galileo has been launching since 2006. Perhaps the clocks fail only after x amount of hours in space or some other condition based on age. The oldest Galileo sat clock has a decade of wear on it. I imagine there are some worried people in the Indian space program right now after hearing this news.
- swatkat 10y agoFrom the article: Most of the maser failures (5) have occurred on the satellites that were originally sent into orbit to validate the system, whereas all three rubidium stoppages are on the spacecraft that were subsequently launched to fill out the network. Rubidium clock failures are being seen in "operational" Galileo satellites. First operational Galileo was launched in 2011. And, first operational Indian navigational satellite was launched in 2013. So, there's not much difference in the timeline or aging of Rubidium atomic clocks between ESA and ISRO satellites. Anyway, ISRO will be switching to indigenous atomic clocks for next generation navigation satellites[1]. [1] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/india-developing-atomic-clocks-for-use-on-satellites/article7229191.ece http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/india-devel...