The Space Applications Centre (SAC) is an institution of research in
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
under the aegis of the
Indian Space Research Organisation
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
(ISRO). It is one of the major centres of ISRO that is engaged in the research, development and demonstration of applications of space technology in the field of
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
,
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
,
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
and
satellite navigation
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...
(Sat Nav). This includes research and development of on-board systems, ground systems and end user equipment hardware and software. SAC has three campuses, two of which are located at Ahmedabad and one at Delhi.
Achievements
![AHMEDABAD_ISRO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/AHMEDABAD_ISRO.jpg)
Some of the achievements of the Space Applications Centre include development of communication and meteorological payloads for
INSAT satellites
The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Commissioned in 1983, INSAT i ...
, optical and microwave payloads for
IRS satellites. SAC provides its infrastructure to conduct training courses to the students of the Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and The Pacific (CSSTEAP). It was founded by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
On 19 March 2021, SAC in a major breakthrough demonstrated free space quantum communication technology at a distance of 300 meters between two buildings through live video conferencing as part of
Quantum Experiments using Satellite Technology
Quantum Experiment using Satellite Tecnology launched in 2017 by Raman Research Institute in February 2021 demonstrated Quantum communication for 50 m apart and on 19 March 2021 for 300 m apart inline of sight in Space Applications Centre in coo ...
(QuEST) project. The primary objective is to successfully perform satellite based quantum communication between two ISRO ground station. Hardware developed for performing the experiment includes
NavIC
The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with an operational name of NavIC (acronym for 'Navigation with Indian Constellation; also, 'sailor' or 'navigator' in Indian languages), is an autonomous regional satellite navigation s ...
receiver for time synchronization between transmitter and receiver, gimbal mechanism systems as an alternative to large aperture telescope for optical alignment.
Collaborations between SAC Ahmedabad and
National Institute of Design, Gujarat began in the early 1970s.
References
External links
Space Applications Centre websiteISRO SAC pageCSSTEAP website
1972 establishments in Gujarat
Research institutes in Ahmedabad
Research institutes established in 1972
Space programme of India
Space technology research institutes
Research institutes in Gujarat
{{Gujarat-university-stub