EDUSAT: A SATELLITE FOR BRIDGING THE EDUCATION DIVIDE Ms. Arpita Sharma Doctoral Research Scholar, Dept.

of Agricultural Communication, College of Agric ulture, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145 (Utt arakhand), India On 20 September 2004, India s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle [GSLV] success fully launched EDUSAT, the country s first thematic Satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services. While this third consecutively successful launch our c ommunication satellites precisely into the specified orbit, the event also reite rated India s commitment to use space technology or societal development. The extension of quality education to remote and rural regions is Hercul ean task for a large country like India with multi-lingual and multi-cultural po pulation separated by vast geographical distances and in many instances, inacces sible terrain. Since Independence, India has seen substantial increase in the nu mber of educational institutions in the number of educational institutions at pr imary, secondary and higher levels as well as the student enrolment. Lack of ade quate rural educational infrastructure and non-availability of good teachers in sufficient numbers, however, adverse affects, the efforts made in education. Satellite can provide connectively between urban educational institution s that have infrastructure for imparting quality adequate education and a large number of rural and semi-urban educational institutions that lack necessary infr astructure. Besides supporting formal education, a dissemination of information on hygiene and personality development, to rural and remote population. It can a lso enable professionals to update their knowledge base. Thus, in spite of limit ed trained and skilled teachers, the aspirations of the growing student through a satellite based tele-education system. In fact the concept of beaming educational programmes using satellites was demon strated by India in 1975-76 through the satellite Instructional Television Exper iment [SITE] conducted using the American Application Technology Satellite [ATS6]. SITE was hailed as the largest sociological experiment conducted anywhere in the World. During this unique experiment, programmes pertaining to health, hygi ene and Family Planning were telecast directly to about 2400 Indian villages spr ead over six States. Alter, with the Commissioning of Indian National Satellite System [INSAT] in educational programmes were started. In the 90s, the Jhabua De velopment Communications project and training and Development Communication Chan nel further demonstrated the efficiency of satellite based tele-education. With the success of educational services using the INSAT satellites, a n eed was felt to launch a satellite dedicated exclusively for educational service s and Indian Space Research Organization [ISRO] conceived the EDUSAT project in October 2002. GSLV launched, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the 1950 ki logramme EDUSAT in the intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. This orbit had pe rigee or the nearest point to Earth at 180 km and an apogee of the farthest poin t to Earth at 36,000 km. the orbital plane was inclined at 19.2 degree with resp ect to the equatorial plane. From Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit [GTO], EDUSAT was taken to the requir ed 36,000 km high circular Geo-Stationary Orbit with zero degree inclination wit h respect to the equatorial plane. This orbit raising manoeuvre was conducted by firing the liquid Apogee Motor carried on board EDUSAT. In this orbit, the sate llite has an orbital period of 24 hr and hence it appears stationary with respec t to any point on the earth. The satellite is located at 74 East longitudes over the equator with two other Indian Satellites, Kalpana-1 and INSAT -3C. The EDUS AT has been fully tested in orbit and it is functioning to specifications. EDUSAT is specially configured for audio-visual medium, employing digita l interactive classroom and multimedia and multi-centric system. The satellite h as multiple regional beams covering different parts of India five Ku-Band transp onders with spot beams covering northern, north-eastern, eastern, southern and w

estern region. Besides the Ku-Band transponders the satellite carriers six C-ba nd transponders with their footprints covering the entire country. EDUSAT provides connectivity for school, college and higher levels of ed ucation and also to support non-formal education including developmental communi cation. While ISRO would provide the space segment for EDUSAT system and demonst rate the efficiency of the satellite system for interactive distance education, content generation is the responsibility of the user agencies. The quantity and quality of the content would ultimately decide the success of EDUSAT system. Thi s involves enormous efforts by the user agencies. To create awareness about the EDUSAT and its capabilities, ISRO, in coop eration with the users agencies, has organized several conferences at regional a nd national levels. A conference of vice-chancellor of Indian Universities was o rganized jointly by ISRO and the Associations of Indian Universities at Bangalor e in July 2004. EDUSAT pilot projects have been undertaken using a Ku-Band transponder o n board INSAT -3B by the Visveswaraia Technological University [VTU] in Karnatak a, Y B Chavan State Open University in Maharashtra and Rajiv Gandhi Technical Un iversity in Madhya Pradesh. It would now be used in a semi-operational mode with at least one uplink in each of the five spot beas. About 100-200 classrooms wou ld be extended to two more states with one national institution in this semi-ope rational phase. The agencies expected to use EDUSAT in the near future include National Institutio of Educational Planning and Administration [MEPA], Delhi, Nirma Unive rsity, Ahmadabad Anna University, Chennai, National Institute technical Teacher s Tr aining and Research [NITTTR], Chandigarh, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwaha ti, Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Rourkela and Association of Indian Un iversities. In the fully operational phase of v, and users are expected to provide funds for the EDUSAT network and ISRO would provide technical and managerial sup port in the replication of EDUSAT ground systems to manufacturers and service pr oviders. In the final operational phase it would be able to support about 25 to 30 uplinks and about 5000 remote terminals per uplink. It is hoped that EDUSAT would herald a new era for a countrywide distance educat ion in the coming month. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Arpita Sharma is Doctoral Research Scholar in the Dept. of Agri cultural Communication of G. B. Pant University at Pantnagar. She obtained her M .Sc. from the same University. Her research interests focus on Effects of Inform ation Communication Sources on Rural Society. She has published review papers, r esearch papers, articles in various Mass Communication journals and Rural Develo pment Journals as well as Magazines. She had got the Assistance- ship during M.S c. and UGC-JRF Fellowship in Ph.D. She has presented papers in National and Inte rnational seminars.