ISRO is all geared up for the possible damages its satellites may face once Leonid meteoroids associated with the Comet 55P/Tempel--Tuttle that will enter the Earth's atmosphere the week after November 14.

An ISRO release said that the meteoroid storm will peak around 02.10 a.m. (IST) on November 18 and reach a Zenith Hourly Rate (ZHR) of 1,50,000 particles an hour.

There is only between 0.01 per cent and 0.03 per cent probability that India's five INSAT satellites (placed in geostationary orbits 36,000 km above the Equator) or the four Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) placed in Polar orbits of 820 km to 900 km, will be hit by the meteoroid debris.

Nevertheless, ISRO is not taking any chances and will closely monitor the health of these satellites from its Spacecraft Control Centres to detect electrical anomalies during the period, the release said.

The designersof various satellite sub-systems would be present at these spacecraft control centres to guide any corrective operations, if necessary.

The ISRO would take a series of measures to protect its five INSATs (INSAT-1D, INSAT-2A, INSAT-2B, INSAT-2C and INSAT-2DT) and four IRS satellites (IRS-1B, IRS-1C, IRS-1D and IRS-P3) besides the scientific satellite, Sross-C2.

The release said the risk from the storm could be physical, mechanical and electrical damage to the satellites resulting in mechanical cratering, plasma or electro static discharges.

The solar panels of the satellites would be oriented in such a way that they present minimum surface area to the approaching meteoroid debris. Some of the operations like the panchromatic camera steering on board IRS-1C and IRS-1D would be avoided during the meteoroids storm. The operation of X-ray payload on IRS-P3 and the Gamma-ray instruments on board Sross-C2 satellite, which involve high voltages, would also be suspended during the period. Only essentialequipment would be kept on during the period. The gyros on board Insat would be kept on to closely monitor the body movement rates to detect any meteoroids hits.