Manned Space Plan Shelved, ISRO Gears Up for Robotic Mission Instead

[Indx TechStyle]

Manned Space Plan Shelved, ISRO Gears Up for Robotic Mission Instead

NEW DELHI: Even as India’s human space flight mission has been put on hold, the country is working hard to send a robotic mission to space. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already sent a proposal for approval to the central government for carrying out an unmanned mission to space.

The premier space agency, which managed to launch the world’s cheapest mission to Mars, would require somewhere between `30,000 and `4,000 crore for the human space flight mission. And, questions have already been raised on whether the country is ready to shell out that kind of money. The Mars Orbiter Mission had cost India `450 crore.

“The larger question would be about the real need to put a man on the flight. Is it for prestige or is there a need? If the government and the political system are convinced about the need, then they will give us the money and we will do it,” said S Somanath, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.

The project has received minuscule funding from the central government in the general budget over the past three years. “Today, robotic experiments are possible and we may launch unmanned mission to demonstrate our technology. We have already given the proposal to the government and we are waiting for approval,” the VSSC director said.

Somanath said sending humans to space may not reap any tangible benefits. Despite a lukewarm response from government, the ISRO has been working to design different technologies required for human space flight.

“We have already developed experimental crew modules, demonstrated a parachute based recovery system, space suits for human travel and necessary systems for surviving in space with oxygen,” Somanath wondered.

ISRO is also expected to do the first test of the reusable rocket launch vehicle (RLV) technology for low cost access to space in first quarter of the year. The winged vehicle will take off like a rocket and land like an aircraft. The RLV launch, scheduled in 2015, has been delayed due to unavailability of launch pad at Sriharikota.

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@Cerified Gypsy

 

[Srinivas_K]

manned space mission is not shelved, the technology is being developed these days.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

manned space mission is not shelved, the technology is being developed these days.

I know that but when we will send humans on space, and when will land them on Moon.
Human Spaceflight is the ultimate mean of space power projection. Why are people saying we should not show off? We are a major force and must demonstrate our power.
Meanwhile,
India's first manned mission will have duration for hours and Iran have capability for just a few minutes, they will get this status before us as they are investing in it properly.
India is taking months, spending a lot of amount to money to test effects to vaccum on humans, Iranians are doing it in very low cost just by sending monkeys to space in very small rockets (India's old and retired SLV and ASLV).
How would you feel if a small country like Iran pulls this fruit just from the tip of our mouth.
In fact, we have all technologies for the mission but government isn't in mood to fund the project. That's the real problem.
@sorcerer @Certified Gipsy @ezsasa @warrior monk

 

[Srinivas_K]

I know that but when we will send humans on space, and when will land them on Moon.
Human Spaceflight is the ultimate mean of space power projection. Why are people saying we should not show off? We are a major force and must demonstrate our power.
Meanwhile,
India's first manned mission will have duration for hours and Iran have capability for just a few minutes, they will get this status before us as they are investing in it properly.
India is taking months, spending a lot of amount to money to test effects to vaccum on humans, Iranians are doing it in very low cost just by sending monkeys to space in very small rockets (India's old and retired SLV and ASLV).
How would you feel if a small country like Iran pulls this fruit just from the tip of our mouth.
In fact, we have all technologies for the mission but government isn't in mood to fund the project. That's the real problem.
@sorcerer @Certified Gipsy @ezsasa @warrior monk

They are developing technologies and validating them.

 

[gslv markIII]

Even as India’s human space flight mission has been put on hold, the country is working hard to send a robotic mission to space.

I think they mean the SRE 2.Or would it be a new version of ISRO Orbital Vehicle for technology demonstration purposes.

 

[airtel]

if modern robots can do then job the spending so much money on "power projection " is not a good idea ................

Iran is a small country & they have so much oil , so they can do this .................

we should spend money on projects like Delhi-mumbai industrial corridor , defense industries , railways , infrastructure , semi-conductor industries etc ..............

450 crores for " power projection " & technology demonstration was a fantastic idea......................but 40,000 crores is too much .

government's decision should be appreciated .

 

[Gessler]

Well, while a manned mission would have boosted morale, it really isn't a scientific necessity at this point. I'm quite happy that Govt. saw reason about where the money should be spent. The HSF mission will happen sometime after 2020, rest assured. But in the meantime there are 3 critical areas where our funding & efforts need to be concentrated :

One : Developing the launch vehicle fleet. We are still dependent on foreign launchers for our heavier satellite needs. The development of GSLV Mk-II into a reliable LV will go a long way toward saving a lot of money, and infact help generate better revenues as we can get contracts for heavier foreign satellites. But even with the Mk-II operational, still heavier sats will have to be foreign-launched. Efforts should be directed at fast-paced development & testing of GSLV Mk-III a.k.a LVM3. Followed by the ULV series rockets.

Our first goal should be toward being completely self-reliant as far as any satellite launch goes - any satellite that the civilian industry, communications sector or the armed forces need should be able to be made & launched within India, by India. If we don't adopt such goals, it'll be a joke to see a country launch a human into space, but depends on France for launching comm sats!! It'll actually be an insult and a glaring reminder of our misplaced priorities. Glad to see the Govt. saw reason through this.

Plus, there are interesting projects from ISRO in the field of unconventional launch methods i.e. space planes. The RLV shuttle concept needs to be realized as it holds the promise of severely reducing the kg-to-dollar ratio of the payload. Or in this case, kg-to-rupee. Further research into other TSTO and SSTO methods should be well-funded. ISRO already got plans on that.

Ofcourse the super-heavy HLV is nice, too. We might need something like that sooner than later.

Two : Propulsion technologies. We need to become a fully matured player in the cryogenic propulsion space. A full ecosystem geared toward the successful designing, manufacturing & testing of cryogenic/semi-cryogenic engines should be developed. Advanced engines for advanced rockets. There should be sufficient investment to allow further R&D into advanced solar energy setups, hypersonic Scramjets, nuclear propulsion (Radioisotope Thermonuclear Generators [RTG]) and others. Research should be directed toward ion propulsion like what NASA is doing. Unlike evolutionary developments, ion propulsion is a revolutionary setup. It's possible for us to catch up early on if enough minds work together, then we can go a long way.

Plus something like the TOPAZ reactors should be developed in the meantime.

Three : the Moon! In a recent link I posted, the existence of plans for Chandrayaan-3 and Chandrayaan-4 missions has been revealed. It's likely these missions will have extensive robotic technologies including new, larger rovers (compared to Cdy-2 size) equipped with nuclear power concepts, along with some entirely new lander designs maybe, for conducting drilling and/or ground analysis. Possibilities are endless - funding shouldn't be either, atleast for the most part.

The second Mars mission has a window in 2018 if I remember correctly. We shouldn't miss that at any cost. We have a great head-start over our rivals in Asia as far as Mars exploration goes, plus we've been putting the MOM to good use so far. Shouldn't let that lead slide.

I personally feel, that we need to launch a mission to Europa within 2025. That moon and Jupiter seem to hold a lot of promise as recent NASA releases show. However our priority for the next decade should be Luna, and ofcourse Mars when the opportunity comes.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

if modern robots can do then job the spending so much money on "power projection " is not a good idea ................

Iran is a small country & they have so much oil , so they can do this .................

we should spend money on projects like Delhi-mumbai industrial corridor , defense industries , railways , infrastructure , semi-conductor industries etc ..............

450 crores for " power projection " & technology demonstration was a fantastic idea......................but 40,000 crores is too much .

government's decision should be appreciated .

Mr. intelligent. Economic Corridors will face no shortage of money due to paying money to manned mission.
It is costly for ISRO, but it's nothing if we can have a look at size and budget of Indian Economy.
Moreover, ISRO earns a lot from commercial launches.
Iran's economy is much smaller as compared to India, so it is more difficult for them. Their budget is baby size.
And as told before, it won't affect development program as it's nothing against what we can invest. But if a small and less capable country beats us up, what would be our status in international arena?
Like Japan, who dreamt big, but lost the target at pin point of approach.
Anyway, ISRO has enough capsules, space suits and rockets today, if wanna have a manned mission.
But once again,
India needs to make better launch frequency to make a proper satellite infrastructure like Japan and China.
I've no problem with that. ISRO does not want to risk lives so will send robots first, no problem on that,
but Iranians will get there before us(which is almost impossible but they are working very fast to make it possible), their Muslim friends (pakis) will troll Indians most.
Anyway, you don't need to worry. Space won't affect economy. It's budget is still less than 0.5%.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

One : Developing the launch vehicle fleet. We are still dependent on foreign launchers for our heavier satellite needs. The development of GSLV Mk-II into a reliable LV will go a long way toward saving a lot of money, and infact help generate better revenues as we can get contracts for heavier foreign satellites. But even with the Mk-II operational, still heavier sats will have to be foreign-launched. Efforts should be directed at fast-paced development & testing of GSLV Mk-III a.k.a LVM3. Followed by the ULV series rockets.

India to build its heaviest rocket to
carry 10-tonne satellites
You missed one awesome concept.
Anyway, what's status of Iranian and Japanese Manned programs. Anybody knows here? Will they do it before us?

 

[Rowdy]

Meh better get the launchers ready as space launch market is exploding right now... the tech can be developed piecewise (develop a suit in a few years, Life system in a few ) to spread the costs and just integrate it when a decision is taken is say late 2020s

 

[Jay Singhad]

Manned programs are necessary to conduct extended research, which is not yet possible through robots. But, India India should concentrate on IRNSS and Avatar RLV. Robots can pretty much do everything what ISRO wants right now. Developing exploration rovers/robots can give the Indian industry a necessary boost, as it can help even DRDO in developing necessary robotic armaments.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Meh better get the launchers ready as space launch market is exploding right now... the tech can be developed piecewise (develop a suit in a few years, Life system in a few ) to spread the costs and just integrate it when a decision is taken is say late 2020s

Suits and Life Support Systems were made ready 4-5 years ago.
Our requirement is a launcher and A Human Rated Launch Pad which will not be ready before 2020.
Anyway, lSRO is focussing on increasing launch frequency (12+ launches every year). That will be real boom. :biggrin2:

 

[Rowdy]

Suits and Life Support Systems were made ready 4-5 years ago.
Our requirement is a launcher and A Human Rated Launch Pad which will not be ready before 2020.
Anyway, lSRO is focussing on increasing launch frequency (12+ launches every year). That will be real boom. :biggrin2:

Need to get deeper involvement of MSME bro ... like in the Auto sector so many cos supplying what not ... and that is only possible with a high frequency launch schedule so that the orders break even

 

[Gessler]

India to build its heaviest rocket to
carry 10-tonne satellites
You missed one awesome concept.
Anyway, what's status of Iranian and Japanese Manned programs. Anybody knows here? Will they do it before us?

Edited to include HLV!

Japanese aim to send astronauts with their own capsule (or space plane) by early or mid-2020s. I hope we get to do it before them. We already made progress on designing & validating HSF technologies in the SRE experiments and more.

Not sure what to say about the Iranians. They managed to send animals, but that and actual HSF are poles apart as far as the technological development goes. They have the will, they may eventually do it (but not with the current levels of rocket prowess and funding). But first let them develop bigger rockets that can haul bigger payloads...let them develop the propulsion techs (cryo engine & all) and then HSF will be a possibility.

I was infact hoping that once India matures in the field, we would help our allies & friends (like Iran, Vietnam) develop space technologies.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Edited to include HLV!

Japanese aim to send astronauts with their own capsule (or space plane) by early or mid-2020s. I hope we get to do it before them. We already made progress on designing & validating HSF technologies in the SRE experiments and more.

Not sure what to say about the Iranians. They managed to send animals, but that and actual HSF are poles apart as far as the technological development goes. They have the will, they may eventually do it (but not with the current levels of rocket prowess and funding). But first let them develop bigger rockets that can haul bigger payloads...let them develop the propulsion techs (cryo engine & all) and then HSF will be a possibility.

I was infact hoping that once India matures in the field, we would help our allies & friends (like Iran, Vietnam) develop space technologies.

True that.
On PDF(pakistani defence forum):
India's this step must be in response to Lunar Achievements of China. They can't compete with China neck to neck everywhere. They lack budget. It has became like Russian Space Program who has to select what to achieve as they have no match for US(China is like USA against India).
pakistanis are jumping saying this.

But this could be a fact because India's program was firstly just dedicated to civilian requirements.
Only when China sent humans to space, manned missions were proposed and interterrestrial research was started.
What do you guys think?[/I]

 

[Gessler]

True that.
On PDF(pakistani defence forum):
India's this step must be in response to Lunar Achievements of China. They can't compete with China neck to neck everywhere. They lack budget. It has became like Russian Space Program who has to select what to achieve as they have no match for US(China is like USA against India).
pakistanis are jumping saying this.

But this could be a fact because India's program was firstly just dedicated to civilian requirements.
Only when China sent humans to space, manned missions were proposed and interterrestrial research was started.
What do you guys think?[/I]

Pakistanis may kindly make love to themselves in any way they deem halal.

Our space missions are fully geared for our national needs and that's where 90% of ISRO's budget goes. Comm sats and transponders? Of course the pakis have no clue what a huge electronic media India has. Military sats? The forces want them for various needs including accuracy of operations, missile guidance etc. Rest all are concerned about reducing our dependence on foreign systems (IRNSS) or for improving civilian aerospace infrastructure (GAGAN).

It is very occasional that a planetary mission like MOM takes place just for sake of scientific curiosity. Plus such missiions are done at extremely low budgets.

If a Pakistani thinks the peanuts 450 crores we spent on Mars mission is going to throw our country of $2.3 trillion economy into bankruptcy vis-a-vis China, I can but say one thing : LOL

In the end it doesn't change the fact that Pakistan is the only failed state in the neighbourhood. Hell Bangladesh will surpass them pretty soon.

I think it's very clear who is the country that, in a vain attempt to attain military parlance with India, completely destroyed their own economy and made their nation survive upon the donations and aid given by the bigger powers. Stupid nation, stupid people.

Anyway, why must we ruin a thread about scientific endeavour just because some idiot living in a hut across the border said something? That hut's gonna be bombed by American drones anyway. They deserve it for being such utter sellouts and in general a weak people.

It is ridiculous to comment on the fire safety measures of neighbour's house while your own is on fire.

 

[Rowdy]

Pakistanis may kindly make love to themselves in any way they deem halal.

Our space missions are fully geared for our national needs and that's where 90% of ISRO's budget goes. Comm sats and transponders? Of course the pakis have no clue what a huge electronic media India has. Military sats? The forces want them for various needs including accuracy of operations, missile guidance etc. Rest all are concerned about reducing our dependence on foreign systems (IRNSS) or for improving civilian aerospace infrastructure (GAGAN).

It is very occasional that a planetary mission like MOM takes place just for sake of scientific curiosity. Plus such missiions are done at extremely low budgets.

If a Pakistani thinks the peanuts 450 crores we spent on Mars mission is going to throw our country of $2.3 trillion economy into bankruptcy vis-a-vis China, I can but say one thing : LOL

In the end it doesn't change the fact that Pakistan is the only failed state in the neighbourhood. Hell Bangladesh will surpass them pretty soon.

I think it's very clear who is the country that, in a vain attempt to attain military parlance with India, completely destroyed their own economy and made their nation survive upon the donations and aid given by the bigger powers. Stupid nation, stupid people.

Anyway, why must we ruin a thread about scientific endeavour just because some idiot living in a hut across the border said something? That hut's gonna be bombed by American drones anyway. They deserve it for being such utter sellouts and in general a weak people.

It is ridiculous to comment on the fire safety measures of neighbour's house while your own is on fire.

So what you are going to burn in the nine fires of hell anyway kaffir.

 

[Gessler]

So what you are going to burn in the nine fires of hell anyway kaffir.

I ain't a cat.

If I'm gonna burn, one fire is enough.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Pakistanis may kindly make love to themselves in any way they deem halal.

Our space missions are fully geared for our national needs and that's where 90% of ISRO's budget goes. Comm sats and transponders? Of course the pakis have no clue what a huge electronic media India has. Military sats? The forces want them for various needs including accuracy of operations, missile guidance etc. Rest all are concerned about reducing our dependence on foreign systems (IRNSS) or for improving civilian aerospace infrastructure (GAGAN).

It is very occasional that a planetary mission like MOM takes place just for sake of scientific curiosity. Plus such missiions are done at extremely low budgets.

If a Pakistani thinks the peanuts 450 crores we spent on Mars mission is going to throw our country of $2.3 trillion economy into bankruptcy vis-a-vis China, I can but say one thing : LOL

In the end it doesn't change the fact that Pakistan is the only failed state in the neighbourhood. Hell Bangladesh will surpass them pretty soon.

I think it's very clear who is the country that, in a vain attempt to attain military parlance with India, completely destroyed their own economy and made their nation survive upon the donations and aid given by the bigger powers. Stupid nation, stupid people.

Anyway, why must we ruin a thread about scientific endeavour just because some idiot living in a hut across the border said something? That hut's gonna be bombed by American drones anyway. They deserve it for being such utter sellouts and in general a weak people.

It is ridiculous to comment on the fire safety measures of neighbour's house while your own is on fire.

Well bro, sometimes I feel bad for porkies.
Military, Economy, Space, Science and Architecture etc. everywhere gap will become larger and larger. In less than 10 years, our GDP per capita will be their double. So, they need such rants and licking the feet of China as their own country can't achieve anything.
What a hopeless nation.
I'm feeling bad for children. They will have nothing.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

@pmaitra please delete my above reply which I've posted again accidentally.