ISRO General News and Updates

[Indx TechStyle]

Sir,I think the prototype for RLV-LEX is ready, they were waiting for Air Force helo, bureaucratic hurdles may be?

Hurdles of schedules. That's why I said if they have prototype, it doesn't make a difference if they do it now or few months later.

 

[SavageKing456]

Sir,I think the prototype for RLV-LEX is ready, they were waiting for Air Force helo, bureaucratic hurdles may be?

Chitradurga runway has been expanded specifically for this test,dk what's stopping them

 

[fire starter]

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Paywalled

A similar urgency also seems to be nudging the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which is determined to flag off some key missions. The Covid-19 pandemic, which clamped down hardware supply chains and manufacturing work at various Isro centres, postponed several launches. The agency has drawn up a calendar for at least six launches in 2021, including geo-spatial .....

As Covid restrictions ease, Isro puts in place aggressive launch timelines

 

[sorcerer]

False implication of Narayanan delayed India's cryo tech development: CBI

CBI opposed in the Kerala High Court the bail pleas by two former Kerala Police officers, who were involved in the arrest of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in a 1994 espionage case

India News: Latest India News, Live and Breaking News Today from India | Business Standard

India News: Business Standard brings the top news from India on Indian politics, elections, government and more.

www.business-standard.com

It was orchestrated by the CIA..some says

 

[fire starter]

HgCdTe colloidal quantum dot infrared focal plane array.

 

[FalconZero]

OT but do we have thread for private players in space? Considering how fast indian private space sector is progressing i am more optimistic about likes of Skyroot, Bellatrix, agnikul and so on. Skyroot is interesting cuz at this point i am certain that by next year they will have their small satellite launch vehicle ready. They recently tested their third stage iirc.
We need to keep track of our private sectors.

Coming to ISRO, covid has really destroyed the schedule and it seems even GOI is not giving any proper backing to them, funding is meagre, no chance of being ambitious with such funding and backing. It's sad.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Coming to ISRO, covid has really destroyed the schedule and it seems even GOI is not giving any proper backing to them, funding is meagre, no chance of being ambitious with such funding and backing. It's sad.

Half of last years budget went back unspent. Funding can be drawn once operations resume, ISRO's funds aren't an economical challenge for GOI.

 

[RoaringTigerHiddenDragon]

Chandrayaan programme is already a phased one. Initial stage goes with orbiter and later with landings and robotics/sample return missions.
Since ours is at too early stage, we can't plan what Chinese and Russians do. We need to have consecutive successful robotic moon soft landings, develop RTEG for long endurance missions and have a permanent human presence in orbit (space station). We are 15-20 years away from that.

Manned missions to moon and planets remain in India's vision but they are not planned yet since building blocks aren't in place yet. Most of such stuff was started by Vajpayee government.

ISRO was more meant for socio-economic development than military or research oriented programs before him.

No, LEO cap. doesn't matter, you need a vehicle with very powerful payload assist space tug or an upper stage with a TLI (Trans-lunar injection) capacity over 50 tonnes.

Currently, only US, Russia and China have upper stages. ISRO also had a project called PAM-G to similarly upgrade GSLV-II to directly throw satellites into GEO, MEO, TLI and TMI instead of GTO and EPO. But GSLV failed for too long ISRO became focused on replacing Russian engine with an Indian one. Never heard of PAM-G project after that (may come only after SCE-200).

If GSLV Mk-III had an upper stage, it would have sent Cdy-2 to moon in just few days and we wouldn't have to wait for months Cdy-2 switching geo and selenocentric orbits. In human mission, off course we can't keep humans in spacecraft for 6 months to 1 year like Chandrayaan-2.


Most of these points have already been officially adopted in Chandrayaan-2 or reports from VSSC except a robotic base.
Building giant robots and remotely control them from earth will be tougher than landing humans. Humans will have to go there first or at least set up a station in orbit to supervise. Same goes for US, Russia and China too.

Heavy launch vehicles aren't more than a decade away since SCE-200 is undergoing testing. But it will take 10-15 years for India to set up a station in space to train humans and reach the stage of lunar exploration like China.
Indian colony on moon is just a vision 30 years away at least unless a space race starts and Indian government pours $20-30 billions into space program.

I'm not accounting delays caused by failures. Failures happen and when they happen, program goes pushed back for years and sometimes even decades.

They aren't since SHLV would use clustered engines and boosters HLV itself. Their timeline would depend upon funding and requirement. Unless India has to send a large space station module or a giant QKD set to space or giant robot to moon, SHLV won't be realised. If it becomes a clear concept design before 2030, means manned lunar landing is on cards of government.

Setting up a factory isn't a long but very very long term perspective.
Launching and sustaining humans there won't be any less costly since robots can't do anything. Maintaining a many thousands tonne factory in space and facing recoil releasing satellites into orbit from it is another headache.

LOL, not sure what you are trying to say.
AgniKul itself is in INSpace to obtain tech from ISRO. This engine is being developed by AgniKul is for small launcher with payload cap. of 100 kg (20% of SSLV). It's clustered main engines or upgraded thrust can't power anything better than Israeli Shavit.

SCE-200 (probably with valves bigger than outlet of this engine) is for rockets in class of Delta IV Heavy, CZ-5 and Ariane-V. Clustered to power SHLVs in class of rocekts like Energia, CZ-9 or Saturn-V.

Yes they too. Private players don't have exceptionally higher IQ. They just sign pacts to get decades long tech from government for commercial use since themselves can't bear the cost of research and failures (SpaceX is a different case though). Similarly, government space agencies after creating a space economy in the country can focus on research instead of commercial services.

SpaceX and Blue Origin have been in touch with NASA for quite long. In India, Skyroot is built up of former ISRO personnel while AgniKul has tech transfer and consultancy from ISRO itself. Once launch services are off loaded on private players, a new sector will be created in country and then ISRO will be all about moon, mars, Venus, humans than worrying about GSATs to maintain band frequency in India.

Except I have been hearing ISRO doing this and that for the last 5 years. The proposal to outsource PSLV launches to private sector has been pending for a long time now. Is there any movement here at all?
The DoS is directly under the PMO - so I guess no one knows.
I think the problem with ISRO is planning is all good but they are short on execution speed and the talent scale required to do more activities - be it R&D or engineering scale up. And it comes back to my original point that they are having issues scaling up their talent. And private sector will scale and expand only if they know that a viable line of business exists over a medium to longer term period. So, ISRO must either scale itself or scale through private sector and not having a confused policy or no policy at all regarding to scaling up space related activities. Just putting out launch calendar is not enough (most deadlines in that calendar are not met anyways) - solid plans as to what to outsource, what to scale, what in-house R&D to focus, what next gen projects to work on and the budget for that - all must be set in stone.
I see no cause for you LOLing in a lot of your posts when most of your assertions are inaccurate. And ISRO is not scaling and competing as fast as it should be.
I am still waiting for NAVIC enabled applications, by the way, which were announced 2-3 years ago as being ready for commercialization. And I still dont see anything on ISRO site or anywhere else as when solid NAVIC enabled devices, be it position systems, mobile apps etc would be available let's say for our fishermen so they dont get arrested by Porkistanis and Sri Lankans and put us to national shame. I dont think you will be LOLing on our fishermen getting arrested, or will you?

 

[RoaringTigerHiddenDragon]

As we thought earlier, 1st unmanned Gaganyaan not this year. My speculation is, it will be mid-2022

First human rated test flight for India's Gaganyaan not in 2021

Pointing out ISRO opening the year 2021 with the successful launch of Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 other satellites he said the spread of Covid-19 and lockdowns curtailed the operations.

www.indiatvnews.com

Exactly as I predicted in my previous posts. The current setup at ISRO will NOT be able to deliver advanced projects. This is very evident. They need a change in the ways they work - maybe more PPP projects and maybe even R&D in the private sector. The problem is DoS is under the PMO, which is out of reach for 99% of Indians. Perhaps a civil aviation ministry and space ministry should be merged to create an aerospace ministry, headed by a full time minister and a separate budget, so there is dedicated focus on aerospace environment development, rather than trying to steal budget moneys from here and there and doing aerospace R&D under a variety of ministries all working at cross purposes. This ministry should also oversee space travel, space mining, inter planetary explorations, commercial apps development, defense apps development, asat capabilities, etc. based on space assets. I feel that we have a very disjointed and rambling set of space activities with no focus on developing expertise in certain areas or be known for specific advanced technologies.
I hope I am wrong but if space is a ssignificant space we want to be in, a separate aerospace ministry with a minister is a must, IMO.

 

[fire starter]

Prototype Segmented Mirror Telescope.

 

[fire starter]

Optical Imaging Detector Array for Hyperspectral Imaging.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Except I have been hearing ISRO doing this and that for the last 5 years. The proposal to outsource PSLV launches to private sector has been pending for a long time now. Is there any movement here at all?
The DoS is directly under the PMO - so I guess no one knows.
I think the problem with ISRO is planning is all good but they are short on execution speed and the talent scale required to do more activities - be it R&D or engineering scale up. And it comes back to my original point that they are having issues scaling up their talent. And private sector will scale and expand only if they know that a viable line of business exists over a medium to longer term period. So, ISRO must either scale itself or scale through private sector and not having a confused policy or no policy at all regarding to scaling up space related activities. Just putting out launch calendar is not enough (most deadlines in that calendar are not met anyways) - solid plans as to what to outsource, what to scale, what in-house R&D to focus, what next gen projects to work on and the budget for that - all must be set in stone.
I see no cause for you LOLing in a lot of your posts when most of your assertions are inaccurate. And ISRO is not scaling and competing as fast as it should be.
I am still waiting for NAVIC enabled applications, by the way, which were announced 2-3 years ago as being ready for commercialization. And I still dont see anything on ISRO site or anywhere else as when solid NAVIC enabled devices, be it position systems, mobile apps etc would be available let's say for our fishermen so they dont get arrested by Porkistanis and Sri Lankans and put us to national shame. I dont think you will be LOLing on our fishermen getting arrested, or will you?

Since while labeling my assertions as "inaccurate" without any real point, your post doesn't have any single technical/analytical/empirical perspective but as usual strict unsophisticated personal opinion and aam admi whinning out of frustration, I'm not going to stretch it.

I've already quoted the relative position of R&D in India against 40 years. Unfound criticism is same as that of fanboyism. Only worth LOLing.

 

[RoaringTigerHiddenDragon]

Since while labeling my assertions as "inaccurate" without any real point, your post doesn't have any single technical/analytical/empirical perspective but as usual strict unsophisticated personal opinion and aam admi whinning out of frustration, I'm not going to stretch it.

I've already quoted the relative position of R&D in India against 40 years. Unfound criticism is same as that of fanboyism. Only worth LOLing.

Lol….your counters are getting funnier by the day. Most of the things you quote are irrelevant to the argument we are having, which is what is Isro doing TODAY, at this very moment to scale up R&D and expedite previous projects. Correct Answer: Nothing or nothing we know of. You have not pointed to a single article or source that explains how ISRO will overcome its execution speed constraints. We are not talking about the glorification days of ISRO when the first sounding rocket was carried on a bicycle type of thing. Today, after 60 years, where is ISRO and what is its strategy for the future? It’s projects are all over the place with a shortage of talent that is getting everything delayed. This is the argument we are having. Not how much ISRO has progressed. You see I am simply NOT interested in how much ISRO has progressed and what constraints it faced. What is it dong today and how will it tackle its talent shortage and execution efficiency? When will it sort out all the delayed projects and deliver applications that benefit the citizens? What is holding it back? Why are they not able to articulate a vision and have rambling projects? Why are they not able to meet their own calendar deadlines? And on and on.

I hope this makes it clear. It is way too frustrating to see someone arguing along a path which is not the central point of the debate at all.

 

[FalconSlayers]

What is the difference between HAVA and TSTO?

 

[RoaringTigerHiddenDragon]

For example, Dr. K. Sivan said this:

India planning to have own space station: ISRO chief

The ambitious project will be an extension of the Gaganyaan mission.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

How confident are we that ISRO can actually achieve this? I just don’t see any quick, active steps to get there.

looks like the government itself (through the economic survey) is acknowledging that ISRO is lagging behind and is taking step:

India lagging behind US, China in space sector; over 40 start-ups working with govt: Economic Survey

Indian space economy is valued at $7 billion, which is around 2% of the global space economy, the Economic Survey said

www.deccanherald.com

 

[Vamsi]

What is the difference between HAVA and TSTO?

HAVA is a Tech Demonstrator for long duration scramjet technologies, while TSTO is Two Stage To Orbit Launch Vehicle, for example Falcon 9 & Starship are TSTO while ISRO's TSTO will be of two types, 1st one will be Winged Orbiter+ Vertical Landing Booster and 2nd type will be Air Breathing Hypersonic aircraft+ Cryogenic upper stage. HAVA will be a precursor for 2nd type of TSTO

 

[Indx TechStyle]

You see I am simply NOT interested in how much ISRO has progressed

Enough. Debate without real reasoning is nothing more than mental wanking anyway.
Always keep wondering, "why" without finding out.
Net fanboys and news reporters simply don't have IQs for technical topics anyway.

 

[RoaringTigerHiddenDragon]

Enough. Debate without real reasoning is nothing more than mental wanking anyway.
Always keep wondering, "why" without finding out.
Net fanboys and news reporters simply don't have IQs for technical topics anyway.

Lol…now it has come down to not being able to acknowledge that your comprehension of what was being discussed and debated was suspect and started with the usual low IQ argument that Chinese usually use. Lol. Plot twist: Hope you are not a Chinese in disguise, whose favorite response is : look at low IQ Indians. Ha ha.
I recommend you take a pause and debate with substance and relevance Instead of tangential braggadocio that does not help anyone.

 

[RoaringTigerHiddenDragon]

Hah…here is a more concrete reason as to why ISRO is struggling. ISRO is only getting 50% of requested budget. And hence, it is unable to hire enough talent and drive enough programs.

Funds shortage may delay crucial ISRO projects

Funds shortage may delay crucial ISRO projects, as per a report submitted to Rajya Sabha last month by a Parliamentary standing committee

www.geospatialworld.net

Conclusion: ISRO’s budget must be doubled, at least for ISRO to be able to scale effectively and deliver. Delays due to Wuhan Virus are on top of the several projects not even pursued due to lack of funds. Sad.