ISRO General News and Updates

[Indx TechStyle]

New Pictures from MCC(Mars Colour Camera) of Mangalyaan 1.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO anticipates high resolution images from Cartosat satellites

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was on course to getting high resolution satellite images with Cartosat-2E and Cartosat-3 during 2017-18 timeframe, for preparing and updating large-scale base maps for urban planning, infrastructure development, utilities planning and traffic management, said A. Arunachalam, Senior Scientist, ISRO, Bengaluru.

The high-resolution panchromatic and multispectral data was vital for effective urban planning through a precise understanding of the changes in the spatial extent of urbanised land areas. Applications of remote sensing and GIS technologies have progressively been expanded to cover agriculture, forestry, ecology, water resources, urban and regional planning, mineral exploration, and utilities planning, Mr. Arunachalam said at a National Seminar on ‘GIS Solutions for Highway Traffic Management’ organised by Department of Civil Engineering, Nandha Engineering College.

Delivering a talk on ‘Remote Sensing and GIS Solution for Urban Planning and Infrastructure Development’, Mr. Arunachalam informed that ePathai (electronic Project, Administration, Traffic, Highway Assets and Information Management System) conceived by Highways Department of Tamil Nadu has provided accessible, relevant and valid information on the road network and related infrastructure.

With ‘Road Management System’, ‘Geographic Information System’ and ‘Project, Human Resource and Finance Management System’ as major components, ePathai project had enabled effective decision making in planning, programming, funding, procurement and in the allocation of resources in road sector; effective prioritisation of works as well as reporting on its condition; improved support for decision making through GIS analytical tools; and evaluation of roads and related infrastructure for planning and programming purposes, Mr. Arumachalam said. K.Elangovan, Associate Professor, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, spoke on ‘Geographical Information System in Transportation’, and K.Gunasekeran, Associate Professor, Anna University, Chennai, on ‘Study on role of Road Environment in Accident Occurrence using GIS’ while E.K.Mohanraj, Dean-Civil Engineering, Nandha Engineering College, handled a session on ‘Remote Sensing and GIS Application in Civil Engineering’.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Story of the Week
Nozzle Testing Laboratories established at VSSC

Performance improvement in propulsion systems is essential towards achieving cost effective launch vehicles. Apart from propellant energetics, the nozzle plays a vital role in improving propulsion system performance. Therefore by improving performance of existing nozzles and by developing new nozzle concepts, which can operate at both low and high altitude regimes, it is possible to obtain significant gains in the delivered specific impulse of rockets. With these objectives, ISRO has established Nozzle Testing Laboratories (NTL) at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.

The NTL consists of a Nitrogen gas generation and storage system, a graphite cored induction heater (for heating nitrogen), a test chamber, a diffuser system and heat exchanger, coolant system and power supply systems. The facility utilizes the available 6600 m3 capacity vacuum vessel of the Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) for simulation of altitude pressure. For nozzle performance evaluation, heated nitrogen gas is allowed to expand in nozzles kept in the test chamber having simulated altitude pressure. Gaseous nitrogen admitted to the storage heater from the top exits the heater at the required temperature. The facility utilises fast response pressure transducers and instrumentation to study nozzle phenomena. Nozzles up to Area Ratio (AR) 300 and more can be tested in the facility.

The NTL has the capability to cater to a wide range of studies related to nozzles such as:

• Contour optimization for large AR nozzles
• Flow separation, techniques for flow separation control
• Nozzle wall heat transfer
• Regenerative cooling
• Supersonic film cooling
• Evaluation of new nozzle concepts

Experimental validation of flow separation control devices with minimal modifications in the existing contour nozzles enabling high AR operation can be carried out. Specific tests can be devised and carried out to validate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) predictions. The facility can also be used to carry out open jet heat transfer studies.

The Nozzle Testing Laboratories was inaugurated recently by Chairman, ISRO which is a unique facility established for the first time in the country towards carrying out advanced R&D in the area of rocket nozzle.

Inside view of NTL

A typical 100 AR nozzle developed for tests in the facility

Nozzle Testing Laboratories (NTL) Building at VSSC​

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Story of the Week - Archive
May 09, 2016 : Nozzle Testing Laboratories established at VSSC
May 02, 2016 : MENCA observed the evening exosphere of Mars
Apr 25, 2016 : MOSDAC completes a decade of Meteorological and Oceanographic satellite data services to the Nation
Apr 18, 2016 : Indigenous development of Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA) for Space borne payloads
Apr 11, 2016 : IIST Secures 8th Position in all India Universities Ranking
Apr 05, 2016 : Geo-spatial Technology for Expansion of Sericulture in India
Mar 28, 2016 : First Theme based On-line Outreach Programme conducted at IIRS on Geo-spatial Technologies for Urban Planning

• 1 of 8
  
• next ›

Courtesy: ISRO - Government of India

 

[Indx TechStyle]

This is how ISRO is mapping the heatwave in South India
The map offers four varying intensities of the heatwave as No Heatwave, Heatwave, Severe and Extreme. These intensities are colour coded.
BY: EXPRESS WEB DESK | NEW DELHI |UPDATED: MAY 9, 2016 7:44 AM

As the heat wave engulfs more people in its deathly tirade, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has started an interactive ‘heat-wave visualization’ map on its Indian Geo-Platform Bhuvan, monitoring the intensity of the heatwave in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana.

The heat-wave, which is expected to continue till May 10, has affected these regions the most.

The map offers four varying intensities of the heatwave as No Heatwave, Heatwave, Severe and Extreme. These intensities are colour coded.

The heatwave can be tracked on any given day of the April and May (as of now) starting from April 19th.

As of Sunday, most regions have been marked with just heatwave. No region has currently been coded under Extreme.

More than 200 people have died due to the heatwave in Telangana, with temperatures rising above 43 degrees. More than 100 peope have died in Odisha where temperatures have gone at least 5 degrees above the normal 38 degrees.

While Odisha declared schools to be closed early for summer vacations, Telangana received some respite on Friday in the form of heavy showers, with the maximum temperature plummeting below 35 degrees.

In 2015, more than 2500 people died due to the extreme weather conditions and high temperatures. However, the year 2016 has been purported to be the warmest year for India in centuries. The El-Nino effect is still strong over the Pacific Ocean and is expected to end by the last phase of summer.

Note: Guys, please care that you not only click orange portion.
Because, I even colour links.

For example, link above, below the main link is in red colour.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Young astronomers'' visit to ISRO Bengaluru flagged off
PTI
Posted at: May 9 2016 3:47PM

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the exposure visit of the top twenty budding astronomers of the state to Satellite Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bengaluru, on Sunday.

The promising youngsters were selected through a series of tests of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2015-16, organised by Tata Steel in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, a company release said.

Congratulating the students and conveying his best wishes, Patnaik expressed the hope that the young talents would utilise this visit to enhance their knowledge.

He also appreciated the efforts of Pathani Samanta Planetarium and Tata Steel for successfully organising the Young Astronomer Talent Search programme.

In addition to visiting the facilities at the Satellite Centre of ISRO, the students would have the rare opportunity of interacting with some of the top space scientists of the country during their visit.

The Bengaluru centre of ISRO is engaged in developing satellite technology and implementation of satellite systems for scientific, technological and application missions, it said.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Exotic heat-resistant gel: a spinoff from ISRO

A near-invisible silica gel that would serve as a thermal barrier in cryogenic fuel tanks, boot soles and sun films may sound like a magical product straight from a sci-fi.

But it’s a tangible reality that researchers of the Indian Space Research Organization at its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, have made possible.

The yet to be christened product, the hydrophobic silica aero gel as it is known now, is supposed to have low thermal conductivity and density and high specific surface area and can be applied on any surface.

With its “exotic properties,” silica aero gels are attractive candidates for many unique thermal, optical, acoustic, catalytic and chemical applications and are best known for their “super-insulating property.”

Silica aero gels can be made in chunks (granular), beads, powder and tape or sheet form, and may be used as the application demands, according to VSSC.

As air fills the gel up to 95 per cent of its size, it comes as super lightweight material. The air molecules trapped inside the gel would act as insulators, and its heat conductivity is close to zero. They could be used for coating the windows of houses and vehicles as they would let in 95 per cent of the light that falls on the surface and fully deflect the heat.

“The researchers stumbled upon the exotic properties of the gel during their search for a super thermal insulator for the cryogenic fuel tanks of rockets. The temperature on the surface of the rockets is likely to be between 300 and 400 degree Celsius during its flight, and the cryogenic fuel needs to be insulated. Thus, the gel was developed,” explained K. Sivan, director, VSSC.

As the gel acts as a thermal barrier, it could be used as a protective component of clothes and boots of solders stationed in extremely cold regions such as Siachen and Kargil. The weight of military clothes could be brought down to ordinary dresses after applying the gel over it thus giving the much required freedom of movement for the soldiers. To coat a jacket may require around 500 grams of gel. “Discussions are on with some textile developers for the design of cloths by applying gel over it,” said Dr. Sivan.

“Besides apparel for soldiers, the gel could also be used for heavy duty dresses used by researchers working in Arctic/Antarctic expeditions. For insulating cryogenic fuel tanks, 2.8 kg of gel is required. It needs to be produced in large quantities for commercial use and discussions are on with some entrepreneurs,” he explained.

“ISRO has offered the knowhow of the technology to suitable entrepreneurs in India and the benefits from the transfer of technology would go to the country,” he said.

The other applications of the material include acoustic insulations, building and pipeline insulation and window facades as translucent panels which allow natural light but not heat for hot areas where air conditioners are and trapping heat in cold places.

It would also be used for controlling oil spills and vibration. Other applications include acoustic damping materials and insulation in refrigerators, fillers or additives in paints, sealants, adhesives, cement, coatings, foams, and for increasing the heat resistance of the material, according to VSSC sources.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO has set up committees for production of satellite launch vehicles with private sector

ISRO has set up two steering committees to work out a comprehensive strategy for production of satellite launch in partnership with industry/pvt sector.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO) has set up two steering committees to work out a comprehensive strategy for production of satellite launch in partnership with industry/private sector, the Lok Sabhawas informed today.

Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and in thePrime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh also stated the panels are expected to submit their reports by the second half of the current year.

"...ISRO has set up two steering committees to delineate a comprehensive strategy for production with industry partnership," Singh said while responding to queries in this regard.

Replying to other questions, he said the terms of reference of the steering committee for 'stepping up launch capacity' include establishing production profile of the launch vehicles, assessing gaps in meeting production needs and arriving at a strategy for production including industry linkages, infrastructure build-up, technology sharing methods and quality assurance support.

The terms of the reference of the other panel for 'stepping up satellite/payload capacity', Singh added, include establishing production profile of satellites and payloads, assessing gaps in meeting production needs and creating a 'strategy map' for production, industry linkages, joint ventures, infrastructure build-up and quality assurance support.

The Minister noted the ISRO has been engaging the Indian industry since 1976 with appropriate transfer of technology and hand-holding for manufacturing of various components and sub-assemblies required for development of space technology.

He also said the industries have been realising several sub-systems including motor cases, structures, propellant tanks, liquid engines, control components and electronic packages while ISRO plays the lead role in carrying out the mission design, assembly and testing, quality assurance, integration and launch.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO satellite images aid Chhattisgarh security forces track Maoists

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO Where Are They Now? 34 Indian Satellites Are Up And Running In Space
Here'a an update regarding India's 83 satellites, where they are now and what their specific tasks are.

Since 1975, India has launched 83 satellites into the space for to serve different purposes.

Mars Orbiter Mission [ISRO]

Current data released by the Union government confirm that 34 of them are operational. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh shared this in Rajya Sabha, the Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India.

• Out of the 34 Indian satellites, 13 are for communication purposes, 12 are for Earth observation, seven are navigational and two are dedicated to study of astronomy

• It is to be noted that in 2016, three satellites were launched under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). These satellites have put India on the same platform with other developed countries who have dedicated global positioning satellite systems

• The IRNSS act as the navigation satellites. These include IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G

• The Mars Orbiter Mission or MOM and ASTROSAT are the two satellites that ISRO uses to study Mars and outer space, respectively.

• INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-6, GSAT-7, GSAT-8, GSAT-10, GSAT-12, GSAT-14, GSAT-15 and GSAT-16 are the communication satellites.

• Resourcesat-2, RISAT-1, RISAT-2, Cartosat-1, Cartosat-2, Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, Oceansat-2, SARAL, Kalpana-1, Megha-Tropiques and INSAT-3D are used for observing movements and patterns on Earth.

• Applications such as Direct-To-Home Television (DTH), Digital Satellite News Gathering, telecommunication, VSAT services for banking, tele-education and business communication use Ku-band onboard GSAT-15 and other Indian satellite.

• The first ever satellite launched by India was Aryabhatta on April 19 in 1975. The satellite was launched using a u-11 Interkosmos.

Topical Tags :
Analysis/Reports
Agencies
Regulatory/Government
Satellite Operator
Service Provider

Regional Tags :
Asia/Asia Pacific
Global

 

[ezsasa]

Was looking at Bhuvan website recently. Why are the images not as crisp as what we see on google maps?

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Was looking at Bhuvan website recently. Why are the images not as crisp as what we see on google maps?

Google has assistance from NASA.
Let us catch up with them first.
Next nice gems for our collection will be Catrosat-2C and GISAT(not GSAT) Satellite series.

 

[ezsasa]

Google has assistance from NASA.
Let us catch up with them first.
Next nice gems for our collection will be Catrosat-2C and GISAT(not GSAT) Satellite series.

Was looking at cartosat images.I had assumed 1 meter spatial resolution images would be more crisp, that was not the case.

If these are the same images being used by military, then it is highly unlikely they can be used for strategic ops. At best they are only be used only for terrain info.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Was looking at cartosat images.I had assumed 1 meter spatial resolution images would be more crisp, that was not the case.

1 metre?
We are launching a 0.65 metres high resolution SAT next month (10th June), at par with US and Chinese SATs.

If these are the same images being used by military, then it is highly unlikely they can be used for strategic ops. At best they are only be used only for terrain info.

Wait for GISATs. Onwards 2017.
That'll be more crispy.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO: The Frugal Frontier

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Prof U R Rao selected to receive 2016 IAF Hall of Fame Award

Prof U R Rao, former Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space is being honoured by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) with the 2016 ‘IAF Hall of Fame’ Award, for his outstanding contribution to the progress of astronautics within the framework of the IAF activities.

The IAF award is intended to reward personalities for their contributions to the progress of astronautics and the Federation. In the letter to Prof Rao by the President, IAF stated that, ‘It is a true honour for IAF to attribute this award to Prof Rao, who have been for many years an active participant to the success of space in general and of the Federation in particular’.

The IAF Hall of Fame consists of a permanent gallery of these personalities, including a citation, biographical information, and a picture, in a special part of the IAF web presence. This year’s 67th International Astronautical Congress will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico during September 26 – 30, 2016. Prof Rao will receive the ‘IAF Hall of Fame’ Award and a certificate, during the closing ceremony on Friday, September 30, 2016.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO comes to the aid of decentralised rural planning

August presence:Students of the Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering interacting with ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar at the graduation day function in Mysuru on Saturday.— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a space-based information system for decentralised planning to help rural development, ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said here on Saturday.

Though there are scores of rural development programmes and welfare measures launched in the country, there is little planning at the local level owing to lack of information. The space-based information system will reach out to the villages to enable them to plan and improve their economy, he said at the graduation day of the Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering.

The system is expected to optimise the benefits of various welfare programmes to a maximum number of people in the areas of health, sanitation, infrastructure, etc. besides monitoring their benefits and impacts in the villages.

As another such initiative, it is also working with the Department of Posts to involve its postmen and women to inform citizens about the location and services available at post offices. Already 1.5 lakh post offices across the country have been geo-tagged.

In future, postal staff visiting neighbourhoods will also be equipped with space-based information in time to arm farmers about their land, cultivation and the crop they grow. The information will be shared with the Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre to estimate details of crops. At present, this is being done through stratified random sampling in 10,000 locations. By involving postal employees, the information would be available from a large number of locations, which help improve crop forecasting and related activities, he said.

The thrust of Mr. Kiran Kumar’s talk was on the innovation and indigenous solutions conceived by ISRO to address India-specific problems in a cost-effective manner. He highlighted how the country had recently created its own regional ‘GPS’ based on a seven-satellite navigation constellation.

ISRO’s upcoming solar mission, Aditya, will provide scientists a 24x7 observation capability of the sun’s corona.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO's big leap, embarks on launching Indian space shuttle!

For the very first time in its history, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is actually growing wings as it embarks this month on a never before space flight that would make history.

The Indian space agency is all set to undertake the maiden launch of its very own indigenously version of a 'space shuttle', a fully made-in-India effort.

Today, a sleek winged body almost the weight and size of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) is being given final touches at Sriharikota awaiting the final countdown.

Yes, the big powers abandoned the idea of a winged reusable launch vehicle but India's frugal engineers believe the solution to reducing cost of launching satellites into orbit is to recycle the rocket or make it reusable. Scientists at ISRO believe that they could reduce the cost of launching stuff into space by as much as 10 times if reusable technology succeeds, bringing it down to USD 2,000 per kg.

Very soon and if all goes well possibly before the monsoon sets in, India's space port at Sriharikota on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh will witness the launch of the indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). This will be the first time ISRO will launch a space craft, which actually has delta wings and after launch it will be glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal.

The RLV-TD is unlikely to be recovered from sea during this experiment as it is expected that the vehicle will disintegrate on impact with water since it is not designed to float. The purpose of the experiment is not to see it float but to glide and navigate from a velocity five times higher than the speed of sound onto a designated virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal some 500 km from the coast.

Very similar in its looks to the American space shuttle, the RLV-TD being experimented is a scale model which is almost 6 times smaller than the final version.

K Sivan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, says, "These are just the first baby steps towards the big Hanuman leap."

The final version will take at least 10-15 years to get ready since designing a human rated reusable rocket is no kid stuff.

The only countries that have attempted operational flights of a space shuttle are America, which flew its space shuttle 135 times and then retired it in 2011 and since then it lost its capacity to send astronauts in space on American made rockets. The Russians made only a single space shuttle and called it Buran it flew into space just once in 1989. After that the French and Japanese have made some experimental flights and from available literature it seems the Chinese have never attempted a space shuttle.

India embarked on making its own version of the space shuttle by thinking about it more than 15 years ago, but work in earnest it seems started only five years ago when a dedicated team of engineers and scientists plunged into making RLV-TD a reality. The 6.5-m-long 'aeroplane'-like spacecraft will weigh 1.75 tons and will be hoisted into the atmosphere on a special rocket booster.

The special booster or the first stage is powered using a solid fuel and it will hoist the RLV-TD experiment to about 70 km into the atmosphere from where the descent will begin. During the descent, phase which is essentially a glider like event small thrusters will help the vehicle to be navigated on to the exact spot where it is supposed to land.

Ships, satellites and radars will monitor its descent. The current experimental version has no undercarriage so it cannot be brought back onto land and India lacks a runway that is longer than 5 km in length to accommodate such a landing.

Some private billionaires with very active support from NASA have been trying to master vertical lift-off and vertical landing as part of trying to recycle rocket engines.

SpaceX is a company owned by South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk which became big through the Internet economy and has been able to land its Falcon-9 rocket onto a sea-based platform.

On the same lines the company Blue Origin owned by Jeff Bezos landed its New Shepard rocket on land in Texas. Bezos, another billionaire, made it big by building the Amazon online trading platform.

In fact NASA chief General Charles Bolden, when he was in New Delhi recently, said the competition has shifted to a fight among billionaires to reduce the cost of launching satellites into space.

The making of the Indian space shuttle or RLV-TD has taken 5 years and the government has invested Rs 95 crore in the project. This flight will test the capability of the vehicle to survive a re-entry at speeds higher than that of sound so it is called a hyper sonic experiment (HEX).

 

[Screambowl]

For the very first time in its history, the ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation is all set to undertake the maiden launch of its very own indigenously version of a 'space shuttle', a fully made-in-India effort this month.


http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/isro-embarks-on-launching-indian-space-shuttle-1406368


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
HIGHLIGHTS

1. The Indian space shuttle, or RLV-TD, has taken 5 years to build
2. The government has invested Rs.95 crore in the project
3. It could help to reduce cost of launching things into space by 10 times

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will embark this month on a never before space flight that would make history.

The Indian space agency is set to undertake the maiden launch of its very own indigenous version of a 'space shuttle', a made-in-India effort.

Today, a sleek winged body almost the weight and size of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) is being given final touches at Sriharikota, awaiting the final countdown.

Scientists at ISRO believe that they could reduce the cost of launching stuff into space by as much as 10 times if reusable technology succeeds, bringing it down to USD 2,000 per kg.

Very soon and if all goes well possibly before the monsoon sets in, India's space port at Sriharikota on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh will witness the launch of the indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). This will be the first time ISRO will launch a spacecraft, which has delta wings. After launch, it will be glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal.

The RLV-TD is unlikely to be recovered from sea during this experiment as it is expected that the vehicle will disintegrate on impact with water since it is not designed to float. The purpose of the experiment is not to see it float but to glide and navigate from a velocity five times higher than the speed of sound onto a designated virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal some 500 km from the coast.

Similar in its looks to the American space shuttle, the RLV-TD being experimented is a scale model which is almost 6 times smaller than the final version.

K Sivan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, says, "These are just the first baby steps towards the big Hanuman leap."

India embarked on making its own version of the space shuttle by thinking about it more than 15 years ago, but work in earnest started only five years ago when a dedicated team of engineers and scientists plunged into making RLV-TD a reality. The 6.5-m-long 'aeroplane'-like spacecraft will weigh 1.75 tons and will be hoisted into the atmosphere on a special rocket booster.

The special booster or the first stage is powered using a solid fuel and it will hoist the RLV-TD experiment to about 70 km into the atmosphere from where the descent will begin.

During the descent, phase which is essentially a glider like event small thrusters will help the vehicle to be navigated to the exact spot where it is supposed to land.

Ships, satellites and radars will monitor its descent. The current experimental version has no undercarriage so it cannot be brought back onto land and India lacks a runway that is longer than 5 km in length to accommodate such a landing.

Some private billionaires with very active support from NASA have been trying to master vertical lift-off and vertical landing as part of trying to recycle rocket engines.

SpaceX is a company owned by South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk which became big through the Internet economy and has been able to land its Falcon-9 rocket onto a sea-based platform.

On the same lines the company Blue Origin owned by Jeff Bezos landed its New Shepard rocket on land in Texas. Bezos, another billionaire, made it big by building the Amazon online trading platform.

NASA chief General Charles Bolden recently said the competition has shifted to a fight among billionaires to reduce the cost of launching satellites into space.

The making of the Indian space shuttle or RLV-TD has taken 5 years and the government has invested Rs. 95 crore in the project. This flight will test the capability of the vehicle to survive a re-entry at speeds higher than that of sound so it is called a hyper sonic experiment (HEX).

Later, in the next few flights the RLV will be subjected to a landing experiment and another return flight experiment. Once these are successful, ISRO will then decide on what should be the final configuration of the Reusable Launch Vehicle.

One key technology the scientists at VSSC had to develop was to make materials that can withstand high temperatures that the exterior of the vehicle is faced with as it comes back into the dense atmosphere after its journey through near vacuum in space.

The friction from the air turns the exterior like a red-hot iron plate. To be able to withstand these 5000-7000 degrees Celsius temperature the scientists have developed very lightweight heat resistant silica tiles that are plastered on the underbelly of the so-called Indian space plane.

The nose cone takes the brunt of the high temperatures and is made up of a special carbon-carbon composite that can withstand high temperature. These special materials are necessary to protect the insides of the vehicle where the temperature should never go higher than 50 degrees Celsius.

It is these heat resistant tiles and thermal coating that failed on the American Space Shuttle, Columbia that resulted in the death of Indian born American astronaut Kalpana Chawla's in 2003. Consequently, ISRO has laid a lot of emphasis on the thermal management of the RLV.

After the successful deployment of the Swadeshi Global Positioning System through NAVIC or Navigation with Indian Constellation, ISRO is again reaching for the stars.

 

[Screambowl]

there are two vehicles built looks like.

 

[Gessler]

ISRO to launch Made in India space shuttle: Here’s why it matters
ISRO is all set to launch India's very first space shuttle soon, which will be a 'Made in India' effort.

For the very first time in its history, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is actually growing wings as it embarks this month on a never before space flight that would make history. The Indian space agency is all set to undertake the maiden launch of its very own indigenous version of a ‘space shuttle’, a fully made-in-India effort. Today, a sleek winged body almost the weight and size of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) is being given final touches at Sriharikota awaiting the final countdown. Yes, the big powers abandoned the idea of a winged reusable launch vehicle, but India’s frugal engineers believe the solution to reducing cost of launching satellites into orbit is to recycle the rocket or make it reusable.

Scientists at ISRO believe that they could reduce the cost of launching stuff into space by as much as 10 times if reusable technology succeeds, bringing it down to $2,000 per kg. Very soon and if all goes well possibly before the monsoon sets in, India’s space port at Sriharikota on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh will witness the launch of the indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). This will be the first time ISRO will launch a space craft, which actually has delta wings and after launch it will be glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal. The RLV-TD is unlikely to be recovered from sea during this experiment as it is expected that the vehicle will disintegrate on impact with water since it is not designed to float. The purpose of the experiment is not to see it float but to glide and navigate from a velocity five times higher than the speed of sound onto a designated virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal some 500 km from the coast.

Very similar in its looks to the American space shuttle, the RLV-TD being experimented is a scale model which is almost 6 times smaller than the final version. K Sivan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, says, “These are just the first baby steps towards the big Hanuman leap.” The final version will take at least 10-15 years to get ready since designing a human rated reusable rocket is no kid stuff.

http://indianexpress.com/article/te...e-shuttle-heres-why-it-is-a-big-deal-2801811/