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The Shrike

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IMO ISRO should be working on something like this, they should start with a clean slate and design a modern yet achievable partially re-usable medium lift vehicle. The current strategy of slow incremental improvement on decades old designs while showing PPTs of ramjet scramjet wet dream RLV isn't going to cut it. I think US is launching something in the order of 50x the payload to space every year compared to ISROs best year, and China is not too far either. The current tregectory is simply not good enough if we aim to be a relevant player strategically in space.

 

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S. Somanath | At the helm of India’s space research
One of his top priorities will be the ‘Gaganyaan’, India's ambitious push to put a human crew in space. ISRO hopes that the mission would help lay the robust foundation for a sustainable human space flight programme in the long run. Development of a Reusable Launch Vehicle, the semi-cryogenic engine and the keenly-awaited Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions are some of the projects awaiting his immediate attention.
 

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IMO ISRO should be working on something like this, they should start with a clean slate and design a modern yet achievable partially re-usable medium lift vehicle. The current strategy of slow incremental improvement on decades old designs while showing PPTs of ramjet scramjet wet dream RLV isn't going to cut it. I think US is launching something in the order of 50x the payload to space every year compared to ISROs best year, and China is not too far either. The current tregectory is simply not good enough if we aim to be a relevant player strategically in space.

I only know about Chinese SHLV CZ-9. Are there any Chinese projects similar to these US ventures too?
 

The Shrike

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I only know about Chinese SHLV CZ-9. Are there any Chinese projects similar to these US ventures too?
Sorry i don't follow it as closely anymore, the Long March rockets are still mostly "old school" but the are launching quite a few of them. The have a few private players who are trying the VTVL 1st stage reuse (Falcon 9 copy) - now that SpaceX has shown this works all Chinese (and everyone else) have to do is copy it. Chinese have kept pace in number of launches with the US, but nowhere close to payload (since each F9 starlink launches ~16T which is bonkers compared to "old space") bit they will reach that level in 5 years if not less.
 
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SKC

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Sorry i don't follow it as closely anymore, the Long March rockets are still mostly "old school" but the are launching quite a few of them. The have a few private players who are trying the VTVL 1st stage reuse (Falcon 9 copy) - now that SpaceX has shown this works all Chinese (and everyone else) have to do is copy it. Chinese have kept pace in number of launches with the US, but nowhere close to payload (since each F9 starlink launches ~16T which is bonkers compared to "old space") bit they will reach that level in 5 years if not less.
Design and Looks wise there is nothing much to talk about Chinese rockets. They looks plain old school.
But they have managed to up the launch capacity in weight to various orbits and no of launches per year.

2021 broke the record of Highest no of launch attempts to orbit and highest no of successful launches. We also now need to scale up.
 

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Sorry i don't follow it as closely anymore, the Long March rockets are still mostly "old school" but the are launching quite a few of them. The have a few private players who are trying the VTVL 1st stage reuse (Falcon 9 copy) - now that SpaceX has shown this works all Chinese (and everyone else) have to do is copy it. Chinese have kept pace in number of launches with the US, but nowhere close to payload (since each F9 starlink launches ~16T which is bonkers compared to "old space") bit they will reach that level in 5 years if not less.
So clearly there are no Chinese ventures similar to American space Inc. as I asked you. US anyway holds an industrial capacity for 100+ launches. PRC has a long away to go. India will take even longer.
 

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Design and Looks wise there is nothing much to talk about Chinese rockets. They looks plain old school.
That outer casing is standard Chinese fashion. Chinese rocekts aren't really old school. They have great modular rocekts with good payload to weight ratio similar to UMLV we are trying to make. CZ is just a nomenclature series.
2021 broke the record of Highest no of launch attempts to orbit and highest no of successful launches.
LOL no. Not even remotely.
 

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New Year Message from Chairman's Desk (K. Sivan)
Not posted earlier.
3 January 2022
A very good morning to all and a warm wishes to you and your families for a happy, healthy and a prosperous new year!
As 2021 has come to an end, I am sure all of us are looking forward for a bright and eventful year.
The beginning of the new year is an apt occasion for reflecting on the achievements of the previous year. During the previous year, the impact of the lockdowns was still evident and activities had to be carried out while following the COVID guidelines and protocols of the
government.
There is a feeling that very little happened in ISRO during 2021. That feeling is primarily due to less number of launches. However, as Chairman, ISRO, I am extremely proud that all of you have made very significant contributions in continuing the operational missions, conceiving many new missions, undertaking many technology development initiatives, and planning for the next decade of space activities.
Over and above that, Government of India successfully implemented the space sector reforms to expand the space sector within India. ISRO's more than five decades of hard work in growing the space activities in India has brought the Nation to an inflexion point, wherein we can leap-frog into a glorious future. This is intended to ensure that India retains its leadership and meaningful position in the global space
Industry.
ISRO engineers have also shown their social empathy by undertaking many initiatives to mitigate COVID induced shortage of medical equipment and supplies through innovative design solutions. The ventilators and oxygen concentrators designed and proto tested by ISRO engineers are now being produced by Industry.
Even on the cultural front, ISRO engineers have shown their mettle by successfully
organizing the Aarohan event, which not only showcased talent but also provided the
right kind of creative avenue to keep morals high in these times. Kudos to all of you!
..........
If you look, at the immediate task at hand this year, we have many missions to execute. Some of these are launch of EOS-4 and EOS-6 on board PSLV. Launch of EOS-02 on board maiden flight of SSLV. Many test flights for Crew Escape System of
Gaganyaan and Launch of the first unmanned mission of Gaganyaan. In addition, we also have Chandrayaan-03, Aditya Ll, XpoSat, IRNSS and technology demonstration missions with advanced indigenously developed technologies on-board.
I am sure that with your continued cooperation, support and enthusiasm, we will be able to achieve all the targets.
The last few months were a lull period for ISRO, due to Corona. However, all indicators point towards the next imminent wave. All of us have to prepared and protect ourselves both at the personnel level as well as at the institutional level to safeguard the ongoing programmes and activities. All the Centre Directors have in the past mitigated the aftereffects of previous pandemic wave by excellent planning, devising monitoring mechanism and working protocol. There is a need to tighten our shoe laces in the same manner to face the next wave. I am sure that with the cooperation from all of you, we will be ready for facing any eventuality.
...................
 

SKC

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That outer casing is standard Chinese fashion. Chinese rocekts aren't really old school. They have great modular rocekts with good payload to weight ratio similar to UMLV we are trying to make. CZ is just a nomenclature series.
I did not mean they have old school technology. just that they look plain and simple.

LOL no. Not even remotely.
I read all over about launches in 2021:

The world just set a record for sending the most rockets into orbit | Ars Technica

More rockets made orbital launch attempts during 2021 than in any previous year in history, breaking a record that dates back to the space race.

There are no official records of such matters, but several good online resources provide a compendium of data that includes both orbital launch attempts and successes. Based on this information, a total of 144 orbital launches were attempted in 2021, of which 133 were successful. This total does not include two unannounced launch attempts by Iran's Simorgh vehicle.

FURTHER READING
This may finally be the year we see some new chunky rockets take flight
Last year's numbers surpass the total orbital launch attempts in 1967 (122 successes out of 139 launch attempts) and a previous record for successes in 1976 (125 successes out of 131 attempts).
 

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