ISRO news and views

[Galaxy]

ISRO aims at 45 to 50 launches

Dec 18, 2011

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 12th five-year plan period will be a busy one for ISRO's Sriharikota spaceport. If things pan out as ISRO hopes it would, then 2012-2017 will see more number of missions compared to previous five-year plan periods. ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, addressing the national conference on 'Space Transportation Systems: Opportunities and Challenges', organised by the VSSC and Indian National Academy of Engineering at Thumba on Saturday, said that the ISRO was targeting 45 to 50 launches during the 12th five-year plan.

In the 11th, the target had been 30, with six missions per year. The 10th five- year plan had witnessed 20 missions. (The Sathish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, has at present two launch pads. ISRO is planning a third one which will be able to accommodate advanced launch vehicles).

No Flaw in GSLV Design: Radhakrishnan said that the GSLV, which had two crashes in 2010, had no flaw in design. There have been problems in implementation which are being corrected. The next GSLV launch will be in the second quarter of 2012, he said.

In March 2012, the ISRO will launch a microwave remote sensing satellite which will be useful for the farm sector as well as disaster management. Cloud cover will not be a problem for this satellite, which gives it an edge over conventional satellites. The ISRO chairman said the years ahead would be a busy one for ISRO. At present, 170 transponders are in service, but the current requirement is 500.

The three-day conference, which focuses on low-cost space transportation, is being attended by a large number of scientists from India and foreign space agencies such as NASA, ESA and JAXA. It will conclude on Sunday.

ISRO aims at 45 to 50 launches - southindia - Thiruvananthapuram - ibnlive

 

[nitesh]

IAF to select crew for India's 1st manned mission to space - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Joining the project for country's first indigenous manned mission to space, Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and is now planning to set up facilities for selecting the crew for the maiden flight.

 

[Patriot]

'India looking forward to success of indigenous c'genic stage'

SRIHARIKOTA (PTI): President Pratibha Patil Monday said the country looks forward to the success of the indigenous cryogenic stage on board the GSLV rocket, likely to be launched in the second quarter of this year.

"The entire country is looking forward to the successful flight testing by ISRO of the indigenous cryogenic stage on-board GSLV," she said inaugurating the Mission Control Centre and Launch Centre at Sathish Dhawan Space Centre here.

The space agency had suffered a setback when Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3), launched using a home-grown cryogenic engine for the first time, failed and fell into the Bay of Bengal in April 2010.

"It is heartening that the Indian space programme is entirely indigenous and has made much progress and achieved much since its inception," she said.

Patil said every launch brought excitement and anxious moments to mission controllers and to every Indian and "this new complex will be a witness to all these emotions in the future too."

The President said India felt proud with the success of the country's moon mission, Chandrayaan-I and the "remarkable discovery" it made about presence of water molecules on the lunar surface. She also lauded the scientists for the various successes in the Indian space programme.

A lot had been achieved and a lot more had to be done, she said, adding India looked up to this team of "unflinching commitment, untiring energy and professional excellence."

"Today, we are at the threshold of advancements in our ambitious space programmes. There is hope and promise; optimism and potential; there are avenues that reckon us to celebrate mankind's victory over gravitation and excel in understanding the mysteries of our limitless universe," she said. ............................

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

When will they test or launch GSLV-MK3 ?

 

[Patriot]

When will they test or launch GSLV-MK3 ?

As per last update it shall be launched somewhere in the second quarter of this year, probably April-May 2012.

 

[JAISWAL]

ISRO's design of reusable launch vehicle approved

ISRO's design of reusable launch vehicle approved - Bangalore - DNA


India's dream of joining the select group that possesses reusable launch vehicles is close to realisation. The design of the winged vehicle by Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), has been approved by the National Review Committee.

An Isro official said design-related issues have been addressed and presented to the National Review Committee and clearance obtained to go ahead to build the RLV-TD.

The space agency, as a first step towards realising a Two-Stage To Orbit (TSTO) re-usable launch vehicle, has developed a winged RLV-TD.

Isro, in its recently released annual report, stated that design options have been finalised. Besides, the mission design has been completed with a revised vehicle mass. The RLV-TD will act as a flying test-bed to evaluate various technologies — hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air breathing propulsion.

The first in the series of trials is the hypersonic flight experiment (HEX) followed by the landing experiment (LEX), return flight experiment (REX) and scramjet propulsion experiment (SPEX).

During HEX, the vehicle will take lift off in the form of a rocket with a booster. Later, it can be recovered from sea. Though the trials for the first experiment are slated to take place this year, an Isro official said the launch date for carrying out HEX from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota has not been fixed. The development and flight testing of the Reusable Launch Vehicles-Technology demonstrator missions leading to Two-Stage To Orbit (TSTO) is part of India's Space Vision 2025 and is expected to bring down cost significantly.

Isro, in January 2007, conducted the Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1). Launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on January 10, 2007, the capsule was successfully recovered on January 22, 2007, from the Bay of Bengal.

 

[anoop_mig25]

reusable launch vehicle and one that was tested Space capsule Recovery Experiment are both same or different .

 

[JAISWAL]

reusable launch vehicle and one that was tested Space capsule Recovery Experiment are both same or different .

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They both are different but releated developments.
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That space capsule recovery experiment was conducted as a primary test for re-entry vehicles avionics, heat-resistance-tiles, and other components validity and
Launch vehicle test will be again test these parameters and components + a launch and recovery vehicle.

 

[JAISWAL]

First full-fledged test of space launchers soon
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http://idrw.org/?p=6296
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.Will reduce dependency on Russia for validation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved a major breakthrough to calibrate and test its launchers, those meant to help escape the earth's atmosphere and those which help re-enter it.

This would mean India does not have to depend on Russia for the launchers like it did all these years, thereby reducing loss of time considerably.

ISRO sources said the first (cold) test, with the wind at room temperature, was conducted about three months ago and the system's performance was alright. The hot test, with temperatures going all the way up to 1,000 degree Celsius, they said, was pending.

"It should be conducted in the next four-six months," a source said.

The system will be used to test models of the re-usable launch vehicle, which is key to India's proposed manned mission to space. ISRO has already begun work on a 9x9 metre winged rocket prototype - Re-usable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD).

The prototype, considered a critical breakthrough, once completed, will allow the space agency to assess how close it is to developing a fully re-usable Two Stage To Orbit vehicle.

Sources said that a Horton Spheres System (along with wind tunnels), which creates vacuum enabling calibration of the launchers, has been installed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

The System, manufactured by a Bangalore-based firm, comprises three Horton Spheres each with a diameter of 16.3 metre and 2,200 cubic metre capacity.

It has two parallel pumping trains, each with two mechanical booster pumps with a pumping speed of 30,000 cubic metre per hour, backed successively by booster pumps of 14,000 cubic metre per hour and 7,000 cubic metre per hour and finally by three rotary piston pumps, each with a pumping speed of 1,325 cubic metre per hour.

Added to this, a complete range of measurement and control instrumentation as well as vacuum valves are part of the system, which boasts of six large capacity heat exchangers to ensure cooling of the high temperature exhaust air from the booster pump.

"High pressures are created from one side of the tunnel and low pressures operate from the other side in vacuum, creating Mach numbers between 4 to14," sources said, adding that these are the kind of machs encountered by launch vehicles while leaving or entering the earth's atmosphere.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Nagarjun Sakhamuri, Managing Director of Hind High Vacuum Company Private Limited - the firm that manufactured the Horton Spheres - said, "Earlier, all our launchers were sent to Russia for validation process. But this system enables ISRO to do all the validation here."

The system basically simulates the velocity encountered by the launch vehicles, the temperatures they have to deal with, he said.

"The vehicles are suddenly exposed to shock waves under pressurised conditions and checked for various criteria," sources said.

Noting that the system's accuracy level is 1:5, Sakhamuri said, "Prior to this, ISRO did its tests with miniature models of the launchers and those had an accuracy of 1:50. That is why it had to depend on Russia for validation."

 

[H.A.]

Noting that the system's accuracy level is 1:5, Sakhamuri said, "Prior to this, ISRO did its tests with miniature models of the launchers and those had an accuracy of 1:50. That is why it had to depend on Russia for validation."

what does 1:5 accuracy level mean....

 

[Sridhar]

what does 1:5 accuracy level mean....

May be accuracy in multiples of 5 against multiples of 50

 

[nitesh]

IIT-B students set up society to study Mars - The Times of India


Indian Scientists Propose 10 Experiments For 2013 Mission To Mars

The December conference report states that the 10 Indian Martian experiments suggested are:

• Probe For Infrared Spectroscopy for Mars (Prism) which will study certain aspects of the Martian atmosphere and "spatial and seasonal variations of these gases over the lifetime of the mission."
• Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (Menca) which will analyze the Martian upper atmosphere-exosphere region 400 km above the surface.
• Another instrument (Tis) will measure thermal emissions from the surface of the Red Planet. Its primary science goals include mapping the surface composition and mineralogy of Mars and understanding the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere by monitoring carbon dioxide levels.
• Using radio signals to study the atmosphere.
• Mars Color Camera (MCC) which can image from a highly elliptical orbit of 500 km x 80,000 km. It will be designed as a multi-purpose instrument which can image the topography of the Martian surface and map Martian polar caps. "It is expected to observe and help in furthering our understanding of events like dust storms and dust devils. From an elliptical orbit around Mars, the camera will return high quality visual images of Mars, its moons, asteroids and other celestial bodies from close quarters," the report states.
• A Methane Sensor For Mars (MSM) has been recommended for detecting methane in the Martian atmosphere.
• A Mars Radiation Spectrometer (Maris) which can measure and characterize charged particle background levels during the cruise and orbit phase of the spacecraft. This instrument will play an important role for a possible future human mission to Mars as it will determine radiation exposure doses.
• A Plasma and Current Experiment (Pace) which will assess what is known as "atmospheric escape and processes of the Martian atmosphere and the structure of the Martian tail."
• A microwave remote sensing technique for sounding the Martian atmosphere. Scientists connected with this instrument say that it will be designed to be minimally affected during a dust storm.
• A suite of instruments to detect plasma waves in the Martian atmosphere.

 

[JAISWAL]

India going to launch an X-ray telescope satellite Polix to study black holes.

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.ISRO is in a race with NASA over putting X-ray telescope in space - Bangalore - DNA


Scientists at Raman Research Institute (RRI) are building an X-ray telescope to be sent to space to explain the nature of black holes.

A jointly funded project of the RRI and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the X-ray polarimeter experiment for astronomical research, affectionately called Polix, will study the polarisation of X-rays from cosmic sources.

"We are building the telescope and Isro will be building the satellite that will take it to space. This would be the first X-ray polarisation mission to space. We submitted a proposal to ISRO and we received the funding. The equipment will be ready this year and it will be up to ISRO to build the satellite," said Dr Biswajit Paul, principal investigator of Polix.

Paul said the telescope would study how a black hole influences the space around it and also the magnetic structure of neutron stars.

"There is a lot of important science that can be done around black holes. We hope to find concrete evidence of some of the predictions for the general theory of relativity," said Paul.

The Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (Gems) being developed by Nasa is also an X-ray telescope slated for launch in 2014. It is similar to Polix.

"We are competing strongly to launch before they do but Gems is much more sensitive and our work can be complementary to one another. But yes, our goal is to launch before they do," he said.

Polix is more economical than the Gems project. "Our instrument has a budget of about Rs12 crore to Rs14 crore. It will cost about Rs100 crore to launch the satellite. The budget for Nasa's mission is about $150 million.

"We are a small fraction of that and we will be able to do a significant amount of work that the NASA's mission will accomplish," he said.

 

[Singh]

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