Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 02 Sep 2023 19:17

Aww, come on, people - give me back the TV-D1 thread!

Anyway, here's the first pic of the Test Vehicle for TV-D1 (look at how beautiful it is):

This is the next launch that's coming up - either late September or early October (mere weeks away).

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 03 Sep 2023 22:04

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 03 Sep 2023 22:44

We all knew ISRO's strength. But the psychological booster Chandrayaan-3 gave us is immense. People working with us and even many NRIs who so conspicuously avoid Indian recognize the achievement and talking it up.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 03 Sep 2023 23:27

It has given assurance that come what may the Indian people can overcome it.

It all crystallised with that image of the lander module poised delicately on that forbidding terrain of another world.

Bravo.

drnayar · Post by **drnayar** » 04 Sep 2023 01:32

sanjaykumar wrote: ↑03 Sep 2023 23:27 It has given assurance that come what may the Indian people can overcome it.

It all crystallised with that image of the lander module poised delicately on that forbidding terrain of another world.

Bravo.

Nothing motivates like success.. this would percolate to bigger ambitions in space , defence and tech sectors hopefully.. hope GOI provides enough support to other sectors as well

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2023 11:53

India’s space economy will be $40 bn by 2040 - New Indian Express

There were only four space startups in India in 2014 and that number has increased to more than 150 in 2023, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said here Monday, noting that currently, the country’s space economy is valued at USD 8 billion and estimated to reach $40 billion by 2040.

“In 2014, the country had 350 startups but today we have more than 1.25 lakh startups and 130 unicorns. Of the 1.25 lakh startups, 6,000 are in the unicorn sector itself which has transformed the landscape of innovation in the country,” Singh said while inaugurating the S20 Conference under the aegis of G20 at Amity University.

“There were only four space startups in the country in 2014 whereas in 2023, there are more than 150 startups. Our Space economy is currently at USD 8 billion and estimated to reach USD 40 billion by 2040,” the minister added.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Sep 2023 09:23

India is on the Moon, but needs to avoid the “Moon Race” trap - Ajay Lele, The Space Review

The North–South divide in a global context is well-known. The Global South gets viewed as a grouping of states that are classified by low income, inadequate infrastructure, and large populations. This grouping is known to constitute the developing countries in the world. But today, one of them has reached the Moon!

On August 23, India made history with its Chandrayaan-3 mission soft-landing on the Moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully managed the soft-landing of the Vikram lander (plus the Pragyan rover) on the lunar surface. Based on the scientific rationale, ISRO had decided to land near the lunar south pole. This region, full of craters, boulders, and uneven terrain, was long considered a difficult landing zone. This region, as such, has never been explored much before. Within a day after the soft-landing, the rover successfully started operating on the lunar surface for a two-week (one lunar day) mission. With the success of this mission, ISRO has demonstrated the capabilities towards undertaking soft-landing on other planets, rover mobility, and ability to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

In 2019, ISRO suffered a setback with its Chandrayaan-2 mission, whose lander crashed while attempting a soft-landing on the lunar surface. Subsequently, after undertaking a very detailed assessment of the failure, ISRO took action on a follow-up mission in the last three years. They decided to undertake a “failure-based” approach for designing the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Various possible causes for failures were identified, simulations were performed, and an algorithm was developed accordingly. Almost all the “known unknowns” were identified and corrective mechanisms for possible deviations were incorporated in the software. Additionally, some changes in the physical appearance of the lander system were incorporated, such as making the lander’s legs stronger.

The lander and rover are equipped with different scientific payloads. They would be observing various atmospheric and geological aspects of the Moon. These sensors are meant for studying mineralogical structure, surface chemistry, and other lunar surface analysis. The aim is to know more about the potential presence of water ice and possible resource basins on the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-3 undertook a 40-day journey to reach the lunar surface, supported by a propulsion module. The propulsion module carried the lander and rover to a lunar orbit of around 113 kilometers and then separated itself. It was originally expected that this module would stay in orbit for around three to six months, but since this mission happened almost a textbook fashion, saving propellant, it is now expected that the propulsion module will stay in orbit for around a year. This unit has one interesting sensor, which is designed to conduct spectral and polarmetric measurements of Earth from lunar orbit. The idea here is to study the features of a habitable planet that could help in future exploration of exoplanets.

During Chandrayaan-3’s journey to the Moon an incident unrelated to the mission itself, but one having a bearing on the global Moon agenda, happened. Russia’s Luna-25 lunar lander crashed on the Moon's surface after a failed orbital maneuver. This mission had lifted off on August 10 and entered lunar orbit on August 16 successfully, but unfortunately crashed on August 19, two days before its anticipated landing. The Luna-25 lander was to operate on the lunar surface for a year.

This failure is a very unfortunate incident for the entire world, from the point of view of science. This mission was also to land near the south pole of the Moon like Chandrayaan-3. Since both these missions were about to land almost simultaneously, and both in the south polar regions, some unnecessary buzz was created that India and Russia are racing to reach the south pole of the Moon. In fact, India’s second mission to the Moon (Chandrayaan-2) was planned as a joint mission with Russia. Owing to their internal space agency problems, Russia announced its inability to join this mission around 2015.

There has been some talk about bracketing Chandrayaan-3’s successful Moon landing with the geopolitics of the perceived Space Race or Moon Race. Should India unnecessarily get carried away by such comments?

Competition in space was a defining part of the power politics of the Cold War era. Neil Armstrong’s first step on the Moon was all about geostrategic signaling. Broadly, the aspects of the nuclear arms race and the reasons for the end of the Cold War are well known. Today, the proponents of a new Space Race are almost fast-forwarding the ideas from the Cold War period and juxtaposing them on the space domain. Apparently, there could be a reason in the context of the Moon to have such a view. Nations like China, Japan, India, Israel, South Korea, and the UAE are having their own Moon programs. Even North Korea has shown interest!

In the Cold War period, the game of the nuclear arms race was more about which power block has a greater number of weapons. There was definitely an emphasis not only on quantity, but also on the quality of weapons. Issues like the hydrogen bomb, weapon delivery vehicles, and mutually assured destruction (MAD) were also at the forefront of the deterrence debate. Both power blocks were oblivious of the details of the size of each other’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. Broadly, to possess a reasonable quantity nuclear arsenal is sufficient to acquire a deterrence posture. However, the stakes were raised and, unnecessarily, the nuclear weapons number game started. One power block was not able to financially sustain continuing with the game and the rest is history. Such an argument could be viewed as a very straitjacketed or even a naive argument regarding Cold-War-era power politics. However, the purpose here is not to get into the nuances of the older debate, but to use it as a startong point for comparison with the space domain.

At present, there looks to be a reasonable amount of transparency in the domain of space activities. Barring one odd state, there is mostly an openness in the Moon programs of various nations. More importantly, there is an important element of international collaboration involved in various Moon programs. Every nation that has a Moon agenda does not necessarily have the capabilities to launch their Moon missions, requiring international assistance. Private companies are also playing a major role towards furthering the global Moon agenda.

The Moon programs of every state are at different levels of advancement. So, to say that one state aspiring to put a spacecraft into lunar orbit is in a race with another that has already successfully undertaken a Moon sample return mission is very misleading. Most of the programs are scientific programs and should be treated as such. Comparing scientific missions to the Moon with a borrowed concept from the Cold War era is extraneous.

In contrast, the marathon for planetary resources is on the horizon. It is obvious that technological and financial ability would be the deciding factor in this game. Given present trends, mostly it would be the US and China who would be fighting it out in the planetary ring. The Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015 of the US and the Artemis Accords indicate that the future of space resources would be controlled mainly by the private players, mostly from the US. Against this backdrop, the states from the Global South should collaborate with each other and continue with their Moon agendas with science as a focus. At present, these states do not have the capability to take humans to the Moon and there is no demand to do so. It is important for them to develop robotic capability to get planetary resources back to the Earth. A “Moon Race” is a trap they should avoid at any cost.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 08 Sep 2023 02:11

TV-D1 test flight is under preparation for launch in late October:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ ... 270758.ece

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 Sep 2023 06:27

From the joint statement after Modi-Biden Meeting yesterday,

The joint statement said India and the US intended to increase coordination on planetary defence to protect planet Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near Earth objects, including US support for India's participation in asteroid detection and tracking via the Minor Planet Centre.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 11 Sep 2023 14:59

Aerial view of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on the island off Andhra Pradesh. (Wikipedia)

srin · Post by **srin** » 13 Sep 2023 10:05

Apple adds support for India’s GPS alternative NavIC to iPhone 15 Pro

Apple has extended support for NavIC to some of the new iPhone 15 models, seemingly complying with New Delhi’s push to adopt India’s home-grown alternative to the GPS navigation system.

On the tech specs page of the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple says that the new models support NavIC. This is the first time Apple has added support for NavIC to any of its iPhone models. However, the company has not specified which features will be included in the deployment. An Apple spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The standard iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus variants don’t support NavIC, according to their official tech specs.

Last year, India began pushing smartphone makers to add support for NavIC within a few quarters, Reuters reported then, citing government documents. Many smartphone manufacturers were concerned that the necessary hardware changes would slightly increase the cost of the phones.

The global iPhone 15 Pro models also support NavIC, according to official specs pages. Scores of smartphones — including Xiaomi’s Mi 11X, 11T Pro, OnePlus Nord 2T, and Realme 9 Pro support NavIC.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 15 Sep 2023 20:33

Gaganyaan: AI-enabled Vyommitra robot is a challenge to evaluate on the ground, former Isro official says - ToI

CHENNAI: Artificial intelligence-enabled Vyommitra -- a female-looking spacefaring humanoid robot designed for India’s first unmanned Gaganyaan mission -- poses a big challenge for quality personnel to evaluate, said D Sam Dayala Dev, former director, IISU, Isro, on Friday.

Dev was addressing the gathering at the 17th NIQR global quality convention in Chennai. The convention was organised by the National Institution for Quality and Reliability (NIQR), Chennai Branch.

He said Vyommitra, which is designed, developed and qualified by Isro Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Thiruvananthapuram, and ready to fly in March or April, can speak, see and respond from the orbit just like an astronaut.

“The biggest challenge for the designers and the quality personnel at Isro is to evaluate it on the ground before the launch. We are on the job. We are yet to reach the level of quality satisfaction that we get from our other systems because of the non-deterministic way of the artificial intelligence-enabled system. There is a great challenge not only in the design of the AI-enabled systems but we have to put in a lot of efforts as the AI system cannot be bulky, cannot be computation intensive and it has to do all the functions very fast,” he said.

“I wish Vyommitra, once it is flown into space, one day we Indians celebrate that a humanoid walks on the Moon’s surface as a representative of India with all the capabilities of a human being and with more sustainable capabilities even if we can leave it behind and come back,” he added.

He further said the role of industries and the knowledge of the quality personnel in the industry to meet the demands of the space programme are important. “That is why NIQR has been a part and parcel of our activity in Thiruvananthapuram. Very powerful, very interactive, very active organisation that enables quality culture in our space engineers,” he said.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 16 Sep 2023 20:59

https://www.business-standard.com/indus ... 232_1.html

The government is likely to make Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) support mandatory for smartphones sold in India. Minister of State for Electronic and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrashekhar has said that all 5G phones would be required to support NavIC by January 1, 2025, The Indian Express (IE) has reported. Earlier, the government had already convinced Apple to support NavIC in some new iPhone 15 models.
...
"In line with the incentives that we have announced under the IT hardware production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, where cashback to companies can significantly go up if they use India-designed or -manufactured chips in their systems, we will extend the same idea to the smartphone PLI as well for using domestic chips that support NavIC," Chandrasekhar was quoted in the report.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/12/apple-iphone-navic/

Apple has extended support for NavIC to some of the new iPhone 15 models, seemingly complying with New Delhi’s push to adopt India’s home-grown alternative to the GPS navigation system.
...
On the tech specs page of the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple says that the new models support NavIC. This is the first time Apple has added support for NavIC to any of its iPhone models. However, the company has not specified which features will be included in the deployment. An Apple spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

bala · Post by **bala** » 29 Sep 2023 08:16

This is a useful interview with Nambi Narayanan which has a lot of history of ISRO early days. Some historical perspective on APJ Kalam. Kerala state transport bus (besides a bullock cart) was used to transport rockets. 1 crore was cost of 1st working Vikas engine of which 70 lakhs is the propellant. 1 crore was the cost for testing the engine in France based on favor the French gave Nambi due to his past association with them.

bala · Post by **bala** » 30 Sep 2023 10:32

In Hindi, an interview of ISRO Chairman S. Somanath.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 30 Sep 2023 19:39

The dood speaks better Hindustani than I do.

Multilingualism in southern India is of a different order than in Western Europe and northern India. Those regions have largely recently divergent languages with a substratum of Latin/Old German or Prakrit respectively.

bala · Post by **bala** » 30 Sep 2023 20:38

ISRO Chief S. Somnath offers prayers at Gujarat's Somnath temple. I like this unabashed display of strong faith in Sanathan Dharma by Indian scientists - external world is material and governed by science, internal atma believes in global consciousness and its investigation inwards yields profound truths of an order of magnitude larger than the external world. This humility and harmony is in consonance with the cosmic order.

Sanatkumara discussions with Sage Narada:

Tasya ha va etasyaivam pasyatah, evam manvanasya, evam vijanata atmatah pranah, atmata asa, atmatah smarah, atmata akasah, atmatas-tejah, atmata apah, atmata avirbhava-tirobhavau atmato'nnam atmato balam, atmato vijnanam, atmato dhyanam, atmatas-cittam, atmatah samkalpah, atmato manah, atmato vak, atmato nama, atmato mantrah, atmatah karmani, atmata evedam sarvam iti.

To such a blessed one everything comes, rises from his own Self. He need not go hither and thither in search of things, because he has this knowledge. He does not have to go to things, but things go to him. The ocean does not go to the river, the river goes to the ocean. Whoever is endowed with this great experience, this knowledge, the possession of this wisdom, for such a person everything that has been mentioned in the gradation of the categories earlier, right from 'name' onwards up to the point we are discussing now, arises automatically from his own Self, because the supreme cause contains within itself everything else mentioned as its own effects. All these worlds, space, time and the five elements, all created beings, everything that we have been studying up to this time in the various stages of development of thought - all this need not be approached separately or individually for satisfaction. They all come simultaneously rising from his own Self, the true Self, the Bhuma, because that Self being all, contains all, and therefore, all things come to that person who ceases to be an individual person any more. He is only a lodgment, apparently looking like a person in this world. He is a Jivanmukta, as they call him. He is really a repository of the absoluteness that he has realised. Everything comes to him, everything flows from his own being, because he himself is the all.

ISRO Chief S. Somnath said, 'It's our good luck as it was our effort to soft-land (Chandrayaan 3) on the Moon...It's the blessing of lord Somnath..We have to work on other missions as well so we need strength and blessings.'

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Oct 2023 18:29

India's private space sector skyrockets - ET

When Indian entrepreneur Awais Ahmed founded his satellite startup in Bangalore in 2019, his country was still a year away from opening the space industry to the private sector.

"When we started, there was absolutely no support, no momentum," said Ahmed, who was 21 when he founded Pixxel, a company deploying a constellation of Earth imaging satellites.

Since then, the private space sector has taken off in India, joining a rapidly growing global market.

There are now 190 Indian space start-ups, twice as many as a year earlier, with private investments jumping by 77 percent between 2021 and 2022, according to Deloitte consultancy.

"A lot of Indian investors were not willing to look at space technology, because it was too much of a risk earlier," Ahmed said in an interview with AFP.

"Now you can see more and more companies raising more investment in India, and more and more companies have started coming up now," he added.

Pixxel makes hyperspectral imaging satellites -- technology that captures a wide spectrum of light to provide details that are invisible to ordinary cameras.

The company says it is on a mission to build "a health monitor for the planet": it can track climate risks such as floods, wildfires or methane leaks.

Pixxel had initially sought to use rockets from the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

"I remember having a conversation with with someone in ISRO. We were trying to book a launch and they said, 'Look, we don't even have a procedure to launch an Indian satellite. But if you were a foreign company, then basically there's a process', which didn't make sense when we started," Ahmed said.

Pixxel ended up having to hire US rocket firm SpaceX to launch its first two satellites.

Pixxel has raised $71 million from investors, including $36 million from Google, which will allow the company to launch six more satellites next year.

The start-up has also won a contract with a US spy agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, to provide hyperspectral images.

Modest budget

Prior to the 2020 opening up of the sector, "all Indian space activity was under the supervision of the ISRO space agency, which managed absolutely everything," said Isabelle Sourbes-Verger, an Indian space sector expert at France's National Scientific Research Centre.

The ISRO budget remains relatively modest at $1.9 billion in 2022, six times smaller than the Chinese space programme.

Despite its limited resources, India's space programme has made huge strides, culminating with the landing of a rover on the Moon's unexplored south pole in August.

The country also launched a probe towards the Sun at the start of this month and is preparing a three-day crewed mission into Earth's orbit next year.

Before the reform, private companies could only act as suppliers for the agency.

"It was no longer tenable because there is too much to do," Sourbes-Verger said.

India deepened its reform of the sector in April, unveiling a new space policy that limits the ISRO's work to research and development while promoting "greater private sector participation in the entire value chain of the Space Economy".

India says it accounts for two percent of the $386 billion global space economy, a share it hopes to increase to nine percent by 2030. The market is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2040.

'Some limits'

Indian companies have an edge when it comes to costs as the country boasts a large number of highly qualified engineers with lower salaries than their counterparts abroad.

Other Indian start-ups that have emerged in recent years include Skyroot Aerospace, the first Indian company to launch a private rocket.

Dhruva Space is developing small satellites while Bellatrix Aerospace specialises in propulsion systems for satellites.

"Will this really create a dynamic and profitable industrial fabric? Probably, but undoubtedly with some limits," Sourbes-Verger said.

India is not done reforming the sector. Another law is expected to pass in the coming weeks to open the industry to foreign investments.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Oct 2023 12:12

Gaganyaan: Crew module development progressing, Isro geared up for abort test - ToI

The crew module — where the astronauts will be contained in a pressurised Earth-like atmospheric condition during Gaganyaan — is under various stages of development.

The space agency, which is aiming to conduct the first Test Vehicle abort mission or TV-D1 by the end of this month, will use an unpressurised CM which has completed its integration and testing and is ready to be shipped to the launch complex.

“This unpressurised CM version has to have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM. It houses all the systems for the deceleration and recovery, including parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros. The avionics systems are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power,” Isro said.

For this mission, it has been designed to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems. It will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy.

The mission will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 (1,482 kmph) expected to be encountered in the Gaganyaan mission. The CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17km.

“Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10km from the coast of Sriharikota,” Isro said.

The CM after integration underwent various electrical testing, at Isro’s facility in Bengaluru, including an acoustic test and was dispatched to the spaceport in Sriharikota on August 13.

At the spaceport, it will undergo vibration tests and pre-integration with the CES, before final integration to the Test Vehicle at the launch pad.

“This test vehicle mission with this CM is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan programme as a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test. The success of this test flight will set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts,” Isro added.

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 07 Oct 2023 12:56

Why is the CM being tested in unpressurised mode saar? Thanks.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Oct 2023 18:51

There are totally 4 abort tests including this one. I suspect that this one is more for CES's performance. The subsequent tests would include the complete scenario including pressurization. A long time back, the re-entry and the heat shield had been tested. There are also 2 uncrewed LVM-3 flights for Gaganyaan.
Added later: The drop tests for testing parachutes use a single-walled CM, not the double-walled regular one, for example.

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 10 Oct 2023 11:33

Isro faces over 100 hacking attempts daily, here’s how the space agency handles them as per chairman- S Somanath

Gadgets Now Bureau / Updated: Oct 10, 2023, 08:16 AM IST

India's space agency Isro is facing over 100 cyber hacking attempts on a daily basis. This was disclosed by Isro chairman S Somanath during a cyber security event in Kochi recently. "It is not only Isro, but several other systems (of other organisations) that face hundreds of cyber (hacking) attempts. \.
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Isro chief also spoke about challenges in upgrading the safety mechanism of a satellite once launched. As to why it is a huge challenge, Somanath said that when the organisation launches a communication satellite, it is supposed to stay there for 15 years and one can imagine the amount of software changes, the upgradation of operating systems, hardware etc that happen over a period of 15 years.
"But after 15 years, many of them become vulnerable as the technology becomes dated. It is easy to upgrade the security system of your mobiles by upgrading their OS on a regular basis. But it is not possible to upgrade the software of a satellite in space remotely. The hardware of old generation satellites is especially vulnerable. Future satellites can be made with the latest technology but they will also become dated after some years. So it is a continuous problem."
“The vulnerability of the satellite launched 10 years back is high because technology is changing so fast, and we are not able to upgrade the hardware or software which is already functioning up there...We have to ensure that we should be able to upgrade the software or even reconfigure the hardware from the ground through commanding,” he said.

Read Full News from Here
https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/is ... 4xNy4wLjA.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 Oct 2023 10:23

Skyroot signs MoUs with French space firms to launch satellites on its Vikram rockets - NIE

Space-tech startup Skyroot Aerospace has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with French satellite companies for procurement of its launch services in the upcoming Vikram 1 mission and future missions.

The MoUs signed at the Skyroot facility in Hyderabad are expected to turn into procurement of the startup's launch services over single or multi-launch agreements.

Hyderabad-based Skyroot became the country's first private player to launch a rocket (Vikram S) into space in 2022. Skyroot is set to launch the Vikram 1 orbital rocket as part of its second mission in the forthcoming months.

The MoU with the leading French earth observation constellation operator Prométhée Earth Intelligence is to provide satellite launch services on Vikram rockets for their earth observation constellation (JAPETUS). Olivier Piepsz, the Chief Executive of Prométhée, was quoted as saying that 50% of their satellites require specific orbital requirements, making Skyroot's Vikram launch vehicles an ideal choice for deploying a portion of their satellite constellation.

The other MoU is a trilateral agreement with Expleo and ConnectSAT for building its OSIRIS satellite constellation. Expleo will provide reconfigurable software for ConnectSAT's IoT Satellite, set to launch on the Vikram-I rocket.

These MoUs were signed during the visit of a French business delegation. Pawan Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot, said Skyroot's space launches are increasingly becoming the preferred choice for global operators aiming to build futuristic satellite constellations.

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 16 Oct 2023 21:34

https://www.isro.gov.in/

Mission Gaganyaan: TV-D1 test flight is scheduled for October 21, 2023 between 7 am and 9 am.

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 16 Oct 2023 21:40

CE20 E13 Engine Hot Test for 22t Thrust Qualification

October 09, 2023

CE20 engine is the first indigenously developed cryogenic engine that powers the upper stage (C25) of LVM3 rocket. The engine was already qualified to operate at a thrust level of 19 tonnes and performed successfully in 6 successive LVM3 missions, including the Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and two commercial OneWeb missions. In order to improve the payload capability of LVM3, the upper cryogenic stage is reconfigured as the C32 stage with enhanced propellants loading and the engine operating at a thrust level of 22 tonnes. In order to operate at an increased thrust level of 22 tonnes, the engine has to be re-qualified by conducting a number of ground hot tests.

The twelfth hardware of the CE20 engine (E13 engine) is currently being used for 22 tonne thrust level qualification program. After completing the engine tuning hot test (E13 HT-01) for 50 s duration, the second long-duration hot test (E13 HT-02)was successfully completed for a duration of 720 s on August 30, 2023, & the third hot test (E13 HT-03)was successfully completed for flight duration of 670 s (with 22t thrust) on September 22, 2023. With the completion of E13 HT-03, the Gaganyaan qualification of the CE20 engine was completed. The fourth hot test (E13 HT-04), planned for demonstrating the off-nominal operation of the engine (22t+5%PC & -5%MR), was successfully conducted for 125s duration on October 9, 2023 at MET facility, IPRC, Mahendragiri. During this test, engine and facility performance was normal and the required engine performance parameters were achieved as predicted. With this test, the CE20 engine is qualified for operating at 22t thrust level in flight.

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 17 Oct 2023 14:45

India should aim to send man on moon by 2040,set up space station by 2035 - PM Modi.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... s?from=mdr

"This will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV),, construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies," Prime Minister's Minister's Office said in a release.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 18 Oct 2023 00:21

^^^Praggnanandhaa to work with @isro to promote science & technology: S.Somanath

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 18 Oct 2023 21:55

“India under the leadership of PM Shri NarendraModi stands for extended collaborations in Space technology to serve the goals of global good.”

- - Space Seminar in Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, New Delhi.

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 19 Oct 2023 12:17

TV-D1 test flight brochure

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 19 Oct 2023 15:55

I hope it's a clear day and we get some great videos of the abort test. Recent Russian abort video was amazing.

juvva · Post by **juvva** » 20 Oct 2023 11:38

JTull wrote: ↑19 Oct 2023 15:55 I hope it's a clear day and we get some great videos of the abort test. Recent Russian abort video was amazing.

any link to the video please?

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 20 Oct 2023 14:26

Gaganyaan: A little splash before the big leap

For the crew to be taken to the height of the launch vehicle, modifications have been made by introducing a crew ingress system. SDSC has also erected a crew access platform from where astronauts will enter the crew module through a fire-proof bubble lift, which is ready.
“To deal with emergency situations we will erect a zip line which will quickly move the crew 800m-1km away from the launchpad on a basket. Once at a safe distance, they would get into a bubble lift that takes them to a bunker. They could stay there safely for about seven hours until the launchpad is cleared,” Rajarajan said.
With work on the crew access platform complete, Isro is working on a white room where the astronauts will make their final preparations before entering the crew module.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 20 Oct 2023 22:59

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 20 Oct 2023 23:08

In my opinion, Unnikrishnan Nair is likely to be the next ISRO chief after S Somnath:

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 21 Oct 2023 05:06

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/10/i ... realistic/

India Sets Sights on A Moon Landing in 2040, but Is It Realistic?

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The prime minister's statement is fairly vague on how India will achieve its lunar aims: "To realize this Vision, the Department of Space will develop a roadmap for Moon exploration. This will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle, construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies."
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NGLV -- go for it!!

Atmavik · Post by **Atmavik** » 21 Oct 2023 08:24

gaganyan TV D1 live stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMig6ZpqrIs

hoping to hear Narmaaal only..

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 21 Oct 2023 08:47

ALS on HOLD

Engine did not ignite. Vehicle is safe.

Onboard computer has withheld the launch. Next launch details after analysis. Launch appears scrubbed for today.

added later:

Reason for the launch hold is identified and corrected.

The launch is planned at 10:00 Hrs. today.

Yipeeee!!ISRO has done it. All mission objectives fully accommoplised. The IR camera was a lovely surprise. The parachute deployment footage in real time were also superb.

Kudos for super quick RCA and relaunch of mission.

Enjoy the telecast as many times as you like

Watch from 5:18 onwards for live sequencing of events (drogue and main chutes etc)

Najunamar · Post by **Najunamar** » 21 Oct 2023 10:30

Great news indeed! Congratulations to ISRO for troubleshooting so fast.

Kanoji · Post by **Kanoji** » 21 Oct 2023 11:15

rahulm wrote: ↑21 Oct 2023 08:47 Kudos for super quick RCA and relaunch of mission.

Enjoy the telecast as many times as you like

Watch from 5:18 onwards for live sequencing of events (drogue and main chutes etc)

This is amazing. ISRO you make us all proud.

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 21 Oct 2023 13:34

Congratulations ISRO !!