Indian Space Programme Discussion

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 03 Dec 2013 23:37

^^
Nice ensemble of facts Abhaey ji,
Handy article to shut up the naysayers and patronizers in any situation.

Some quick points after a scan:
If you can still edit your article , the laser/directed energy weapons (or ABM) projects owe nothing to ISRO afaik.
They all fall in DRDO's ambit.

In fact I don't remember ISRO speaking much about Hyperplane (avatar) - it is also a DRDO project . Though the RLV TD is in their Road map.

Overall using future unachieved (as yet) projects to justify ISRO 's work is against the SDRE grain which is at the core of the organization IMHO.

Also the world record I suspect is applicable only to the particular Launch vehicle class of PSLV
For example
The highest successful number of SATs in a single launch appears to be an DNEPER launch on 17.04.2007, with 12 satellites on board.
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_det/dnepr-1.htm
Above record itself is no match to DNEPER's recent record of 32 sats in a single launch Nov 21, 2013.

Abhaey · Post by **Abhaey** » 04 Dec 2013 11:19

Thank you, Lilo Ji, for your kind words.

Thanks also for your comments. Here are my brief responses:
- DRDO's laser/DEW defence systems are also intended to be carried on space based platforms, some of which will be or are already being developed by ISRO. The intention of that one line you refer to was to highlight that these technologies are in development - that's all.
- If we ignore the 'RLV' and/or 'Avatar' nomenclature, what has been relatively clear for some time is that there are multiple uses to the Indian 'space plane' project - a re-usable shuttle for space use as well as spin-offs for civilian hypersonic flight, and of course for defence.

This article was promoted by the sneering negativity from some quarters in both Indian and foreign media - my response has always been to highlight the positives and paint a realistic picture of the future through that prism - for instance, IRNSS/GAGAN are already being deployed; we know that RLV subsystems tests have been happening for years and despite delays, will come to fruition; and whilst there is little public information about Durga/Kali, the development or existence of these systems are also not in doubt.

Warmest regards.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 07 Dec 2013 19:18

dhiraj wrote:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/isros ... h/1202643/

ISRO's GSLV D5 launch likely early next month

so MOM did not have any impact on further delay of GSLV ? I am not convinced

earlier plan was probably to have GSLV 3 TD flight in Jan 2014, now don't know how much that will be further delayed.

And please, no more delays! The GSLV Mark 2 was supposed to be launched December 15th, it was very confidently announced at around the time the Mars Orbiter was launched. Then, an article in Indian Express mentioned an end-of-December launch. Now it's early January. That should be the last postponement. It should not be pushed back to March-April. Does ISRO sometimes wonder about its credibility on these matters?

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 07 Dec 2013 22:10

^^
Pujanie Pardhan Mantri ji may be off to SA. His schedule is full. In Dec he does not have time to watch the lift off......

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 09 Dec 2013 09:22

Mars Orbiter Mission twitter a/c wrote:Cryogenic Upper Stage .!
Integration of the 2nd stage of GSLV-D5 has completed & that of the cryogenic is on 9 Dec.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 10 Dec 2013 07:09

How do they drain the explosive liquid fuel in an aborted launch and moreso how do they clean up spilled liquid fuel after an aborted launch.What measures are taken to prevent an explosion with such a huge amount of explosive material that has leaked ?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Dec 2013 12:36

rsingh wrote:^^
Pujanie Pardhan Mantri ji may be off to SA. His schedule is full. In Dec he does not have time to watch the lift off......

Very little time left for him now. Has to meet and greet his paki friends .........

His run is for the nobel onlee

mullah ke daud, masjid thak........

symontk · Post by **symontk** » 10 Dec 2013 14:10

prasannasimha wrote:How do they drain the explosive liquid fuel in an aborted launch and moreso how do they clean up spilled liquid fuel after an aborted launch.What measures are taken to prevent an explosion with such a huge amount of explosive material that has leaked ?

Do you have any idea of Design & Quality Assurance organizations in ISRO? check out

wilson_th · Post by **wilson_th** » 10 Dec 2013 16:25

Prasad wrote:
Mars Orbiter Mission twitter a/c wrote:Cryogenic Upper Stage .!
Integration of the 2nd stage of GSLV-D5 has completed & that of the cryogenic is on 9 Dec.

Next step should be reusable launch vehicle.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 10 Dec 2013 20:21

symontk wrote:
prasannasimha wrote:How do they drain the explosive liquid fuel in an aborted launch and moreso how do they clean up spilled liquid fuel after an aborted launch.What measures are taken to prevent an explosion with such a huge amount of explosive material that has leaked ?
Do you have any idea of Design & Quality Assurance organizations in ISRO? check out

I did not understand what you meant by that and where is the reference you asked me to look at?.

Of course there will be design assurance etc but for eg the leak in the aborted GSLV meant a huge amount of explosive propellant was on the launch pad(Russians were killed in an old launch disaster) so is an eminently dangerous situation so I was wondering how they do it in the presence of such a dangerous environment.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 12 Dec 2013 09:31

TRUE LIES

Sunday, 08 December 2013 | Kumar Chellappan | in Sunday Pioneer

The ISRO spy case of 1994 not only finished the careers of India’s two exceptionally brilliant space scientists by implicating them as spies but also put the country’s cryogenic engine development programme on hold for more than 19 years. The programme could have saved India millions of dollars. KUMAR CHELLAPPAN recaps the scandal and tells you how it has been against American interest for India to develop its space launch technology

The case that shocked the nation in 1994 has in it all the ingredients required for a great spy movie. It has cops, two scientists who were witchhunted by Intelligence sleuths and a couple of beautiful Maldivian women who overstayed in India. In the centre of all this is The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Sadly for India though, this scandal not only sabotaged the nation’s indigenous cryogenic engine development programme, allegedly at the instance of the Central Intelligence Agency, but also saw the unceremonious exit of two of its super brilliant space engineers — Nambi Narayanan and D Sasi Kumar — who were wrongly labelled spies, tortured and dumped unceremoniously without reprieve.

Sooner or later, a filmmaker would’ve seen fodder in this saga for a movie but the idea has now been hit upon by TV actor-turned-director Ananth Mahadevan who has met ISRO scientist and victim S Nambi Narayanan for a film on the subject. Leading Malayalam actor Mohanlal is said to have agreed to play Narayanan, the brain behind India’s launch vehicle development programme. The shoot is to be completed by mid-2014 for a release before the Oscar deadline.

“Discussions on national and regional TV channels make it clear that there was an international conspiracy behind the ISRO spy scandal. We saw Narayanan challenging Sreekumar to come out with at least one proof against him and Sreekumar could not. All I can say is that it will be a movie of international quality, both in acting as well as production. It is being shot with an international audience in mind,” a production team member said, refusing to reveal anything more.

Outside of this activity, it would be relevant to point out here that the ISRO has not moved an inch in the cryogenic engine development programme ever since Narayanan and Sasi were ousted from the laboratories of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu, following a conspiracy hatched IB additional director Rattan Sehgal. It is alleged that Sehgal, later found to be a mole of the CIA, was helped by his deputies Mathew John and RB Sreekumar in framing the two scientists.

With the ouster of the two scientists, the country lost the services of two brilliant space engineers who without any outside help had perfected the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle Technology which continues to be India’s one and only workhorse for deploying remote sensing and earth satellites.

The case was the culmination of a series of events which took place in Kerala’s corridors of power, involving Congress bigwigs like the then Chief Minister K Karunakaran, his arch rival AK Antony (Defence Minister) who was upset for not being made the Chief Minister then, the shadow boxing among various officers in Kerala Police and the CPI(M) which was yet to recover from its defeat in the 1991 Assembly elections. Karunakaran’s problems increased when his son K Muraleedharan, then a brash and temperamental youth who drove away Ramesh Chennithala (present KPCC chief), G Karthikeyan (present Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly) and Shanawaz. The three later joined hands with Antony to unseat Karunakaran at the first available instance.

Meanwhile, another story was unfolding at the headquarters of Kerala Police. Siby Mathews who was then a DIG, knew that the continuing service of Raman Shrivastava, an IG, would derail his chances of becoming Director General of Police. Shrivastava was known to be the blue-eyed boy of Karunakaran. Mid-1994 saw the controversial visit to Kerala of Kuwaiti citizens on the invitation of a Muslim League Minister in the Karunakaran Ministry. These Kuwaitis had been declared persona non grata by the Centre. The Home Ministry issued orders to the Special Branch to make sure that these guests were not entertained in Kerala and also to make a list of foreigners in the State who were overstaying.

Senior inspector Vijayan came across a Maldivian woman Mariam Rasheeda who was staying in a hotel. She could not go back to Maldives as scheduled as the Indian Airlines had cancelled all its flights following a plague scare in Gujarat. She wanted to get her visa extended and had visited the city police commissioner’s office a couple of times. The officer concerned was not available so Vijayan, who bumped into Rasheeda, volunteered to help her, but for a price. The officer apparently was bowled over by the almost six-foot tall and well-built Rasheeda. When he made his intentions known to her and tried to make some advances, Rasheeda picked up the inspector and threw him out of the room. She shouted, saying: “Do you know who I was speaking with five minutes back? Your IG... All I have to do is to pick up the phone and call him. Your career will be over.” A humiliated Vijayan decided to teach her a lesson. Rasheeda didn’t know the cardinal law in Kerala — never antagonise a policeman or a politician.

A few crafty moves by a spurned Vijayan, based on calls made by Rasheeda, resulted in the breaking of the scandal as the Maldivian woman had contacted Sasi, the lead cryogenic engine scientist of the ISRO and some police officers. The story was manipulated at an editorial meeting of a popular daily which saw Narayanan, then Sasi’s boss at LPSC, and Shrivastava became major players in the concocted spy case. The “news” of Narayanan and Sasi handing over secrets of the cryogenic engine technology to Pakistan’s ISI through Rasheeda and her friend Fauzia Hassan, spread like wildfire.

The cryogenic engine was meant to power the heavy lift Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for deploying heavy communication satellites in the 36,000 km orbit. At present, India depends on the European Space Agency’s launch pad at French Guyana in Kourou for putting into orbit its communication satellites. The ESA charges more than $20,000 for every kg payload deployed into the orbit.

The technology transfer for the cryogenic engine was denied to India by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a cartel formed by space faring nations led by the US who never wanted India to develop the cryogenic technology as it would have challenged the monopoly enjoyed by the US, France (European Space Agency) and Russia in the global launch business which is more than $300 billion a year.

Though Russia had agreed to transfer the cryogenic technology to India, the cartel blackmailed the Russians to retract from the commitment. A team of scientists led by Narayanan went ahead and almost perfected indigenous cryogenic engine when the CIA sabotaged the programme with IB’s help.

The result — Karunakaran lost his Chief Ministership and AK Antony took over. A special investigation team was constituted under Siby Mathew, then a DIG and confidant of Oommen Chandy, to probe the spy case. Within days, the SIT arrested Narayanan and Sasi who were interrogated by Intelligence Bureau sleuths, including Sreekumar. Narayanan was physically and mentally tortured by Sreekumar and his men. Interestingly, Narayanan, a reclusive and media-shy scientist, had told a senior journalist in Kerala two days before his arrest that after retirement, he would write a thrilling account of how India perfected the cryogenic technology. Narayanan, who headed the country’s cryogenic engine technology programme did not own a TV or refrigerator at the time of his arrest.

Once Antony was sworn in Chief Minister, Mathews recommended the spy case be handed over to the CBI since he knew that the case was an eyewash. Moreover, Mathews’ mission was over once Karunakaran had been ousted.

The CBI found not an iota of truth in the case. All courts in the country exonerated Narayanan, Sasi and others associated with the scandal. The CBI in its closing report called for appropriate action against Mathews and two of his deputies. But the then LDF Government chose to wait for the outcome of the case filed by Narayanan against the police for harassing and torturing him.

India’s leading scientists Prof Satish Dhawan, Prof UR Rao, Prof Yashpal (all space scientists and former chairmen of ISRO), Prof R Narasimha, Prof S Chandrasekhar and former chief election commissioner TN Seshan issued a Press statement on December 26, 1996: “The espionage case reveals that the country’s space programme or for that matter other strategic programmes may no longer be immune to outside interference.”

By the time the Supreme Court order came, indicting Mathews and other members of the investigating team, the LDF Government had lost. The new Government was headed by Chandy, Mathews’ mentor. The file containing the recommendations made by the CBI for disciplinary action against Siby and his team disappeared from the Chief Minister’s office. Mathews took voluntary retirement and was appointed Chief Information Commissioner by Chandy.

“Sasi and I have lost everything including our honour and reputation,” says Narayanan and laughs when asked about the two Maldivian women. “I have never met these women or anybody associated with this case other than Sasi,” the scientist who rejected irresistible offers from institutions like NASA and other global space agencies tells you, adding that the spy case and its aftermath saw five Chief Ministers ruling Kerala.

“None of them had the magnanimity to ask me what went wrong. When Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi came to Thiruvananthapuram, he wanted to meet me. “In the 10 minutes that we spoke, he asked me to explain what went wrong with the cryogenic engine programme. At no point of time we discussed Sreekumar,” says Narayanan.

“The IB sleuths tortured Narayanan and Sasi for reading and copying the available scientific literatures associated with the cryogenic engine technology. This made us ignore the Documentation Centre where all documents dealing with cryogenic engine technology are preserved. We do not want to be tortured by IB or the cops,” a senior cryogenic technology specialist says.

Sasi and Narayanan tell you that the local police or the IB are not authorised to register cases under the Official Secrets Act. If the case is re-opened and re-investigated, it will be Siby’s and others’ turn to be interrogated. In any case, it is the country that has paid a heavy price country and its space research programme which was once an envy of the world.

India’s cryogenic engine programme which would have borne fruit in 2000, continues to be on the drawing board even in 2013. There were many flaws in the arguments by Sreekumar who claims he has enough evidence to prove charges against Narayanan.

He says that he probed the corruption allegations against Narayanan during his earlier stint with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) as the commandant of the CISF whose job was to prepare duty charts of other guards. “He used to get up from his seat and salute me when I would pass through the main gates of the VSSC. When I asked him about these corruption charges, Siby maintained a stoic silence,” Narayanan states.

Rattan Sehgal, who was tipped to take over as IB chief from DC Pathak, the then IB chief, was caught red-handed while passing on sensitive information about India’s atomic energy programme to a CIA agent and was asked to leave the agency in 1996. Sreekumar was Sehgal’s deputy and had a good rapport with top Congress leaders who saved him from embarrassment and exposure. Sehgal has since then been living in the US.

SABOTAGE THEORY

Those who have followed India's space programme see a foreign hand in the numerous obstacles being faced by India in developing its space programme. While cynics negate CIA’s role in this sabotage, scientists tell you how the US Intelligence agency has infiltrated all strategic programmes to derail or delay progress. This is because the US fears that India’s progress in crucial sectors like space and nuclear energy will be detrimental to its commercial interest. The cryogenic engine technology would have enabled India to bring down the cost of access to space. Veeraraghavan, former director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, at a recent seminar in Chennai revealed that the European Space Agency (ESA) charges $20,000 for every kg of payload deployed into the geo-stationary orbit which is at a height of 36,000 km from Earth.

This means India may be shelling out anything between Rs 240 crore and Rs 250 crore for launching a small-sized communication satellite weighing 2,000 kg. A country like India may need hundreds of communication satellites to take care of the ever growing telecommunications requirements. Imagine the market India offers to launching powers like the ESA and the NASA. It is in the US and France’s interest to block India from developing the cryogenic engine technology. Britain-born space writer Brian Harvey, in his book Russia In Space — A Failed Frontier, explains the role played by the CIA in sabotaging India’s attempts to perfect this technology.

Two Indian scientists in the past have died under mysterious circumstances. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, father of India’s nuclear energy programme, died in an aircrash at Mont Blanc in France on January 24, 1966. The crash occurred at a time when India was on the verge of conducting a peaceful nuclear explosion in response to China’s nuclear weapons test to be held on October 16, 1964. Due to Bhahbha’s untimely death, India had to wait for eight years before it could test the nuclear device at Pokhran in Rajasthan.

Vikram Sarabhai, who set up India’s space programme, was found dead in his hotel room at Kovalam on December 30, 1971. He was only 52 and in good health. The country’s space programme suffered a major setback yet again. Interestingly, it was Sarabhai who initiated India’s mission to develop its own communication satellites and launch vehicles after watching live images of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games transmitted with the help of satellites.

Ironically, all players of the concocted spy scam except Nambi Narayanan and Sasi Kumar were rehabilitated. Karunakaran was reinstated at the Centre as Minister for Industries. Raman Shrivastava, whose name figured in the list of suspects, was promoted and retired as DG, BSF.

Sadly, Narayanan and Kumar continue to live with the spy tag bestowed on them by an overzealous media and conniving sleuths. Siby Mathews is chief information commissioner of Kerala while Sreekumar makes his presence felt at all anti-Narendra Modi seminars. India continues to ferry its communication satellites to the Kourou launch port at an exorbitant cost.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Dec 2013 22:32

chetak, Moved your post to this thread from the Mars thread.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 14 Dec 2013 13:33

Gagan will be put in place by end of 2014: Defence Secretary

The country will put in place the GPS aided geo augmented navigation or GPS and Geo-Augmented Navigation system (Gagan), a regional satellite-based augmentation system, by the end of 2014, said Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India and Director General of DRDO, Avinash Chander here on Friday.

Addressing a national seminar on “Navigation Systems & Signal Processing Applications,” held on Acharya Nagarjuna University campus here, Dr. Chander said that the country’s mission to send six more satellites by 2014 would be complete as the country moved towards introduction of modern communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management system.

“We have been dependant on Global Positioning Systems of other countries till now and we will have our own indigenously built GPS by the end of 2014. The navigation system will help monitor and navigate long range Agni missiles, nuclear submarines and warships with accuracy,” Dr. Chander said.{Any idea if this monitor part is not DDM?}

He also said that more new weapons would be added to arsenal of Indian defence in the coming years and the DRDO was developing missiles with multiple warheads.

Research is on to develop systems, ensuring long range missiles like Agni, which would reach targets beyond 10,000 k.m. Director of SCNP-ISRO, N. Prahalad Rao said that the country has been launching PSLV rockets placing satellites of other countries in orbit.

Assistant Director of SHAR Seshagiri Rao said that IRNS satellite would be placed in orbit in February 2014 and it is destined to reach Mars by September 2014.

Perhaps "Monitor" as in allow assets to send their co-ordinates back to the HQ thus allowing HQ to have a complete asset deployment picture in real time?

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 15 Dec 2013 23:08

Probably real time position tracking.

LakshO · Post by **LakshO** » 19 Dec 2013 20:01

Any news/updates on GSLV launch scheduled for mid-December? Or, was it Dec. 2014?

Added later: Never mind!!! Found from an earlier post by Varoon Shekhar that the launch was postponed to Jan. 2014

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 19 Dec 2013 20:08

LakshO wrote:Any news/updates on GSLV launch scheduled for mid-December? Or, was it Dec. 2014?

Added later: Never mind!!! Found from an earlier post by Varoon Shekhar that the launch was postponed to Jan. 2014

Mission Status: GSLV-D5/GSAT-14 Mission:

GSLV-D5 is all set to soar the skies off Sriharikota space-port. The launch is targeted on 1618 hrs of January 5, 2014...

Presenting the first look of the new GSLV-D5 under final level of integration at Sriharikota ...

From : https://www.facebook.com/isroofficial

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 19 Dec 2013 20:11

Enhanced Social Media Presence for ISRO/Department of Space

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 20 Dec 2013 00:27

GSLV being stacked for launch

member_28348 · Post by **member_28348** » 20 Dec 2013 10:14

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=101961

"Space Program of India Vis-A-Vis China"

Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Prim Minister’s Office Shri V.Narayansamy gave this information in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha today(18-December, 2013).

what i found interesting...

"India’s Mars Orbiter launched on November 05, 2013 has completed Earth orbiting phase and successfully escaped the Earth’s Sphere Of Influence on December 04, 2013. China has also made the similar attempt, but could not succeed."

-so our minister is counting on what china could not achieve so far! he forgets what they've achieved or COULD easily achieve. if that is the case why did not India try to land a man(or at least a lander) on the moon as Chinese could not do that before mangalyaan?

i think, politicians are now becoming aware of what people of India are thinking, thanks to media and forums like ours-that china is now considered as a major competitor and challenge and we need to rise to that challenge as per will of our people.

i find this very exciting, just like cold war, we are against(or in competition with) a modern, ruthless, totalitarian system with huge ambitions and we are on the side of (comparatively)free world. the only difference is our politicians do not have the guts to compete fiercely like US did.

member_28348 · Post by **member_28348** » 21 Dec 2013 12:37

GREAT NEWS AT THE END OF 2013!!!

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/scienc ... 484393.ece

interesting lines-
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to carry out a space capsule recovery experiment in 2014 to test some of the critical technologies for manned space missions in future.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director S. Ramakrishnan said here on Friday that the operation would involve the launch of a spacecraft that would later re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. The capsule would be recovered from the sea off Andamans.

Dr. Ramakrishnan said the operation was scheduled to take place before April 14. Efforts were on simultaneously to develop a crew vehicle and space suit for astronauts.

He said it would take 10 years for India to undertake human space flight. “Manned space missions would require more powerful launch vehicles like the GSLV Mark 3 currently under development.”

vdutta · Post by **vdutta** » 21 Dec 2013 21:47

^^ We have done that experiment few years ago.

May be this time we can send some animal, or simulator dummy to do more tests.

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 22 Dec 2013 17:44

After Mars, India to Secure Place on Sun

...
Earlier, Aditya-1 was only supposed to study the fiery solar corona, the sun’s outermost region. Now it will be equipped with an ultraviolet imager telescope to observe the whole solar disc so that the scientists can k now things happening on the sun’s surface like solar storms, which impact atmosphere on the earth.

“It was also to have a high energy x-ray imager to scan smaller region of the solar disc to study flares that generate solar storms,” said a solar physicist, who attended the meeting and will be looking at the instrument development work.

Other instruments include a wind particle detector to sample the solar winds, soft x-ray spectrometer and variable emission coronagraph.
...

Aditya-1 has now been configured as a L1 mission, which means the spacecraft will be placed at a point between the sun and earth where it will remain stable due to earth’s gravitational pull. All other satellites orbit the earth but Aditya will be positioned ahead of earth.

“L1 is considered a good position to monitor the sun since the constant stream of particles from the sun, the solar wind, reaches L1 about an hour before reaching the earth. SOHO, the European Space Agency/NASA solar watchdog, is positioned there,” the scientist said.
...

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 22 Dec 2013 17:50

VSSC Chief Hints at Second Mars Mission Using GSLV

...
“The project is not yet approved. But we are planning a second mission to Mars with a more powerful launch vehicle in two years. The GSLV will be ready by then and also the GSLV Mk-III version,” he said. The second mission, unlike the first, will have a lander. The final clearance to the mega project will depend on the feedback received from the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) which is on its way to the Red Planet at present, he said. ISRO had to be satisfied with a modest payload on MOM as it had to depend on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for the mission’s launch. A prototype of the crew capsule that will be used for ISRO’s future manned space flight will be tested aboard the GSLV Mk-III, the heftiest rocket to be built in the country, before April 2014, he said.

‘GSLV’ Set for Jan 5 Launch

T’Puram: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now planning for a January 5, 2014, launch for the delayed GSLV-D5 mission fitted with the Made-in-India cryogenic stage, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said here on Friday.

Brando · Post by **Brando** » 22 Dec 2013 19:55

chetan_chpd wrote:i find this very exciting, just like cold war, we are against(or in competition with) a modern, ruthless, totalitarian system with huge ambitions and we are on the side of (comparatively)free world. the only difference is our politicians do not have the guts to compete fiercely like US did.

Competing against a country whose economy is $9+ trillion dollars while our own economy is close to $1.9 trillions for the sake of ego and prestige is NOT smart or indeed what the pioneers of the Indian space program had in mind.

The smart play would be to build the capabilities we "need" -like GSLV and GSLV MK3 and emphasize low cost access to space. NASA went broke dreaming big but not dreaming smart and now it is the Russians who "sell" them rides to the ISS. The irony is not lost on the USA.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 22 Dec 2013 20:03

Brando wrote:
chetan_chpd wrote:i find this very exciting, just like cold war, we are against(or in competition with) a modern, ruthless, totalitarian system with huge ambitions and we are on the side of (comparatively)free world. the only difference is our politicians do not have the guts to compete fiercely like US did.

Competing against a country whose economy is $9+ trillion dollars while our own economy is close to $1.9 trillions for the sake of ego and prestige is NOT smart or indeed what the pioneers of the Indian space program had in mind.

The smart play would be to build the capabilities we "need" -like GSLV and GSLV MK3 and emphasize low cost access to space. NASA went broke dreaming big but not dreaming smart and now it is the Russians who "sell" them rides to the ISS. The irony is not lost on the USA.

NASA didn't go broke. It just can't finance all the missions it wants to do. NASA's budget is about $17 billion a year. That's fairly substantial. plus it is incubating private commercial space companies. Of course that is not as big as the DoD's space budget which is as big as NASA's budget and National Science Foundation's budget combined. I think it is more accurate to say that NASA is in a state of transition from LEO manned space effort to BEO manned space effort.

Brando · Post by **Brando** » 22 Dec 2013 20:08

TSJones wrote: NASA didn't go broke. It just can't finance all the missions it wants to do.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 22 Dec 2013 20:14

in the days of multi-million $ budgets, the days of solid scientific research on a shoestring budget are still not over.

OUR UNSUNG SPACE HEROES

http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/ ... aa266e96e8
interesting snippet, a rat they sent to space and brought back became a mutant (probably) i.e x-rat.

tidbit : the scientist mentioned here, Prof Sandip Chakrabarti is one of the main forces behind ISRO's Astrosat project.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 23 Dec 2013 16:53

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/g ... 487536.ece

GSLV-D5 to lift off on January 5
T. S. Subramanian
Share · Comment (1) · print · T+
The four strap-on booster motors of the GSLV-D5 being strapped around the rocket’s core in the ﬁrst stage in the Vehicle Assembly Building of the second launch pad at Sriharikota in December 2013.
ISRO The four strap-on booster motors of the GSLV-D5 being strapped around the rocket’s core in the ﬁrst stage in the Vehicle Assembly Building of the second launch pad at Sriharikota in December 2013.
TOPICS
science and technology
scientific exploration

space programme

It will feature an indigenous cryogenic engine in its third stage

The refurbished Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) is getting ready to lift off at 4.18 p.m. on January 5, 2014, from the second launch pad at Sriharikota and it will put the communication satellite GSAT-14 into orbit. The GSLV-D5 will feature an indigenous cryogenic engine in its third, uppermost stage.

“We are moving towards the launch by January 5,” said K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). “All the four stages of the vehicle have already been integrated. The satellite will be mated with the launch vehicle by December 27,” he added.
‘All checks completed’

The Mission Readiness Review (MRR) team will meet on December 27 to give the formal clearance for the launch. “By then, everything would have been inspected. All checks on the vehicle would have been completed. Phase III, level I checks have already been done,” said Dr. Radhakrishnan.

ISRO is looking forward to this launch because the GSLV-D5 uses an indigenous cryogenic engine and the vehicle suffered a major snag on August 19, 2013 on the day of the launch. About 75 minutes before the lift-off, the liquid fuel in the propellant tank in the rocket’s second stage started leaking and rained down on the vehicle, forcing ISRO to call off the launch. Fumes engulfed the first and second stages of the vehicle, causing tense moments.

The leak was blamed on the fuel tank made of aluminium alloy called Afnor 7020 which tended to develop cracks over a period of time. The GSLV-D5 was dismantled and the “restoration process” done under the guidance of K. Narayana, former Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The GSAT-14 communication satellite, which was encapsulated in the heat shield, was preserved and tested periodically.

Since the liquid fuel leaked from the second stage tank made of aluminium alloy Afnor 7020, the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), ISRO, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, came up with a new second stage with its propellant tank made of aluminium alloy 2219. The four strap-on booster motors were refurbished. The rocket’s first stage, which uses solid propellants, has been replaced with a new one. The restored vehicle has new electronic components because the components in the four strap-on motors in the earlier vehicle had become wet from the fuel leak.
‘Critical components tested’

“Everything is going perfectly well [for the launch on January 5],” said M.C. Dathan, Director, LPSC, on Saturday evening. “Eighty per cent of the systems in the GSLV-D5, including the four strap-on liquid motors, the second liquid stage and the cryogenic stage are from the LPSC,” he said. The GSLV-D5’s cryogenic stage had been stored for the past three months-and-a-half. Mr. Dathan added: “The cryogenic stage’s critical components and valves have been tested, and found in good condition. There are three levels of checks on the vehicle. Phase III, level I checks have been done. This means all the fluid lines and electrical circuits have been checked. Everything is giving results as expected. We are ready to go ahead with the launch.”

The GSLV-D5 is a three-stage, 414-tonne and 49-metre tall vehicle.

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 25 Dec 2013 14:39

Space fight over oil exploration

The government wants the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to give up 7 km of its test range in the Bay of Bengal to allow a consortium of Cairn, Tata and ONGC to explore gas.
...

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 27 Dec 2013 15:59

Flash news on Headlines today:
ISRO - MoD MoU for manned moon mission!
5 from IAF will be shortlisted

@gauravcsawant
IAF tasked to prepare qualitative requirements for sending man on moon. IAF keen to send a fighter pilot+engineer: Air Marshal DP Joshi

member_24146 · Post by **member_24146** » 27 Dec 2013 18:13

After Mars mission, India plans manned moon mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a manned moon mission, sources told Headlines Today on Friday.

The mission comes days after ISRO successfully launched Rs.450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in November using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL).

According to sources, the MoD has tasked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to identify the qualitative requirements for the crew. The Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services is to draw out the requirements.

The process will include identifying five "most suitable" men for the mission.

Former IAF officer Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space in 1984.

member_28348 · Post by **member_28348** » 27 Dec 2013 20:02

well i think its just another "blown out of proportion" media stunt, but...

if it is true then...
well all i can say is, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?"

we cannot even put 2,000 Kg satellite in orbit and these freaks are dreaming about manned lunar missions which requires capability to put 100,000 Kg into orbit!

i mean C'mon, its one thing to be ambitious and another thing being crazy. do these people honestly believe that the government of India would take this goal as seriously as John F Kennedy's administration did in 1961? they clearly WANTED to put a man on the moon by 1969. for that they required to take all their technological might and economic prowess BEYOND LIMITS for achieving that goal in 1969. even another superpower USSR couldn't do that in such a short period!

so preparing young IAF pilots for moon missions FROM TODAY would only result (in a most positive way)- giving them a rocket to fly on during their 40's or 50's!

(i deeply wish i become wrong and we take another giant leap for mankind before any others!)

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 27 Dec 2013 20:17

These are issues, not problems. Situation is not the same in fact a lot has been learnt and lets not prejudge 5 years before time.

akashganga · Post by **akashganga** » 27 Dec 2013 20:41

vipulmb wrote:After Mars mission, India plans manned moon mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a manned moon mission, sources told Headlines Today on Friday.

The mission comes days after ISRO successfully launched Rs.450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in November using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL).

According to sources, the MoD has tasked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to identify the qualitative requirements for the crew. The Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services is to draw out the requirements.

The process will include identifying five "most suitable" men for the mission.

Former IAF officer Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space in 1984.

It this news is true then it is a stupid idea. India should focus on gslv ii and gslv iii and aim for 10 successful flights of gslv in the next 2 to 3 years. After that they can dream of manned missions and sending very large/heavy satellites beyond earth. My 2 cents.

Brando · Post by **Brando** » 27 Dec 2013 21:14

To quote from that eternal fountain of wisdom and pop culture cult icon - Top Gun (1986); there is only one thing that needs to be said:

"Son, your ego's writing checks your body can't cash"

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 27 Dec 2013 21:59

For a start let's not call them freaks. They just announced a program that could very well be a culmination of smaller and cumulative programs that may end with an Indian on the moon. They didn't mention any timeframe. It is just a first step of something big, why pooh pooh at the beginning itself?
For me it is a grand idea to shoot at. Who knows we may be in the race for something later.

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 27 Dec 2013 22:03

LAB clears GSLV D5 launch; countdown from Jan 4

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 27 Dec 2013 22:18

Brando wrote:
TSJones wrote: NASA didn't go broke. It just can't finance all the missions it wants to do.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 27 Dec 2013 22:27

[quote="rsingh

[/quote]
So you think NASA is broke?

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 27 Dec 2013 23:10

^^
No no. It cant finance the projects..........so Iam looking for the right word here...........ummmmmm.......yes broke ya that is the word. It is easy to say that it has x billion budget. But NASA pays very high price for goods and service for the projects. Similarlywhen people say that USA spent 20 billions in Afganistan........not impressed. You can lower your TFTness and install simple water purification plant that gives water in cents or theycan import water from california at 10USD/lt. IMONASA achived great things when it was concentrating on science but for last 20 years they are just concentrating on minor side rag tag discoveries which are the result of da or imagery obtained from pasr projects.
Sorry but typing from tablet is really painfull so i stop here.