Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

The Technology & Economic Forum is a venue to discuss issues pertaining to Technological and Economic developments in India. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
Post Reply
Varoon Shekhar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2178
Joined: 03 Jan 2010 23:26

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

^^^

In a press conference soon after the latest launch, ISRO chairman S.Somanath mentions SSLV being launched at the end of July. Let's hope they stick to it! Yes, it has been delayed far too long. The reasons seem to be, apart from technical challenges , Covid disruptions, prioritisation of other missions, and the need for hard currency from commercial launches, again partly/largely because of Covid.

https://www.wionews.com/india-news/isro ... end-493369
Rakesh
Forum Moderator
Posts: 18190
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 12:31
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Rakesh »

https://twitter.com/TheLegateIN/status/ ... Qpw4xfFk5Q ---> ISRO to build a new spaceport in Tamil Nadu. The new spaceport will have a launchpad, radars, ground stations, tracking systems and safety systems, etc.
bala
BRFite
Posts: 1975
Joined: 02 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Office Lounge

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by bala »

A good tutorial on Liquid fuel rockets developed in India especially Vikas (named after Vikram Sarabhai) by Dr. Nambi Narayanan (of Rocketry fame).

Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

Another Chandrayaan-3 test done on Sunday; SSLV launch planned in August.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which has lined up a series of tests this year before it launches Chandrayaan-3 — expected only in 2023 — completed a key test on the lander on Sunday.

According to a senior Isro official overseeing the mission, Chandrayaan-3 launch is expected only in 2023 even as “the project is making significant
progress with tests yielding good results.

“Things are going well and all tests have yielded good results. On Sunday night we performed a hanging condition simulation to test low-gravity
condition, engine firing and camera. All parametres were as planned.

However, there are still a lot of tests to be carried out and the mission is only expected next year,” the official said, refraining from spelling out the specifics owing to the ongoing Parliament session.

As first reported by TOI, Chandrayaan-3, unlike Chandrayaan-2 will not be carrying an orbiter as part of the mission — it’ll only have a propulsion module (PM) carrying the lander and rover until separation. While the PM will not carry any primary payload, another official said: “It will have equipment that’ll be used to communicate with the lander and the ground station. The PM will be used to relay information.”

Isro, which failed to soft-land Vikram (Chandrayaan-2 lander) which was carrying Pragyan (rover) in September 2019, is carrying out exhaustive tests for Chandrayaan-3. “Failure is not an option this time. The chairman has made it very clear that we need to test and retest until we are sure of everything on ground before moving ahead for launch preparations,” a scientist said.

SSLV First Mission
The space agency is also awaiting clearance for the launch of the first Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), a technology demonstrator mission of which is expected in the coming weeks. While Isro is confident of an August launch, the final date, an official said, “was yet to be decided”. “We are looking at August, but it may not happen in the first few days.”

Isro has done extensive testing of the SSLV, with the key ground testing of the newly developed solid booster stage (SS1) also having been completed. This test was considered the last major test before the tech-demonstrator mission.

The SSLV will have more than one technology demonstrator mission before it can be used as a mainstream launcher. Once that is achieved, Space PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is also looking at utilising the rocket for commercial missions.
Dilbu
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8266
Joined: 07 Nov 2007 22:53
Location: Deep in the badlands of BRFATA

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Dilbu »

Gaganyaan abort mission this year; solar, lunar missions in 2023
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has set new deadlines for major missions, with its first solar mission and third lunar mission set to take place in the first quarter of next year. The space agency’s third scientific mission scheduled for next year is the space observatory, XpoSat, designed to study cosmic x-rays. The first abort demonstration for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission, however, is scheduled for later this year.

Minister of State in the Space Department, Dr Jitendra Singh, wrote in an answer to Parliament on Wednesday that ISRO would also carry out a ‘space docking experiment’ in the third quarter of 2024. Space docking is a process of joining two separately launched spacecraft, and is mainly used for setting up modular space stations.
In his answer in Parliament, the minister also said that the first milestone for the Gaganyaan mission will be undertaken in the last quarter of 2022 — it will be the first abort demonstration mission. The abort missions are meant to test the systems that can help the crew escape from the spacecraft mid-flight in case of a failure. ISRO already conducted a pad abort test — where the crew can escape from the spacecraft in case of an emergency at the launch pad — in 2018.
All three scientific missions slated for 2023 have been repeatedly pushed back since 2020 amidst the pandemic that slowed down all activities of the space agency, including the number of launches. There were only two launches in 2020 and 2021. This year, the space agency has already carried out two launches one carrying an Indian earth observation satellite and the second a commercial launch carrying a Singaporean earth observation satellite as the main payload.

The Aditya L1 mission will see an Indian spacecraft going 1.5 million kms away to the L1 or Lagrangian point between the Sun and Earth. There are five Lagrangian points between any two celestial bodies where the gravitational pull of both the bodies on the satellite is equal to the force required to keep the satellite in orbit without expending fuel, meaning a parking spot in space. The XpoSat will be India’s second astronomical observatory in space after the Astrosat. It will help in studying cosmic x-rays.

The Chandrayaan 3 will be a lander-rover mission that aims for a soft landing on the Moon that was planned for the second lunar mission. The lander-rover will use the existing orbiter around the Moon from Chandrayaan-2 to communicate with Earth. The orbiter has been calculated to have a mission life of seven years and was launched in 2019.
Rakesh
Forum Moderator
Posts: 18190
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 12:31
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Rakesh »

VIDEO...

https://twitter.com/SJha1618/status/155 ... dF1uECKNZw ---> Aah, @isro's Reusable Launch Vehicle-TD during some undercarriage trials.
Dilbu
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8266
Joined: 07 Nov 2007 22:53
Location: Deep in the badlands of BRFATA

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Dilbu »

ISRO to undertake maiden flight of SSLV on August 7
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will undertake the maiden flight of its newly developed Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on August 7, ahead of Independence Day celebration.

“The launch of the SSLV-D1/EOS-02 Mission is scheduled for Sunday, August 7, 2022, at 9:18 am (IST) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota,” the space agency said on Twitter.

This is significant given that India was set to celebrate 75th Independence Day with the first human spaceflight, as per the deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence day, 2018.
On its first flight, the SSLV will carry one of India’s Earth Observation Satellites – EOS-2 – that will have applications in mapping and developing various GIS applications.

It will carry a mid-wavelength infrared camera and a long-wavelength infrared camera with a resolution of 6 metres. The satellite, weighing 142 kg, will have a mission life of ten months.


“The SSLV launch was long overdue. It will shift the burden of commercial launches from Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV). And, will likely offer cheap, quick launch for small satellites. ISRO should have the wherewithal to do that, especially now that space startups are being encouraged,” said Ajey Lele, senior fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

In its maiden flight itself, SSLV will also carry the AzadiSat, a satellite developed by 750 rural students from across the country coordinated by SpaceKidz India, a space start-up.

The satellite was shipped to Sriharikota on Monday, ready for integration with the launch vehicle.

Primarily designed as a commercial vehicle, the SSLV is likely to cost a fourth of the current PSLV. It can also be assembled by a team of six people within seven days in comparison to a team of 600 people who take a couple of months to assemble a PSLV.
Barath
BRFite
Posts: 474
Joined: 11 Feb 2019 19:06

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Barath »

https://indianexpress.com/article/expla ... d-8067508/

The chinese satellite, rocket launch and missile tracking ship arrives in Hambantota on Aug 11. This should give it plenty of time out at sea on August 7 for the SSLV / Azadisat launch

The NOTAM covers an area which is near Sri Lanka

Location : https://np.reddit.com/r/ISRO/comments/w ... am_is_out/

Map : https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewe ... 28%2C0&z=1

Azadisat isn't military, but indian military has used microsats before (eg ASAT) and might be interested in the small satellite revolution and the SSLV
In any case, the SSLV/Azadisat might be of interest to the Chinese ship
juvva
BRFite
Posts: 380
Joined: 20 Oct 2008 17:34

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by juvva »

Aditya_V
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14331
Joined: 05 Apr 2006 16:25

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Aditya_V »

Whether we like it or not - Solid Fuel- 3 stages, 34 m Length and 2 M diameter weighing 120 tonnes being mass produced with great accuracy for Orbital payload is very useful, reaching 350km altitude :D :D . Payload Mass is about 155kg.

A variant of this with a different GOI department/wing/entity lesser than Stage 1 87T weight, can be rail mobile, road mobile will be really useful too. :wink: I wonder if someone can come with a Range parameter if this includes a Reentry vehicle with 500 kg payload.

The VTM stage is also interesting.
juvva
BRFite
Posts: 380
Joined: 20 Oct 2008 17:34

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by juvva »

is this real, a brand new slv , and no excitement even on the launch day.
dinesha
BRFite
Posts: 1211
Joined: 01 Aug 2004 11:42
Location: Delhi

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by dinesha »

juvva wrote:is this real, a brand new slv , and no excitement even on the launch day.
Watch live:
https://www.isro.gov.in/sslv-d1-eos-02- ... 30-hrs-ist
Pratyush
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12187
Joined: 05 Mar 2010 15:13

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Pratyush »

Successful launch.
dinesha
BRFite
Posts: 1211
Joined: 01 Aug 2004 11:42
Location: Delhi

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by dinesha »

Looks like some kind of problem.. tensed faces
Pratyush
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12187
Joined: 05 Mar 2010 15:13

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Pratyush »

Yeah, seems like loss of telemetry data towards the final few seconds.

They will come back with update later.

Rocket did what was expected of it.
Dilbu
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8266
Joined: 07 Nov 2007 22:53
Location: Deep in the badlands of BRFATA

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Dilbu »

Isro aces inaugural SSLV launch, puts AzadiSAT in space to mark India’s 75th year of Independence
It was on September 20, 1993, when the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) conducted its first launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which became its go-to launch vehicle. Three decades after that historic first flight, the Indian space agency made history again as it launched a new vehicle that will cater to a specific section of the aerospace market — the on-demand small satellite launches.

The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), Isro's latest offering, roared into the skies from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday. Designed and developed on a similar platform as the PSLV, but with a faster turn-around time and low cost, the SSLV has been prepared to cater to the multi-million dollar small satellite launch market.
basant
BRFite
Posts: 889
Joined: 20 Mar 2020 20:58

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by basant »

SSLV-D1/EOS-02 Mission: Maiden flight of SSLV is completed. All stages performed as expected. Data loss is observed during the terminal stage. It is being analysed. Will be updated soon.

10:04 AM · Aug 7, 2022
ISRO on Twitter


Satellite injected into the orbit
Haridas
BRFite
Posts: 878
Joined: 26 Dec 2017 07:53

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Haridas »

Failure of Apogee Boost motor with 50kg liquid fuel, to be fired at apogee to circularize the orbit.

Looks like some software bug and it shutdown during startup.

With the elliptic orbits peregee of 76km (within atmosphere) it would have re entered and burnt (due to re entry stress) within few tens of minutes.
Neela
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4102
Joined: 30 Jul 2004 15:05
Location: Spectator in the dossier diplomacy tennis match

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Neela »

^^^
VTM failed. 100 secs firing (planned ) vs 0.1 secs (actual)

Image
bala
BRFite
Posts: 1975
Joined: 02 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Office Lounge

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by bala »

Some of the details about the VIKAS engine with the help of 3D animation.

Vikas is a family of liquid-fuelled rocket engines conceptualized and designed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in the 1970s. The design was based on the licensed version of the Viking engine with the chemical pressurization system. The early production Vikas engines used some imported French components which were later replaced by domestically produced equivalents. It is used in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) series of expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. Vikas engine is used to power the second stage PSLV, boosters and second stage of GSLV Mark I and II, and the first stage of GSLV Mark III.

On July 15, 2018, a high thrust version of the Vikas Engine was successfully qualified through a ground test for a duration of 195 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamilnadu.

Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

Amid heartbreak with SSLV, Chandrayaan-2 quietly delivers good news.

While Isro suffered heartbreak with the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, which failed to deliver two satellites into orbit, its other creation quietly delivered a piece of good news. Chandrayaan-2 found that there is a plasma density in the Moon’s ionosphere.

The spacecraft hovering in lunar orbit discovered that the Moon’s ionosphere has a plasma density in the wake region, which is at least one order of magnitude more than what is present on the day side. The spacecraft has been studying the lunar surface ever since it arrived in orbit in 2019.

The observed plasma density in the Lunar wake region opens new dimensions in understanding the lunar dark side plasma environment. In the wake region, neither the solar radiation nor the solar wind interacts directly with the available neutral particles, but still, the plasma is getting generated.

The spacecraft used its Dual Frequency Radio Science (DFRS), designed to study the lunar ionosphere. The instrument uses two coherent signals at the S-band (2240 MHz) and X-band (8496 MHz) of radio frequencies, transmitted from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and received at the ground station at Byalalu, Bangalore to explore the lunar plasma ambiance using the radio occultation (RO) technique.

The findings have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society- Letter. “These observations are unique in nature as they show post-sunset enhancements in the iEDPs compared to dayside, as reported by earlier missions. These results further confirm recent predictions from the theoretical model for the lunar ionosphere,” the paper concluded.

Image
Ray-tracing of radio signals in the lunar ionosphere. A1 is the point of impact factor on the given ray path. (Photo: Isro)
Isro said that simultaneous measurements by two coherent radio signals help to mitigate the effect of the Earth’s atmosphere and any uncertainties due to various sources during the experiments. A total of 12 such radio occultation experiments were conducted in campaign mode on four different occasions.

The Indian space agency said that large electron content is also seen near lunar polar regions during solar twilight conditions. “Numerical simulations of the dark side of plasma environment using a 3-dimensional Lunar Ionospheric Model (3D-LIM) developed at SPL that the production of ions by charge exchange reactions may play a pivotal role in producing a significantly large plasma density in the Lunar wake region, which can sustain for a longer period,” Isro said in a statement.

The model suggests that the dominant ions in the wake region are argon and neon, which have a comparatively longer lifetime than the molecular ions of carbon dioxide and water that are dominant in other regions.

The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which will be used with the Chandrayaan-3 mission, had previously looked at the Sun and found an abundance of magnesium, aluminum, and silicon in the solar corona and observed around 100 microflares, providing new insights about coronal mass heating.
bala
BRFite
Posts: 1975
Joined: 02 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Office Lounge

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by bala »

ISRO needs to keep up with modern day trends that are occurring in space flight, especially the ones from SpaceX.
Here is short video on the raptor engine of SpaceX, based on LOX and Methane CH4 as fuel. SpaceX is planning 33 engines in a 9m dia rocket to lift huge payload to LEO and beyond. ISRO is working on RP1 (kerosene), LOX engine. Dr. Nambi Narayanan briefly mentioned that work on liquid engines must be ramped up at ISRO big time. Having small reliable easy to manufacture rockets clustered together is the way forward to scaling up payloads. BTW CH4 can be potentially produced in extra terrestrial places.

bala
BRFite
Posts: 1975
Joined: 02 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Office Lounge

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by bala »

An anomaly for two seconds led to SSLV mission’s underperformance: ISRO chief
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interv ... 758052.ece
ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), in its debut mission from Sriharikota on August 7, put the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-2) and students’ AzaadiSAT in the wrong orbit, he does not show it. ISRO said the SSLV put the satellites into a 356 km X 76 km elliptical orbit instead of a 356-km circular orbit. “Satellites are no longer usable. Issue is reasonably identified. Failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for salvage action caused the deviation”, ISRO explained. The SSLV is a three-stage rocket and all its stages are powered by solid propellants. It is designed to put a 500-kg satellite into orbit.

On the failure of ISRO’s maiden small satellite launch vehicle mission.

Dr. Somanath gave an interview in Chennai and said “an anomaly” for two seconds in one of the accelerometers in the launch vehicle led to the mission’s underperformance. He explained at length what went wrong and answered a range of questions. Dr. Somanath took over as ISRO chairman on January 14, 2022. He is Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission. He was director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, before he became ISRO Chairman. He is a reputed rocket technologist and played a key role in the development of ISRO’s GSLV-MkIII which weighs 640 tonnes.

Where was this logic which did not identify the sensor failure? Was it in the newly introduced velocity trimming module?

It is not the logic of the velocity trimming module. This is a logic of the launch vehicle. When something is not working very well, the rocket will have a salvage option. Basically, we look at the various failures which are possible in a rocket. We are prepared for failures, what we should do with failures. One such condition is called the accelerometer failure. There are accelerometers and sensors around which measure the rocket’s acceleration in the forward direction. Supposing one of these accelerometers is a failure, what should we do next? There are algorithms sitting in the side. The accelerometer can fail just after lift-off… Still, it is designed to put the satellite in the correct orbit.

In this case, what happened is that the measurement of the accelerometer showed some anomaly just at the point of the separation of the second stage. When it showed such an anomaly, the internal computer felt that the accelerometer had failed. Then it triggered something called the salvaging operation.

What it will do next is instead of closed loop guidance, it will initiate what is called the open loop guidance. That is, from that point [of failure] to salvaging, it will work in an open loop guidance. There is already a path written in the computer that you should go through this path to reach the satellite. … So it does not look for acceleration data but [the rocket] will simply go in that path. Once it is going like that, the ability to put the satellite in the correct orbit is slightly diminished.

So what happens is that at the end of the next stage firing, the computer believes/assumes that “I cannot go further but somehow separate the satellite after the burning of this motor is concerned.” This stage is not a liquid stage [that is, not fuelled by liquid propellants]. It is a solid rocket [fired by solid propellants].

But the solid motor cannot be stopped midway. The computer will wait until the firing of the solid motor, currently firing, is completed. The anomaly happened at the end of the second stage. So the computer wants the third stage firing to complete. As soon as it is completed, the satellites are injected into orbit. It did that.

It did what it is supposed to do. But in that process, it was short of a small velocity. But this shortage is very dear to the whole system. If the velocity [with which the satellites should be injected into orbit] is 7.3 km per second, it has almost reached 7.2 km per second or something. It is now short of 40, 50 or 60 metres per second. This is 7,300 metres per second versus 7,200 metres per second. This difference is very important because in that orbit, from a height of 356 km… the perigee will come down to the extent that its height will be less than the atmospheric height. So the height of the perigee we are getting now is 76 km.

Once the satellite moves in such an elliptical orbit, there is an atmospheric drag and this drag will make the satellite come down very fast. Within 20 minutes or so, the satellite will lose its orbit. So this is what really happened.

The issue we faced here is everything in the rocket worked. All the stages worked. All the propulsions worked. All the sequences worked. The only issue here was that due to an anomaly in the accelerometer, the computer inside decided that the accelerometer had failed, hence “I should save the vehicle.” So it triggered a salvaging option which put the satellite into a wrong orbit. So there was really no issue with the accelerometers. They were healthy even afterwards.

Why the computer found that the accelerometers had a small issue is something we do not understand. There could be an actual problem in the sensor. Or there could be a logic problem in the sensor. But this is a standard system that exists in all ISRO rockets. Wherever there is an accelerometer of this nature, it will do exactly like this. So there is nothing wrong in the way it did it. But the sensor did this for this particular time.

Whenever the rocket stages are separating, there will be a transient. A small jerk will be there. In this jerky thing [this time], the accelerometer level slightly exceeded. So we should relook whether the approach to isolate or not to isolate can be suppressed.

You don’t have to declare it a failure. You can wait for a little more time and then have a relook at it. We have thought about it.

For two seconds this anomaly existed. After two seconds, it came back to normal. Unfortunately, the computer declared that it was a failure within those two seconds.

Two seconds?

There is an unknown thing residing in this whole algorithm. Why two seconds? If it had been three seconds, the mission would not have been like this. If the level of isolation was a little higher, it would not have happened. There could be many reasons. We have to understand why such things happen. There could be a hardware failure, a software glitch, an external trigger or the shock of the transient was slightly higher than what we expected because it is a new rocket. Whatever we have qualified is for a new rocket. In a new rocket, the behaviour of this type will be different. Probably, if we had changed the threshold element, the mission could have been saved.

So it was not because the SSLV was carrying satellites, weighing about 500 kg together, which were heavier than it could carry?

No. Absolutely no issue with the vehicle’s aerodynamics. Control systems, all worked very well.

Is the vehicle’s configuration alright?

Yes.

In the last PSLV flight in July 2022, ISRO performed novel experiments using the fourth stage of the launch vehicle. The fourth stage did not come down after putting the three Singaporean satellites in orbit. You used it as a platform in orbit to conduct some experiments.

It was not the first time we did it. We had done it earlier with the PSLV’s fourth stage.

Yes, you had done it earlier.

The fourth stage requires power. In a rocket, the power comes only from the battery. In a satellite, the power comes from the solar panels. You need a computer which is running in a regular rocket. That computer is a rocket initiation computer. It cannot do this when the rocket is in orbit. So another computer is required. We switch over from the launch computer to the orbit computer. It requires low power and can be used in orbit.

The rocket takes its reference from the earth. The satellite takes its reference when it is in orbit. So we have star sensors to help it to find its position by itself.

Lastly, what is important is we made the platform [the fourth stage] a controlled one. Earlier, we made an uncontrolled one. It is now capable of changing its orientation by looking at the star sensors. It can receive commands from the earth. We have a commanding capability from the ground to turn, switch on, switch off and make the platform look in different directions. It can be commanded in different orientations. So this is the beauty of what we did.

With this capability, we can host payloads. So we hosted payloads on the platform from others as well as from ISRO.

Chandrayaan-3 will not have an orbiter.

No. It will have an orbiter. We cannot go to the moon without having an orbiter in the current configuration. The orbiter is there. We call it propulsion module this time because the earlier orbiter had different payloads. So what we are doing now is we are not doing any experiments using the orbiter’s payloads. The orbiter’s only job is to take the lander up to the moon’s orbit.

The orbiter in Chandrayaan- 3 will not have any payloads?

It will not have any payloads. The payloads are only in the lander. For the lander to communicate with the Earth, we need the orbiter. Otherwise, the lander cannot communicate directly with the Earth. First, the lander will communicate with the orbiter, the mother ship, and the mother ship will communicate with the Earth. That is why the mother ship, which will be orbiting around the moon, is necessary.

The lander and the rover are already there. The orbiting element is also there. Unlike Chandrayaan-2, the orbiter in Chandrayaan-3 will not have payloads to perform experiments. It is a mere relay station.

At what stage is ISRO’s Human Space Flight (HSF) or the Gaganyaan programme?

There will be two unmanned flights first.

There are different missions planned. The first and foremost is the abort mission. So we are planning to do a test vehicle flight… There are four abort flights we are planning to do. Two of them will be done immediately. After that, we will do the first GSLV-MkIII unmanned flight. After that, we will do two more abort missions. Then we will do the second unmanned mission for the Gaganyaan. Only after these six flights, we will do the manned mission.

Have our astronauts completed their training in Russia?

They are here.

No information is available on who these Indian astronauts are. Earlier, in the 1980s, we knew that ISRO’s P. Radhakrishnan and N.C. Bhat were to fly into space on board the U.S. space shuttle. Their names were announced and information was available about who they were. But this time, we do not know who our astronauts are and whether they belong to ISRO or the IAF.

They are Indians (laughs).

They are IAF test pilots?

They are Indians. That is the most important news you should know.

Will two or three go in the first flight?

That is a decision we will take a little later. Currently, we are training four people. The choice of flying one, two or three, that decision we will take a little later.

Is their training complete?

Their training is not complete. It is a process. Until they go, the training will continue. Their practical training in Russia, theoretical training here, simulator training and flight training — all these will continue. It is part of their life.

How long will they stay in orbit? What kind of experiments will they perform?

The original intent was to keep them in orbit for at least seven days and do some experiments related to micro-gravity. This was the plan… But the experiments are they themselves and their vehicle itself is an experiment. So they will conduct psycho-physiological measurements, the whole system validation etc.

But then, seven days are a long period. It will need a lot of resources including water, oxygen and other things. It is not a very big habitat [the crew module]. It is a compact habitat. So definitely, we will not venture into one week in the first mission. It will be for a short time. The whole purpose is to show that it is possible to take people there and bring them back safely. Towards that, the duration will be fixed. It will be fixed based on various factors, how they will be able to communicate, from what location we will be able to recover them etc… The duration will be much shorter than one week in this mission.

The first SRE (Space Capsule Recovery Experiment) mission in January 2007 was a big success. You were able to bring back the satellite which was in orbit, it splashed down in the sea near Ennore, Chennai and you recovered it. ISRO brought back the crew module in the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) from orbit and recovered it from the sea near the Andaman archipelago. The Reusable Launch Vehicle- Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) was a success. All these missions demonstrated that ISRO has mastered the re-entry technology. So you must be raring to go ahead with the Gaganyaan mission of sending our astronauts into space and bringing them back.

Yes, definitely. This work is really a high risk business. In this risky business, the only option is to continuously do tests of various nature to gain confidence. The only way we can develop confidence is by processes, by developing hardware, software testing, anomaly testing, protection against anomalies, like what you saw in this SSLV. So whatever logic we are thinking about, whether they are working or not, we have to actually put them to test. In Gaganyaan, we have to actually create conditions which are called for in the flight and test them. This is the difference between a regular rocket mission and a human space flight. So our options are we have to continue doing the tests many numbers.

Will the manned flight be in 2024?

Our attempt is to do it by the end of 2023 or in 2024.

What are the missions lined up in the coming months?

Our next mission will be a GSLV-MkIII flight. It will be a commercial mission. We are getting ready for the PSLV-C54 mission, which will launch the Oceansat. It is an earth observation satellite. We want to launch the next developmental flight of SSLV (SSLV-D2) in November. These are the immediate launches before November.
suryag
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4040
Joined: 11 Jan 2009 00:14

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by suryag »

what an interview sir ji, clear crisp answers, FMEA(at all levels starting from HW components to full System) and Fail safe/Fail op are difficult things to get right and take years. I can assure you most first successful missions have a good slice of luck involved, you simply cant foreseee all the conditions that can happen and simulation/modelling can only take you so far; if luck rides with you then you are successful and also get enough data to fortify brittle parts of the system. Again, you can also build redundancy only to a sane extent, extra redundancy introduces newer type of problems. This is exactly the reason why I have great great respect for ADA/HAL Tejas team, imagine ISRO had decades of experience and here is this org which is trying to fly a human in its first ab-initio design, hats of to them, of course to ISRO too
thammu
BRFite -Trainee
Posts: 79
Joined: 29 Mar 2007 08:16

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by thammu »

Finally... the right man at Top
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

ISRO successfully demonstrates new technology with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) – a game changer with multiple applications for future missions.

An IAD, designed and developed by VSSC, has been successfully test flown in a Rohini sounding rocket from TERLS,Thumba at 12.20 pm today. The IAD was initially folded and kept inside the payload bay of the rocket. At around 84 km altitude, the IAD was inflated and it descended through atmosphere with the payload part of sounding rocket. The pneumatic system for inflation was developed by LPSC. The IAD has systematically reduced the velocity of the payload through aerodynamic drag and followed the predicted trajectory. This is first time that an IAD is designed specifically for spent stage recovery. All the objectives of the mission were successfully demonstrated

The IAD has huge potential in variety of space applications like recovery of spent stages of rocket, for landing payloads on to Mars or Venus and in making space habitat for human space flight missions.

Rohini sounding rockets are routinely used for flight demonstration of new technologies being developed by ISRO as well as by scientists from India and abroad. In today’s flight, along with IAD new elements like micro video imaging system which captured the bloom and flight of IAD, a miniature software defined radio telemetry transmitter, MEMS based acoustic sensor and a host of new methodologies were flight tested successfully. These will be inducted later to the major missions. Sounding rockets offers an exciting platform for experimentation in upper atmosphere.

"This demonstration opens a gateway for cost effective spent stage recovery using the Inflatable Aerodynamics Decelerator technology and this IAD technology can also be used in ISRO's future missions to Venus and Mars" said Shri S Somanath, Chairman ISRO, Secretary DOS who witnessed the launch.

The launch was also witnessed by senior dignitaries of ISRO including Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, VSSC and Dr V Narayanan, Director, LPSC.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

HAL-L&T to build five PSLV rockets, bags Rs 860 crore deal from NSIL for the project.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-L&T consortium on Sunday bagged a Rs 860 crore deal from NewSpace India Limited to build five rockets. This will mark industry's maiden foray into end-to-end production of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs), reported news agency PTI.

The contract is for manufacturing five PSLV rockets, the versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India.

After the techno-commercial evaluation of three bids, HAL-L&T consortium had emerged as the technically qualified and the L1 bidder to undertake end-to-end production of PSLV.

"We have now signed the service level agreement with the industry for production," an official of NSIL, a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space (DoS) and commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said.

"May be in less than two years, we (the 52:48 HAL-L&T consortium) will be able to deliver the first rocket from the industry consortium, fully built by the industry, with appropriate hand-holding from ISRO," PTI quoted the official as saying.

According to the official, about 80 per cent of mechanical systems and 60 per cent of electronic systems of PSLV, the third generation launch vehicle of India, at present come from the industry. However, the remaining percentages in both the areas are highly complex.

The consortium will now be responsible for producing, assembling and integrating the launcher by making use of the existing ISRO facilities under GOCO (Government Owned, Contractor Operated) model.

Sources said the NSIL also has plans to realise an entirely-built GSLV-Mk III rocket from Indian industry partners.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

India's Gaganyaan mission likely to be launched in 2024, first test-flight this year: Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that India's maiden human space-flight mission Gaganyaan is expected to be launched in 2024. He added that the government had planned the human space flight for 2022, the year of India's 75th anniversary of Independence, but the schedule went awry on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on the training of astronauts in Russia as well as India," PTI quoted Singh as saying, adding the first test-flight of the Gaganyaan mission is scheduled to take place later this year.

The first test-flight will be followed by sending a female-looking spacefaring humanoid robot -- Vyom Mitra -- in outer space likely next year, Singh said.

The Indian Air Force had identified four fighter pilots as the potential crew for the human space flight mission. The potential crew had undergone basic training in Russia.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will send at least two astronauts into a low earth orbit in 2024 after assessing the outcome of the two orbital test flights, Singh said.

Officials said during the test mission, the spacecraft will be launched to an altitude of 15 km during which space scientists will simulate an abort scenario to ensure the return crew capsule to the Earth using parachutes.

The second orbital test flight will take the Gaganyaan crew capsule to a higher altitude and undergo a similar abort scenario to perfect the system.

rime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the Gaganyaan mission in his Independence Day address in 2018 at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore.

ISRO also plans to launch the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon sometime next year. Officials said there were two launch windows for the moon mission next year in February and July.

Chandrayaan-3 is a successor to the Chandrayaan-2 mission that crash-landed on the lunar surface.
SSridhar
Forum Moderator
Posts: 25085
Joined: 05 May 2001 11:31
Location: Chennai

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

ISRO successfully tests hybrid motor, eyes new propulsion system for rockets
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully tested a hybrid motor, potentially paving the way for a new propulsion system for the forthcoming launch vehicles. The 30 kN hybrid motor tested at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday is scalable and stackable, the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said.

The test was supported by ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).

The motor used Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) as the oxidiser.

Unlike solid-solid or liquid-liquid combinations, a hybrid motor uses solid fuel and liquid oxidiser, it was noted.

"Today's (Tuesday's) test of a flight equivalent 30 kN hybrid motor demonstrated ignition and sustained combustion for the intended duration of 15 seconds. The motor performance was satisfactory", an ISRO statement said.

The use of liquids facilitates throttling, and the control over the flow rate of LOX enables the re-start capability, it was explained.

While both HTPB and LOX are green, LOX is safer to handle, ISRO noted.

"The hybrid motor tested today (Tuesday) is scalable and stackable, potentially paving the way for a new propulsion system for the forthcoming launch vehicles", it said.
arvin
BRFite
Posts: 672
Joined: 17 Aug 2016 21:26

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by arvin »

Interesting concept. If the third stage of SSLV is equipped with this and become throttable, will it eliminate the need for having hydrazine based velocity trimming module (VTM) as a fourth stage.
Haridas
BRFite
Posts: 878
Joined: 26 Dec 2017 07:53

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Haridas »

arvin wrote:Interesting concept. If the third stage of SSLV is equipped with this and become throttable, will it eliminate the need for having hydrazine based velocity trimming module (VTM) as a fourth stage.
SSLV is quick to assemble & launch due to earth storeble fuel. LOx requires long loading time and short storage time. Contrary to SSLV objective.
arvin
BRFite
Posts: 672
Joined: 17 Aug 2016 21:26

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by arvin »

Agree with assembly and feul part.
Maybe it will replace hydrazine in some other launch vehicle.
Rakesh
Forum Moderator
Posts: 18190
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 12:31
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Rakesh »

https://twitter.com/HALHQBLR/status/157 ... AdXmvR-fOQ ---> The President of India, Srimati Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate HAL’s state-of-the-art Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) in Bengaluru on September 27, 2022.

Image

Image
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

HAL sets up Rs 208 cr rocket engine manufacturing facility.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has set up a Rs 208 crore Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) that would cater to the entire rocket engine production under one roof for Indian Space Research Organisation.

President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the state-of-the-art ICMF, set up over an area of 4,500 square metres housing over 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing cryogenic (CE20) and semi-cryogenic (SE2000) engines of Indian rockets, on Tuesday.

In 2013, an MOU was signed with ISRO for establishing the facility for manufacturing cryogenic engine modules at HAL, Aerospace Division, and it was subsequently amended in 2016 for setting up of ICMF with an investment of Rs 208 crore.

The commissioning of all the critical equipment for the manufacturing and assembly requirement has been completed, Bengaluru-headquartered HAL said on Monday, adding that the pre-production activities which involve preparation of the process and quality plans, and drawings, has also commenced.

HAL said in a statement it would start realizing the modules by March 2023.

HAL Aerospace Division manufactures liquid propellant tanks and launch vehicle structures of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV MK-II), GSLV Mk-III and also stage integration for GSLV Mk-II.

"The facility (ICMF) will cater to the entire Rocket Engine Manufacturing under one roof for ISRO. The facility will boost self-reliance in manufacturing of Hi-thrust Rocket engines," the HAL statement said.

Cryogenic engines are the most widely used engines world over in launch vehicles, the statement said. Due to the complex nature of the cryogenic engine, till date only a few countries -- the USA, France, Japan, China and Russia -- have mastered the cryogenic technology.

On January five, 2014 India successfully flew GSLV-D5 with a cryogenic engine and became the sixth country in developing cryogenic engines, it said.

HAL-L&T consortium recently bagged the Rs 860 crore contract for end-to-end realization of five PSLVs over a period of four years from the NewsSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Department of Space.
YashG
BRFite
Posts: 936
Joined: 22 Apr 2017 00:10

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by YashG »

L&T is the LM of India.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Vips »

Cryogenic and Semi Cryogenic Engine: All you want to know.

For India, cryogenic engines have been a dream envisioned in the mid-1980s, which owing to global politics, was marred. However, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) understood the task and got to work on its cryogenic engines. After about two decades, the space agency achieved its dream.

On Tuesday a new facility for Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) which will cater to the cryogenic engine needs of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been inaugurated.

This facility is under state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s Aerospace Division which is already manufacturing liquid propellant tanks and launch vehicle structures for Indian rockets PSLV, GSLV MK-II, and GSLV Mk-III. Financial Express Online has already reported that it carries out stage integration for GSLV Mk-II.

At the new facility there are 70 high-tech equipment and testing apparatus for manufacturing CE20 cryogenic engines and SE2000 cryogenic engines for Indian rockets. In the final stage of the GSLV Mk3 rocket the CE20 engines are used and in the SC-120 rocket stage, which is being developed, the SCE-2000 semi-cryogenic engine is expected to be used.

Deep Dive: Cryogenics
“Cryogenics is the outcome of the production of and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. Ultra-cold temperatures change the chemical properties of materials. This has become an area of study for researchers who examine different materials as they transition from a gas to a liquid to a solid state. These studies have led to advances in our understanding of other materials and this has led to the creation of entirely new technologies and industries,” explains Girish Linganna, Aerospace & Defence Analyst.

According to him “Very cold temperatures are not measured in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius but Kelvins. Kelvins use the unit symbol K. Zero degrees Kelvin (0 K) which is theoretically coldest possible temperature. In Celsius, 0 K is -273.15 °C.”

History
Based on the information available in the public domain, in 1877 Rasul Pictet and Louis Cailletet liquefied oxygen for the first time, and different methods were used in the process. Eventually, a new method of liquefying oxygen was discovered. And, at this point in history, it was now possible to liquidify oxygen at 90 K. And then liquid nitrogen was achieved at 77 K. In 1898, another breakthrough came when James DeWar liquefied hydrogen at 20 K. The last significant advance made in the in the cryogenics industry was in 1908. The physicist Heike Kamerling Onnes liquefied helium at 4.2 K and then 3.2 K.

Cryogenics is has a variety of uses and is often used to produce cryogenic fields for rockets, in MRI machines that use liquid helium which require cryogenic cooling, storing large quantities of food, special effects fog, recycling, freezing blood and tissue samples, and even cooling superconductors.

Cryogenic Engines: The Indian Ordeal
Under Mikhail Gorbachev, the erstwhile Soviet Union Space Agency agreed to transfer cryogenic engines and technology to ISRO in 1991. At that time, only a select group of countries held the technology they guarded dearly. The US, Japan, Europe and China were against this transfer. The Soviet Union made an exception for India and claimed it to be for non-military use, for communication and weather satellites only.

The US exercised all its might and invoked the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an association to stop the proliferation of missiles that could be used for mass destruction, to impose sanctions on the Soviet and Indian space agencies.

Soon after, the Soviet Union disintegrated, and the new government under Boris Yeltsin took control and his government was favoured the West. In 1993, Yeltsin arrived at a compromise after he met Bill Clinton that Russia would not transfer the technology; instead, it would sell seven cryogenic engines to India.

India decided to fight back by developing its own cryogenic technology and the scientists conducted the first successful cryogenic engine test in 2003 and the first successful flight in 2014.

The Indian Space Program and Cryogenic Engines
ISRO has been spearheading the Indian space program since its inception and has built the capability to launch its satellites. And, ISRO has developed various launch vehicles (rockets) that carry different satellites to different orbits. Satellites revolve around the earth in a fixed path known as orbit. Depending upon the distance from the earth’s surface, there are three types of orbits. The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is about 160-2000 KM from Earth.

Meanwhile, the Medium Earth Orbit MEO) is about 5000-10000 KM from Earth. Finally, the Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) is about 35800 KM from Earth. In GEO, the satellite’s and the earth’s rotation are the same, so it appears to be in a fixed location from the earth’s surface.

The first few launch vehicles of ISRO, the SLV-3 and the ASLV could only reach the LEO. The PSLV-XL uses solid and liquid fuels instead of only solid fuels like the former two. GSLV Mk II and Mk III use three different kinds of fuels: solid, liquid and cryogenic.

“A cryogenic engine/cryogenic stage is the last stage of space launch vehicles which makes use of cryogenics to store its fuel and oxidiser as liquids instead of gas. In space, there is a lack of air, including oxygen, which means it is impossible to burn anything. To fix this, rockets carry their own oxygen, known as an oxidiser, mixed with fuel to burn it in space,” adds Girish Linganna, Aerospace & Defence Analyst.

Unlike a cryogenic engine, a semi-cryogenic engine uses refined kerosene instead of liquid hydrogen. The liquid oxygen is used as an oxidiser. Adding, “The advantage of using a semi-cryogenic engine is that it requires refined kerosene, which is lighter than liquid fuel and can be stored at a normal temperature. One of the options before ISRO is to replace the liquid core (L110) engine of the GSLV MK III with a semi-cryogenic engine to boost the rocket’s payload capacity from four to six tonnes.”
Ashokk
BRFite
Posts: 1116
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Ashokk »

Designed to last six months, India's Mars Orbiter bids adieu after 8 long years
BENGALURU: India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft, which was designed to last for six months when launched on November 5, 2013, has lost communication with the ground stations, bringing an end to its life after eight long years.
Isro is working out the details of whether the spacecraft ran out of fuel and battery power, or whether communication was lost because of an automated manoeuvre while moving out of a long eclipse changing the direction of the antenna.
However, multiple sources confirmed that it would not be possible to recover the spacecraft. Isro’s UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) director on September 27 communicated the same and Isro will officially announce it soon, a scientist said.
Another senior scientist told TOI: “There was a really long eclipse in April 2022. The satellite had been designed with autonomous functions to come out of eclipses and it has done it in the past too. While recovering from the eclipse, the fuel may have been exhausted. The other reason could be that while exiting the eclipse a command for a roll-spin to change direction is done, which could have caused the Earth-facing antenna to change direction.”
As reported by TOI earlier, the spacecraft had handled two black-out phases during an eclipse and one white-out phase in the first year around Mars and another in the second year. In all these instances, the spacecraft was completely autonomous without any help from the ground.
The Rs 450-crore mission, which was launched on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), put India in an elite club of nations to have carried out a mars mission. That the country achieved it in its first attempt was a feather in the cap.
“Now, we are trying to ascertain the exact reason — whether it is the exhaustion of fuel or antenna being unable to communicate — but one thing is for certain, we won’t be able to recover the spacecraft any more,” the scientist further explained.
Carrying five payloads, including a Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) and the Mars Colour Camera (MCC), MOM had sent in more than 1TB (one terabyte) of data from the Red Planet in its first year and at least 5TB of data when it completed five years.
However, Isro is yet to officially announce anything on the detection of Methane, which was one of MOM’s principal objectives.
That said, the scientific data from the mission has been rich and led to several papers over the years and a large dataset is still being analysed by various scientific institutions.
Barath
BRFite
Posts: 474
Joined: 11 Feb 2019 19:06

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Barath »

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 599977.cms

Designed to last six months, India's Mars Orbiter bids adieu after 8 long years


Mangalyaan's legacy will be the innovativeness in getting to Mars cheaply and quickly, and inspiring hundreds of millions along the way.
Probably also for a mediocre movie. Rather than the science.

It had an opportunity to do really meaningful science on a [then] hot topic [methane readings - methane in the earth's atmosphere is often associated with life] despite the limited scientific payload weight and low cost, but a design error meant that the data was useless.

https://www.space.com/34943-india-mars- ... lanet.html

There are 5-8 Tb of images of Mars and a few other readings, but they didn't have the chance to chip in on a major scientific issue. Other spacecraft have eclipsed the imagery with their own, non-budget approach.

It was not the ends, it was the journey that excited.
Amber G.
BRF Oldie
Posts: 9263
Joined: 17 Dec 2002 12:31
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion

Post by Amber G. »

^^^ I made a post (like I made a post after 7 years) here: viewtopic.php?p=2565639#p2565639
Now Eight Years... (If you look at my messages/posts I wrote about 8 years ago, that it will not surprise us if the MoM lasts more than 6 months even decades...
Mangalyaan, India's Mars orbiter craft, completes eight years in orbit

--- There are some headlines about "Mission is ending" or "Mangalyaan runs out of fuel" which are not quite accurate.. from what I know (and from my talk with people who ought to know)..
We will know soon and wait for ISRO's announcement - ISRO s working out the details of whether the spacecraft ran out of fuel and battery power, or whether communication was lost because of an automated maneuver while moving out of a long eclipse changing the direction of the antenna. (I don't think it ran out of 'fuel' - very small fuel is needed -- most likely after coming out of eclipse - in a rollover maneuver it lost a fix - to communicate with earth --- we will know soon)
Post Reply