Indian Space Program Discussion

Hiten · Post by **Hiten** » 03 Aug 2011 18:41

^^
a presentation that he made in 2009, though he did not speak just about the RLV program
http://www.tifr.res.in/~aset/full_text/FT_2009/TIFR.ppt

had posted the related slides from that presentation separately
http://www.aame.in/2011/08/america-indi ... ogram.html

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 05 Aug 2011 02:24

Very nice summary of standard environmental testing methods before launch. Not about Indian space but generic enough to warrant a post.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NPP_R ... g_999.html

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 17 Aug 2011 17:54

ISRO getting ready to launch Megha-Tropiques satellite

"Preparations are underway for launch of the satellite in September end", sources in the Bangalore-headquartered space agency told PTI today.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 17 Aug 2011 22:09

More details on the mission science.

http://meghatropiques.ipsl.polytechniqu ... ption.html

http://issdc.gov.in/megha.html

Hiten · Post by **Hiten** » 18 Aug 2011 00:20

25th Sept is the date quoted on 1 of the satellite launch tracking sites

3 piggyback payloads too to be launched - 2 Indonesian LAPAN-A2 & LAPAN-ORARI & 1 American Orbcomm's AIS Sat-1. Orbcomm is a return customer

http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http% ... _LAPAN.pdf

http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_tele ... layed.html

SSSalvi · Post by **SSSalvi** » 21 Aug 2011 14:59

^^^

1. The launch may be delayed to Oct .. Stacking of vehicle has just begun around mid August so Sept25 schedule is difficult. launch

'isro-watch' post in http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind ... ic=26391.0 .

2. There seems to be some mis-communication about Indonesian LAPAN-A2 & LAPAN-ORARI.

It is slated for launch in 2012.
Co-passanger of Megha-Tropiques seems to be Orbcom AIS-Sat-1 (equatorial).

http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/calendar.html?pid=6809
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index. ... c=1173.780

Maybe we have to wait for ISRO announcement for the actuals about this flight. ( Whenever that comes

.

SSSalvi · Post by **SSSalvi** » 22 Aug 2011 15:17

Some details about Orbcomm.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 24 Aug 2011 10:06

megha tropiques is much delayed per reports due to foot dragging by france over the years.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 29 Aug 2011 20:05

NASA/ISRO Image Shows Irene's Winds Before Landfall

This satellite image of Hurricane Irene, showing the storm's ocean-surface wind speed and direction, was acquired at 1:07 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27, approximately six hours before it hit the North Carolina coast. The data are provided courtesy of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the OSCAT instrument on ISRO's OceanSat 2 spacecraft, launched in September 2009. Wind vector data processing was performed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The OSCAT winds are obtained at 15-by-15-mile (25-by-25-kilometer) resolution and do not resolve the hurricane's maximum wind speeds, which occur at much finer scales.

Since NASA's QuikScat ocean wind satellite ceased nominal operations in November 2009, scientists and engineers from NASA, JPL, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have collaborated with ISRO in ongoing efforts to calibrate and validate OSCAT measurements in order to ensure continuous coverage of ocean vector winds for use by the global weather forecasting and climate community.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 31 Aug 2011 20:22

ISRO to build new class of powerful communication satellites.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to build a new class of powerful communication satellites that packs more capacity and new technologies, its chairman K Radhakrishnan said here on Wednesday.

This kind of spacecraft would handle larger amount of power and accommodate more number of transponders in the same satellite, he said adding ISRO planned to incorporate new technologies in them and get into higher bands.

"Today, we are at Ku band. We want to get into Ka band and even higher band. This is one of the priorities (in the coming five-year plan (which starts in April next year)", Radhakrishnan, who is also chairman of Space Commission and secretary in the department of space, said.

"In remote sensing (satellite field), we have to get into environmental studies and climate change studies. This is one requirement, new requirement (in the next five-year plan)," he said.

He said the Bangalore-headquartered ISRO would launch its first navigation satellite next year, under its Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) programme which would be followed by six more such spacecraft. "So, these will have live coverage over Indian region," Radhakrishnan said.

ISRO's GSLV today can carry satellites weighing 2.2 tons into space. Radhakrishnan said GSLV-Mk III (which can lift four tonne spacecraft) is going to be one of the "major targets" in the coming five-year plan.

Nick_S · Post by **Nick_S** » 02 Sep 2011 04:37

Not sure if this was posted earlier or not. Its a recent interview of the chairman of ISRO, Dr. K. Radhakrishnan.

http://indianspaceweb.blogspot.com/2011 ... -gslv.html
http://www.livemint.com/2011/07/0821384 ... e.html?h=B

Does it mean all major missions till Chandrayaan-2 will only use indigenous engines? Since the Russian engine has to be examined, will Chandrayaan-2 be delayed?

Yes, it has to be tested on indigenous cryogenic engines, and we’ll only use our engines for future launches, but that is not why there will be a delay. Historically, the Chandrayaan missions are a joint Indo-Soviet mission. The agreement was that the lander [that will descend on the moon] and the (lunar) rover (a robot vehicle) would be provided by the Russians. We wanted to put a smaller rover; it’s something new that we are developing. However, in Russia there was a rethink. They decided they’ll only develop the lander and some instruments related to it. That means India would have to make a bigger rover, a decision taken almost a year ago. There are also preliminary design reviews to be undertaken this year to select which instruments are to be carried onboard the mission. So it’s not only GSLV (engines); there are other reasons for the delay.

Next week you’re launching a satellite on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). When can we next expect a launch aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with our own cryogenic engine, given that previous attempts have resulted in failure?

Next year this time, we will be conducting flight stage tests (a preliminary to the launch). Flight stage readiness is one thing, but before it is inducted into a launch, we have to ensure that all the ground tests are okay. Also, when we launched the satellite in December, we used a very costly satellite (GSAT-5P)— almost Rs. 150 crore—with lots of features. This time we’ll go for a cheaper satellite (GSAT-14), something that doesn’t require much effort. At best, we’ll be able to put in some transponders in the C-band. If the vehicle underperforms, it won’t be much of a loss. If this one goes well, we will launch the GSAT-6, the “famous” one (that was embroiled in the Isro-Devas row). This, too, will go only on an indigenously developed cryogenic engine. After that it will be Chandrayaan-2 (scheduled for around 2013). There are also changes in the whole GSLV vehicle per se. From 1.5-tonne payloads, we’ve now reached about 2.2-tonne payloads. The biggest change effected is the size of the heat shield [a protective sheath that also determines the size of communication satellites to be put into orbit] and the materials we use for it. We’ve gone from 3.5m heat shields to 4m, and use composites [such as plastic fibre] instead of metal. For GSLV Mark-3, we may have to use 5m shields.

Why is developing a GSLV so difficult?

We’ve bought seven cryogenic engines from Russia, of which we’ve used six. The results coming out of GSLV have been mixed. Sometimes unforeseen obstacles don’t emerge until it’s actually launched. For instance, when we tried to launch last April using (an) indigenous cryogenic engine, all the preliminary stages were fine and our cryogenic engine ignited—and ignition in vacuum is a difficult thing. But after a few seconds, it stopped. For it to keep going, another device called a two-steering engine (or turbo pumps, which keep the launcher steady) ought to ignite, too. This will ignite only if hydrogen and oxygen are present in exact amounts. When we looked into it, there are several possible explanations as to why the turbo pumps stopped: There are three bearings for these turbo pumps; the bearings must rotate without being (distorted) out of shape by the liquid hydrogen fuel it is submerged into. It could also be that the turbo pumps were blown out of shape. There are several things that can go wrong, and each time we have to test from scratch and develop new solutions. While all these have been looked into, we have to undertake a full ground test, before we can be sure that this will work in flight. Hopefully, this flight stage should be ready for testing in March 2012.

So what about the seventh cryogenic engine from Russia? There were reports that both Isro and Russia disagreed on technical reasons for the failure of the most recent GSLV mission in December.

The last two engines (the sixth and seventh) have greater thrust than previous engines. They was supplied in 2004 and 2005, and stored in specified conditions. So the reason for the failure (in December) was the inadvertent snapping of the connectors, well before time [connectors are critical for controlling the vehicle]. This happened because the shroud gave away (the shroud is a casing that separates the liquid and solid stages of the launch cover). It’s a cover that sits on (the) bottom of the cryogenic stage. Now, why did the shroud go? Was it the 4m heat shield? We then realized that it was the inherent vulnerability of the shroud. The shroud was at the bottom of the cryogenic stage. There were 10 connectors in two stages, and both gave way. Initially, the Russians said it was our 4m shield that was responsible. We put both our analyses, and finally the Russians also came around. We then decided that the seventh engine has to be inspected, too. We did it and found that they weren’t made in the dimensions specified to in the document. There are lots of shortcomings, and the Russians admitted it. Now, the point is that this has to be corrected before it can be used for launch and would require a detailed inspection by them.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 02 Sep 2011 05:34

Did Russians deliberately supply the cryogenic engine not buit to specifications and sabotaged the Indian GSLV development? Yelstin was Yoked by Yanky and figured this way out to humor both India and America.

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 02 Sep 2011 08:51

^^^ your theory has some weight. Because American atlas launch vehicles use Russian cryogenic engines . But by both Russian and Indian analysts the engines were not directly the cause for trouble .Some connectors or size related problems. AoA by next year end we ll have 3 types of mid-heavy pay load launch vehicles.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Sep 2011 21:47

No. I think its the as-built was not per design drawings. Hence the differences. however when they were bought off by QA for ISRO were the non conformances not noted?

VenkataS · Post by **VenkataS** » 03 Sep 2011 01:30

We then decided that the seventh engine has to be inspected, too. We did it and found that they weren’t made in the dimensions specified to in the document. There are lots of shortcomings, and the Russians admitted it. Now, the point is that this has to be corrected before it can be used for launch and would require a detailed inspection by them.

Yes why weren't the discrepancies identified prior to the flight. As soon as it received the engines ISRO should have made sure that they were made to specification.

I think ISRO would need to rectify on their QA processes so that they can catch these kinds of things prior to actual flights.

PratikDas · Post by **PratikDas** » 03 Sep 2011 12:21

We're making the assumption that they'd have engineering drawings to compare the engine to and therefore find discrepancies. This might not be the case. The drawings might only have been forthcoming after the failure.

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 03 Sep 2011 16:13

were not the GSLV'S redesigned a good deal in the last few years? The engines were bought a lot earlier . So that could be the reason for misfit .

PratikDas · Post by **PratikDas** » 04 Sep 2011 12:55

The engine failed due to its own defects. ISRO has proved there was no issue with the rest of the vehicle, which was Indian.

nithish · Post by **nithish** » 05 Sep 2011 05:03

Indian students discover 5 asteroids

Five asteroids, including a rare Trojan asteroid, have been discovered by ten Indian students during an international astronomy project. Of the ten students, two are from Delhi, who discovered a main belt asteroid (2011 QM14) in August as part of the All India Asteroid Search Campaign (AIASC).

Vaibhav Sapra and Sharanjeet Singh, both Class XII students of Bal Bharti Public School, Pitampura, will get to name the asteroid.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 05 Sep 2011 07:27

Slow pace of work by US frustrated ISRO, HAL

SriKumar · Post by **SriKumar** » 05 Sep 2011 19:41

Nick_S wrote:Not sure if this was posted earlier or not. Its a recent interview of the chairman of ISRO, Dr. K. Radhakrishnan.

http://indianspaceweb.blogspot.com/2011 ... -gslv.html
http://www.livemint.com/2011/07/0821384 ... e.html?h=B
Why is developing a GSLV so difficult?

We’ve bought seven cryogenic engines from Russia, of which we’ve used six. The results coming out of GSLV have been mixed. Sometimes unforeseen obstacles don’t emerge until it’s actually launched. For instance, when we tried to launch last April using (an) indigenous cryogenic engine, all the preliminary stages were fine and our cryogenic engine ignited—and ignition in vacuum is a difficult thing. But after a few seconds, it stopped. For it to keep going, another device called a two-steering engine (or turbo pumps, which keep the launcher steady) ought to ignite, too. This will ignite only if hydrogen and oxygen are present in exact amounts. When we looked into it, there are several possible explanations as to why the turbo pumps stopped: There are three bearings for these turbo pumps; the bearings must rotate without being (distorted) out of shape by the liquid hydrogen fuel it is submerged into. It could also be that the turbo pumps were blown out of shape. There are several things that can go wrong, and each time we have to test from scratch and develop new solutions. While all these have been looked into, we have to undertake a full ground test, before we can be sure that this will work in flight. Hopefully, this flight stage should be ready for testing in March 2012.

Thanks for the post, Nick_S. So it is conclusive that the ignition took place and lasted several seconds. This is good to know for a fact. Since the turbo pumps failed to come on, the question would be, 'did they even start, or did they start and shutdown'. I would think data would be available for this. So they have a several possible causes and need to run tests to confirm. Another grey area with multiple possibilities. (Added later: Dr. RK says 'turbo pumps stopped'. Suggests that they started and shut down).

We then decided that the seventh engine has to be inspected, too. We did it and found that they weren’t made in the dimensions specified to in the document. There are lots of shortcomings, and the Russians admitted it.

Sad. I am thinking that there are contractual restrictions that would not allow ISRO to inspect the parts. Would the Russian turbo pumps be off-limits? I would think so, since ISRO is trying to develop one. So, ISRO has to trust them, but this is what happened the last time. Stalemate. Dr. Radhakrishnan points to 'lots of shortcomings' so there are additional issues. In a way this is good. Both ISRO and the Ruskies now know that ISRO cannot use the engine in an 'as is' form and treat it as a black box.

Found this article dated April 18, 2010 that spells out that the cryo ignited but was not sustained. Cause of failure of turbo pumps not commented on.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/techno ... 402907.ece

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Sep 2011 16:22

Over 100 students from space varsity join ISRO
Very encouraging

It was a small step and a sigh for the space organisation when the first batch of 117 young graduates came out of its captive nursery and joined its various centres last month. At one stroke, they filled nearly half of ISRO's annual recruitment needs. And they kept the space technology talent pool alive and thriving, according to some senior scientists at the Bangalore headquarters.

The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology was started in September 2007 as the brain child of the then Chairman, Mr G. Madhavan Nair. That was the time ISRO's eight centres were losing over 100 people or a third of what it hires each year, during 2004-06, and it was mostly to the high-paying Infotech sector.

The tide may not have turned fully but there is a difference. As IIST's Director, Dr K.S. Dasgupta, said, “At ISRO, our students start out with a package of Rs 40,000 (a month). They get paid better than the best in the industry, or Infosys for that matter. There are many hidden benefits such as staff quarters, loans, medical reimbursement, besides overseas trips.” It is also the largesse from the Sixth Pay Commission that came into effect in 2008 to fight the private sector which was taking away staff of premier public research organisations.

According to Dr Dasgupta, youngsters now do not think twice about joining the space agency. This year, the Thiruvananthapuram-based institute received 93,000 applications for 150 seats compared to around 80,000 last year.

The four-year State-funded course is entirely free, along with free books, hostel and canteen facilities in the 55-acre campus nestling ISRO's propulsion hub, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala. “More than meeting our own requirements, we mean to catch young minds and groom them for ISRO,” said Dr Dasgupta. “IIT Bombay and a very few other institutes offer aerospace courses but our grooming is definitely different. The IIST graduates have worked at our centres, with our scientists, on projects and are familiar with the system. They are productive from Day 1 while normally we put other new recruits through an induction programme.”

Other similar organisations like HAL, NAL and DRDO also have a large need for aerospace engineers. But IIST's graduates can land only in ISRO centres and work through a five-year bond. Those who want out have to shell out Rs 10 lakh — just a couple of lakhs more than what the institution would have spent on each of them.

IIST, whose Chancellor is Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, offers aerospace, avionics and physical sciences — each stream should keep the organisation's and the nation's R&D fires burning. Rocket dynamics, strong navigational and guidance focus that is normally not covered in other institutions, besides on-board radio frequency systems for satellite communication as well as some acquaintance with astronomy and astrophysics.

These and other newbies will be filling in the vacancies that arise from 200-250 retirements within the 16,000-plus space agency each year. “Of course we have to wait for the centres' assessments on how good our students are in their work and suitably improve the syllabus,” he said.

Four years ago, just before the institute was launched, a concerned Mr Nair had lamented that the private sector's wage structure was to blame for the flight of talent from agencies like ISRO. In an interaction with Business Line, he had advocated self-regulation including a ceiling on the maximum salary that the industry pays, in the larger interest. Will the IIST and the new big bucks in the public sector change the story?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 Sep 2011 08:48

Indo-French climate satellite set for Oct. 12 launch

Megha-Tropiques, the novel Indo-French climate satellite, is planned for launch on October 12.

The 1,000-kg satellite - a combination of the Sanskrit ‘megha' or cloud and the French word for the tropics - will give a better understanding of the crucial convection systems, humidity in the tropics, said ISRO's Chairman, Dr K. Radhakrishnan.

ISRO and French National Space Centre (CNES) equally share the project that was conceived in the late 1990s.

The satellite, with around Rs 80 crore worth of Indian contribution including the satellite bus and launcher, is being moved to Sriharikota on September 14 for launch on a PSLV rocket, Dr Radhakrishnan announced on Saturday.

Increase frequencies

According to Dr R.R. Navalgund, Director, Space Applications Centre at Ahmedabad, it was now a challenge to forecast tropical weather or rainfall even three-four days in advance due to the vagaries of tropical atmosphere; the temperate zone countries could do 12-day forecasts. Megha-Tropiques was expected to change this.

Dr Navalgund said the present satellites had a repeat visit over a region once in 35 days; this satellite would return six times a day.

“Everyone is eagerly looking forward to having these frequencies.” It would be put in an orbit of over 800 km from Earth's surface and was built to last five years.

The role of the project was enlarging and it was set to join the Global Precipitation Constellation Mission (GPCM) being put up by the US and Japan.

The GPCM itself had got postponed and Megha-Tropiques would give its sponsor countries a scientific edge.

low-Earth orbit

It carries four key instruments, one called MADRAS being developed by ISRO. A national and an international team of 21 investigators each would study the data.

Dr V. Jayaraman, former Director or Earth Observation Systems at ISRO HQ and the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad, who was closely involved in the project, said this was the first of its kind in the low-Earth orbit and there was worldwide expectation of it.

The payload development had been honed over the last six years.

What started as a bilateral project is going to be a multilateral one.

The turbulent tropics were the missing link in understanding global warming, climate change, and phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina.

Megha-Tropiques should give an integrated global picture of the tropics 20 degrees north and south of the Equator, in a band ranging from South-East Asia through Africa and South America. Its data would form a big scientific base for the country.

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 12 Sep 2011 09:56

India to set up a new satellite launching site

IIRC, this was supposed to be accomodated in SHAR. May be they are diversifying the launch sites.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Sep 2011 12:06

I hope the new spaceport is to the south of Sriharikota. It will also have to be on the east coast.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Sep 2011 16:55

takleef in canadian newspapers about a new space competitiveness index report that shows India can crossed Canada into 6th place.

abhishek-nayak · Post by **abhishek-nayak** » 12 Sep 2011 17:27

why are these gora sahebs so jealous of India's advancement in space sector?

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 12 Sep 2011 19:13

Sriharikota to be developed as an assembling hub

SHAR uses will be different in future. This explains why they are looking for another launch site, which I posted above.

Sridhar · Post by **Sridhar** » 12 Sep 2011 23:13

SSridhar wrote:I hope the new spaceport is to the south of Sriharikota. It will also have to be on the east coast.

A new spaceport south of Sriharikota would not be better for launches of geostationary satellites, although a location close to say Kanyakumari would be useful for polar launches (and some future LEO missions, e.g. the human mission), as it would avoid the dog leg maneuver around Sri Lanka that is required from SHAR. For geo launches, Sri Lanka is in the way for a site like Kanyakumari.

I don't think it would be optimal to build a new site that is optimized primarily for polar launches.

Maybe a site in the Nicobar islands? There is Indonesia to the east, but perhaps a location can be found such that the distance of the nearest inhabited island in Indonesia along the launch path is far enough for comfort. But then, it would require other infrastructure to set up a space port in the Andamans when all the labs and manufacturing facilities are on the mainland.

Or maybe we can lease (on say a 99 year lease term) an uninhabited island in the Maldives. An island in the southern end of the Maldives could be perfect for both geo and polar missions. However, there is the issue of rising sea waters swallowing much of the Maldives in the next few decades, and then of course the issue of having a strategic facility on a foreign land.

In any case, I don't think there is a site that is perfect on all fronts. Else, it would have been chosen instead of SHAR in the 1970s itself.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 13 Sep 2011 05:42

The below quote was posted in the LCA discussion eons ago.....

enqyoob wrote: abhiti opines:
No ISRO doesn't face the same dynamics as GTRE. Unlike GTRE, ISRO doesn't need to match LM + NASA to last 10% of performance. But matching the last 10-15% is paramount for a fighter engine.
Let's see:

1. The commercial satellite launch market is one of the most cut-throat of all markets. Please GOOGLE "FUTRON" for reports on what has happened there. ISRO has to succeed in getting orders for commercial satellite launches there, and then fight all the govt. sanctions etc. etc. to get these payloads approved.

Now.....
Futron Corporation Releases Fourth Annual Space Competitiveness Index

India, one of only two countries to leapfrog positions in the 2011 results, is enhancing its space-related technical education in pursuit of next-generation launch goals.

India is now @ number 6: http://www.futron.com/1254.xml?id=1045
Some Canadians and Americans don't like it: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/10 ... 1#comments

Yugandhar · Post by **Yugandhar** » 13 Sep 2011 07:10

Why did we abandon Thumba? is it because of the population around it? we do continue to use it for sounding rockets. does anyone know the reasons?

thanks

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 13 Sep 2011 08:18

It is an insult to be compared with Canada.... Canada hardly has a space programme...

And we are ahead of japan.... japan has not launched any re-entry capsule...we should be 4th behaind unkil, russia and Oirope...

lifafa work from Futron...

Nick_S · Post by **Nick_S** » 13 Sep 2011 10:40

There are a couple of videos over here -

http://www.isro.org/video.aspx

First one is the S200 booster static test for the GSLV Mk3.

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 13 Sep 2011 19:44

ISRO scientist dies of cardiac arrest

http://zeenews.india.com/news/jammu-and ... 31337.html

KrishG · Post by **KrishG** » 13 Sep 2011 21:27

gakakkad wrote:And we are ahead of japan.... japan has not launched any re-entry capsule...we should be 4th behaind unkil, russia and Oirope...

They have as a matter of fact. They have done it long before India did it. The Japanese have a better space capabilities compared to even China. But, their space program has a very specific set of aims and limited budget else they would be ahead of the Russians even.

Yugandhar wrote:Why did we abandon Thumba? is it because of the population around it? we do continue to use it for sounding rockets. does anyone know the reasons?

Almost all rockets will fly eastwards, so it is a requisite for the spaceports to have large uninhabited areas to their east. This is of more serious concern when launching large rockets which have the capacity to do a lot of damage were they to crash into populated areas. The new location should be somewhere on the southern east coast.

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 13 Sep 2011 23:52

KrishG wrote: Almost all rockets will fly eastwards, so it is a requisite for the spaceports to have large uninhabited areas to their east. This is of more serious concern when launching large rockets which have the capacity to do a lot of damage were they to crash into populated areas. The new location should be somewhere on the southern east coast.

Vandenberg AFB is rather close to LA

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Sep 2011 00:29

V'Burg is used for polar launches.

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 14 Sep 2011 03:14

Ramana-saar, dont they do GEO shots from Vandenberg with the new Delta family? Btw, my original point was, those polar launches sort of go towards LA in the south (need not be that populated areas are just to the east) dont it? I was wondering what is the minimum range safety radius for launches, as India does not seem to have a lot of options, unless it is Balasore or the islands.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 14 Sep 2011 06:06

gakakkad wrote:It is an insult to be compared with Canada.... Canada hardly has a space programme...

And we are ahead of japan.... japan has not launched any re-entry capsule...we should be 4th behaind unkil, russia and Oirope...

lifafa work from Futron...

Based on the executive summary Japan had 24 orbital launches vs India's 15. Japan manufactured 57 spacecrafts, while India manufactured 27.

Lifafa or not....this is what it says:

WHAT IS FUTRON’S SPACE COMPETITIVENESS INDEX?

Futron’s Space Competitiveness Index is a globally-focused framework that defines, quantifies, and ranks national competitiveness in the conception, implementation, and execution of space activity. By measuring the underlying drivers of economic advantage, the methodology is designed to assess the ability of a country to undertake space activity and evaluate its relative performance within a globally competitive space arena and international marketplace. The SCI goes beyond a typical economic assessment to consider the comparative space-related strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for 10 leading space-participant nations: Brazil, Canada, China, Europe (treated as a single integrated actor), India, Israel, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. These nations are compared on the basis of more than 50 individual qualitative and quantitative metrics, each collected for all 10 nations, which span three overarching competitiveness dimensions: government, human capital, and industry. Futron Corporation evaluates these indicators using a proprietary data model whose assumptions are annually reviewed and refined. The resulting scores form the foundation of the index itself, which is then interpreted through a written analysis featuring country-by-country profiles of national space activities and competitiveness dynamics. The integrated result is an annual report, published by Futron Corporation each year since 2008: Futron’s Space Competitiveness Index.

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 14 Sep 2011 07:43

Q&A: K Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO
'We need more launch pads and transponders'
Praveen Bose / September 14, 2011, 0:27 IST
http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... ro/449096/

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has had a challenging time in recent years and chairman K Radhakrishnan talks to Praveen Bose about some of this. Edited excerpts:

You have been increasing the frequency of launches. What are you doing to increase the launch capacity?

We are planning a third launch pad at SHAR (the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at Sriharikota island, off the Andhra coast). A launch blocks the pad for nearly 60 days. To increase the frequency, we need more launch pads. We are seeing what the requirements are.
It is not just for the GSLV Mark-III (the new launch vehicle being planned) alone that we are in need of a launch pad. We are also planning a unified configuration launch vehicle. It is a semi-cryogenic and cryogenic stage-I. Unified configuration has the growth potential. The third launch pad will take care of this requirement. It may also be used in possible human flights. All the launch pads should be such that we should be able to use the common facilities. We are planning such an infrastructure at Sriharikota. Meanwhile, we are also considering a second launch site. We are now talking of a feasibility study of this.

What kind of technologies are you developing and how are you planning to expand the infrastructure?
We have developed a flex nozzle that’s used even in the PSLV, due to which the vehicle can be controlled remotely. But, it’s a small one. In GSLV Mark-III, the requirement is enormous. The development of the vehicle is on and infrastructure at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and at SHAR are being enhanced for this.

Isro can today launch a four tonne-class geostationary satellite. If it is in the low-earth orbit, then we can go up to 10 tonnes. In the GSLV, 50 per cent of the velocity will be provided by the cryogenic stage. All studies, though, are to be done. Solid motors and boosters are not flexible. However, they’re now steerable because of the flexible technology. We have the actuator requirement and the ability to have materials that can withstand very high temperatures.

What is the transponder shortage for India? How do you intend to make up?
There is gap of about 200 transponders in the country. We have had to take transponders on lease. Isro is trying to find if a satellite can be moved to the Indian orbital slot. In addition to hiring transponders, we will repeat GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 types of satellites and increase capacity. But, this will happen during the second half of 2012. We have been working to get transponders from abroad. We have got good proposals. We have to finalise on the need. Commercial evaluation is on. It is in the right direction. Isro is exploring possibilities of taking on rent a foreign satellite for a couple of years and acquiring more foreign transponders on lease.

What is the progress on the attempt to augment transponder capacity?
We have 86.5 transponders on lease. We facilitate the process. In the next few months, we will get some more on lease. Earlier, we had 151 transponders. With the GSAT-8 and GSAT-12, we will have 36 more transponders with the launch of GSAT-10 in the second quarter of 2012. It will be launched on board Ariane-5 (the rockets made by the European Space Agency, used to launch payloads into low Earth orbit).

We are getting ready to have a contract with Ariane. The GSAT-10 will have three types of transponders, in the Ku, C and extended-C bands. We will also repeat the GSAT-8 and GSAT-10. The satellites will be 3.3-3.4 tonne class of satellites. At the end of the 11th five-year Plan (March 2012), we will have 251 transponders; the target was 500. Several satellites failed. Insat-4B had a partial failure. Then, the capacity fell to 152. Then, we added Insat-4CR.

You are lately encouraging students and universities to build small satellites. How does it help Isro?
The student satellites are Isro’s programme for the academic community. Here, students and faculty learn about all systems — engineering and other aspects of a satellite. They get a feel of the whole process for building one. Plus, we get data, and we analyse it. It helps Isro. We are developing people who are interested. We are able to get projects like Anusat, which is a small satellite with good instruments. We want to promote such endeavours. We have a template for this. Some IITs want to develop basic instruments for satellites.