Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

[shaun]

Out of craziness, i was looking for astrosat data (with a weird thought if it could be used to communicate with CY2). Came across that astrosat has completed 3 years (i knew) and has the released the data for public (didnt know)
https://www.isro.gov.in/update/26-sep-2 ... t-released

Although the link doest open for me as I am in office..but will try later in the day..(not that i can do much with it). But its a great thing for kids to get excited.
On that note, I find ISRO site very poor. They must have some good images that we can use from MY, CY Orbiter and other means to release to public.

You will find some hi-res pics here

http://astron-soc.in/outreach/all-apoms/

[ArjunPandit]

^^that is wow!! thanks for the update...

[Vips]

Gaganyaan Mission: Indian Air Force shortlists ten future astronauts for India’s manned space mission.

At the end of rigorous training at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), the Indian Air Force (IAF) has identified at least ten officers out of which two will be the final choice for going on the first manned mission Gaganyaan slated for 2022. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior officer at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that “The mission could be a bit delayed as the focus is to find out what went wrong during the Chandrayaan-2 mission. The IAF is the main organisation which is going to do the final selection of the future astronauts.

He also clarified that no one particular has been finalised. “It is all temporary names that you hear. Wait, for the final names which will be announced by the IAF.” The IAF in consultation with ISRO prepared an extensive road map for the selection and training of the future astronauts for the first-ever manned mission from India. And it was decided that only test pilots will be part of the mission combined with their psychological strength.

A top IAF officer confirmed that “Selection process was in three phases, at the end of which ten have been down selected. However, only six will go for advance training to Russia. The selection started with 100 candidates who were identified based on certain QRs which were followed. Only two will be chosen to finally go on the mission.”

To a question about any woman candidate being selected, a senior officer clarified that “There is no woman candidate who has enough experience as a fighter pilot or as a test pilot. Very recently only three women have joined the fighter pilot stream.”

The selection process was based on volunteers as well as those who were selected from amongst the flight engineers, pilots, fighter pilots and test pilots. Earlier this year, both IAF and ISRO signed an MoU for the training of the future astronauts. After IAM, the next phase will be at the space agency’s Human Space Flight Centre. This centre was opened up earlier this year.

For the training in Russia, the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities and ISRO have signed an MoU and will be working together on the first manned space mission.

The final six selected by IAF will be sent to Russia for a short module of training onboard a Soyuz spacecraft.

How were ten down selected?
According to IAF at the IAM, the test pilots had to go through all kinds of tests which included gruelling physical exercises, radiological tests and well as psychological tests.

Gaganyaan Manned Mission 2022
The Astronauts will be addressed as “Vyomnauts” . A GSLV MK-III will be used to carry the orbital module. So far, ISRO has said that there will be provisions for carrying provisions for three-member crew, Whether there will be two or three crew, it is not clear yet.
The whole programme is going to cost Rs 10,000 crore. This is expected to include the cost of technology development, and flight hardware and also critical infrastructure elements. So far, ISRO has spent Rs 173 crore in developing major technologies which are needed for human space flight. To accomplish the Gaganyaan Programme Objectives, space agency will collaborate with national agencies, laboratories, academia and industry

[Indranil]

Looks like SC120 will be air ignited and SC200 would be ground lit.

The fuel will be Isrosene. The SC120 will have 39,951 kgs of fuel.

[Ashokk]

ISRO moves on, gears up to test semi-cryogenic engine in Ukraine

ISRO has put its disappointment over the not-so-successful moonlanding behind it and has begun to look forward — to the next missions. On the cards is a clutch of launches, starting from PSLV 47 later this month. But the next big milestone is the testing of the semi-cryogenic engine — in Ukraine.

The semi-cryogenic engine is fully ready now, S Somnath, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, a unit of ISRO, told BusinessLine. When ready for operation, the semi-cryo will raise ISRO’s carrying capacity from 4 tonnes to 6 tonnes, all the way up to the Geosynchronous orbit, 36,000 km above earth.

India and Ukraine signed, on June 2, 2005, a Framework Agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

It is believed that this also involved transfer of blueprints for a rocket engine. Even the liquid propellant-fired Vikas engine, used in GSLV’s lower (core) stage was first tested in France, recalls a former ISRO executive.
Technological leap

The ₹1,800-crore SCE-200, where 200 refers to the number of tonnes of thrust it kicks, is a big technological leap. It is a very complex machine and its development is no less a technological challenge than Chandrayaan-2, say sources in ISRO.

The cryogenic engine that sits at the top of the GSLV rocket is a small one, of 20 tonnes of thrust, which is only slightly more than what a Pratt & Whitney 1000G engine, fitted onto a A320 aircraft, delivers.

After all, the cryogenic engine does not need to carry a very heavy load on its head — the heavy lifting is done by the lower stages of the rocket, which detach and fall into the sea after they expend themselves.

On the other hand, the semi-cryogenic engine, which is based on Ukrainian company KB Yuzhnoe’s RD-810 engine design, will be located at the lower part of the rocket and is meant to do the heavy lifting. It generates a whopping 200 tonnes of thrust; the pressure inside its combustion chambers is about 190 times the atmospheric pressure that we feel on our bodies all the time.

The SCE-200 is good in another way too — its fuel is kerosene, kept in the tank at room temperature. (The oxidiser is liquid oxygen, kept in cryogenic conditions so that it remains liquid.)

Kerosene is a far ‘greener’ fuel than the unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH) that is currently used in Indian rockets, which is also highly toxic and carcinogenic.
A new AVATAR

ISRO’s rocketry has many ambitious milestones to cross. First, there is the re-usable launch vehicle but the real meat is to come later, hopefully by 2025, when the AVATAR vehicle will become operational.

Jointly developed by ISRO and Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), AVATAR will be a space plane that can take off and land from airfields, like commercial aircraft. It will be a technological marvel, which will collect air on its way up, separate oxygen from it and store the gas on-board for space use.

Apart from bringing down the cost of launching satellites incredibly, to under $100 a kg, the AVATAR is also expected to make ‘space solar stations’ possible. These are solar power plants in space that will produce electricity and beam it down as microwaves.

Today, taking up tonnes of material to build such a station makes it uneconomical, but AVATAR could favourably invert the economics of it. Incidentally, China has made substantial progress in building the first ever SSS.

In the meantime, ISRO is also trying to master the technology for ‘docking’ with a space station, so that Indian astronauts and supplies can be ferried up and down. ISRO indeed has little time to grieve over Chandrayaan-2.

[SaiK]

@Vayutuvan CY2 FF here. Cushioned landing vs. Inflated Parachuting?

Why inflated balloon or parachuting to reduce speed is less better over say inflating a balloon (assume it is possible to protrude four legs with holes for the engine to thrust out [I just changed my thoughts for lack of tech knawlij ]) ?

I am going WAG! bhavAn kathayatu

[Vayutuvan]

@Vayutuvan CY2 FF here. Cushioned landing vs. Inflated Parachuting?

Why inflated balloon or parachuting to reduce speed is less better over say inflating a balloon (assume it is possible to protrude four legs with holes for the engine to thrust out [I just changed my thoughts for lack of tech knawlij ]) ?

I am going WAG! bhavAn kathayatu

There is no atmosphere on the moon. So parachuting will not work nor does an inflated balloon. Inflated balloon slows the descent due to buoyancy. Otherwise, all objects, irrespective of their mass, fall at the same rate.

Lack of atmosphere is better in one sense. Lander need not be provided with a heat shield. But the descent had to be slowed down by a counterforce hence the rockets.

Cushioning with some sacrificial unfolded structure might be better. That said, it is hard to envision something that can cushion an object with a mass of [1500-625] KG object which has 50 meters per second velocity.

[Vips]

Isro signs MoUs with DRDO labs for Human Space Mission.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has signed MoUs with various Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) labs to provide technologies for human-centric systems and technologies specific to the Human Space Mission.

A delegation of Isro scientists, led by Director, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) S Unnikrishnan Nair signed a set of MoUs with various DRDO labs.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr G Satheesh Reddy said that the technological capabilities existing in DRDO laboratories for defence applications will be customised to meet the requirements of Isro's human space mission. Some of the critical technologies to be provided by DRDO to Isro include space food, space crew health monitoring and emergency survival kit, radiation measurement and protection, and parachutes for safe recovery of crew module.

DG (Life Sciences), Dr A K Singhadded, DRDO is committed to provide all necessary support to Isro for the human space flight and customisation of the required technologies has already been initiated to meet the stringent timelines.

Isro aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability before the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022.

[jaysimha]

https://dhi.nic.in/

contributions to Indian space program..

[jaysimha]

Chandrayaan-2 is not only ISRO's proud moment, but of a Mumbai and Bhubaneswar PSU too
Two central government entities - Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC), Bhubaneswar and Institute for Design of Electrical Measuring Instruments (IDEMI), Mumbai - both the instituions had supported the Chandrayaan-2 Mission by way of supplying critical components and was betting high on the success of the mission

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/ec ... 77825.html

[Varoon Shekhar]

ISRO efforts in methane engines, article mentions a start up involved in hydrogen pyroxide based motors/engines

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ne ... epage=true

In its endeavour to develop cutting-edge technologies that are on par with elsewhere in the world, Indian space agency, ISRO, is developing methane-powered rocket engines. Methane, which can be synthesised with water and carbon dioxide in space, is often described as the space fuel of the future

[Varoon Shekhar]

x-posted from Chandrayaan subject

One of the PSLV flight was doomed because a nozzle of engine was 1 or 2mm more in dia than the design value resulting in less torque.


Root cause .. Material incoming QC failure.

Interesting, which one was that. The first PSLV(D-1, Sept 1993) failed, narrowly, because of a software error in separation of 3rd stage from 2nd stage.

The next failure was many years later in August 2017, when the heat shield failed to separate because of some faulty mechanism in the heat shield separation system. Could you be referrring to one of the GSLV Mk 1 failures( 2 major ones).

[kit]

ISRO moves on, gears up to test semi-cryogenic engine in Ukraine

ISRO has put its disappointment over the not-so-successful moonlanding behind it and has begun to look forward — to the next missions. On the cards is a clutch of launches, starting from PSLV 47 later this month. But the next big milestone is the testing of the semi-cryogenic engine — in Ukraine.

The semi-cryogenic engine is fully ready now, S Somnath, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, a unit of ISRO, told BusinessLine. When ready for operation, the semi-cryo will raise ISRO’s carrying capacity from 4 tonnes to 6 tonnes, all the way up to the Geosynchronous orbit, 36,000 km above earth.

India and Ukraine signed, on June 2, 2005, a Framework Agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

It is believed that this also involved transfer of blueprints for a rocket engine. Even the liquid propellant-fired Vikas engine, used in GSLV’s lower (core) stage was first tested in France, recalls a former ISRO executive.

The semi-cryogenic engine is fully ready now, S Somnath, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, a unit of ISRO, told BusinessLine. When ready for operation, the semi-cryo will raise ISRO’s carrying capacity from 4 tonnes to 6 tonnes, all the way up to the Geosynchronous orbit, 36,000 km above earth.

Would this be able to power a Chandrayan 3 all the way to lunar orbit ?

[Varoon Shekhar]

Mangalyaan is five!

https://www.news18.com/news/india/plann ... 21227.html

New Delhi: The Mangalyaan mission, which was initially meant to last six months, completed five years of orbiting Mars on Tuesday and is likely to continue for some more time, ISRO chief K Sivan said.




In the last five years, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's first interplanetary endeavour, helped India's space agency prepare a Martian Atlas based on the images provided by the orbiter, Sivan told PTI.


"It's working and continuously sending pictures. It still has some time to go," Sivan said.

Asked about Mangalyaan 2, he said work is going on and there is no dec

[Kakarat]

ISRO has a new tender for new MOBILE LAUNCH PEDESTAL for GSLV MKIII with semi-cryo engine. according to it SC120 will be air lit similar to L110 and SC200 will be ground lit
https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/f ... -11890.pdf

[Indranil]

Looks like SC120 will be air ignited and SC200 would be ground lit.

The fuel will be Isrosene. The SC120 will have 39,951 kgs of fuel.

Kakarat sir, you are late by 11 days!

They also had tenders for the trailers to carry these stages. They gave the dimensions. I had posted about it here. The SC120 is slightly taller than the L110. They are upgrading the C25 to C32.

How I wish they would replace PSLV with SC120+C15 and GSLV Mk2 with 3*SC120+C32+C15. But, I know it won't happen.

[Vips]

IIsro to hold space-docking experiment next year, a step towards setting up space station.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is now gearing up to conduct a space docking experiment (Spadex) next year.Talking to TOI, Isro chairman K Sivan says, “We are going to conduct a docking experiment next year in which two experimental modules will be sent to space (on board a PSLV rocket) and the two will be made to dock with each other in space.”

The space agency has to master the complex docking technology as it is an essential building-block process for setting up the country’s own space
station and sending humans to that station. It involves latching of one satellite with another with the help on-board cameras and constant
monitoring by the earth station. The process is complex as it involves controlling the speed of the two satellites and bringing them together so that they can dock and become a larger structure.

However, Sivan clarified that the next year's test doesn’t mean that the space station programme will start from this experiment as the concrete plan for the space station will emerge only after the human spaceflight programme or Gaganyaan mission is launched by December 2021. Under the Gaganyaan mission, three humans will be sent to space for 5 to 7 days for doing microgravity tests and other space experiments.

Earlier, the Isro chief had announced, “The Indian space station will have a mass of 20 tonnes and be used for scientific studies, including microgravity tests. It will have a provision for a few people to live for 15-20 days.” If successful in setting up its own space station in 5 to 7 years, India will become the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to have its own station.

In June this year, Isro had asked researchers to use the fourth stage of its workhorse PSLV rocket to find ways to dock a robotic arm with the spacecraft soon after Sivan made an announcement in Delhi about the desi space station.

Space docking is broadly meant for two purposes—for sending human beings from a shuttle to a space station or for assembling large satellites in space. The International Space Station, a joint project of five space agencies — Nasa (US), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), CSA (Canada)— was also constructed between 1998 and 2011 with the help of the docking technology. Building the complete ISS required over 40 assembly flights.

As of today, the International Space Station (operational and permanently inhabited) is the only fully functional space station in the Earth's orbit. Previous space stations, which either became defunct or fell on the Earth, included Russia’s Almaz, Salyut series and Mir, Nasa’s Skylab and China’s Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. However, China and Russia and a few private companies are planning to set up other stations in coming decades.

[Vayutuvan]

^ Is there any reason why ISRO wants to set up its own space station rather than join a consortium? ISS is a success by any measure. The fear may be that China won't play nice now that their space program has advanced a lot.

[Shalav]

The peasant needs to prove he can hunt and bring his own food to the table before the lairds share their table with him. It's share and share alike after the first feast.

[prasannasimha]

One of the goals of SPADEX is also satellite refuelling and upgrading. Its not just about space stations.

[juvva]

x-posted from Chandrayaan subject

One of the PSLV flight was doomed because a nozzle of engine was 1 or 2mm more in dia than the design value resulting in less torque.


Root cause .. Material incoming QC failure.

Interesting, which one was that. The first PSLV(D-1, Sept 1993) failed, narrowly, because of a software error in separation of 3rd stage from 2nd stage.

The next failure was many years later in August 2017, when the heat shield failed to separate because of some faulty mechanism in the heat shield separation system. Could you be referrring to one of the GSLV Mk 1 failures( 2 major ones).

IIRC it was one of the GSLV mk1 flights, the problem was in one of the Vikas boosters in 1st stage.

[jaysimha]

September 11, 2019
WIL will manufacture and supply “Head, Middle and Nozzle End Segments” (Total 30 nos.) for the GSLV MKIII Launch Vehicle. The contract value is INR 77.20 Crore plus escalation.
This happens to be WIL’s second largest single order received from ISRO.

Kudos to WIL,,,,,,,,,

https://www.walchand.com/investors/inve ... s-release/
https://walchand.com/wp-content/uploads ... 092019.pdf

one more
https://walchand.com/wp-content/uploads ... 9-ISRO.pdf
WIL will manufacture and supply “S —-139 End Segments” for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV) Program. The contract value is INR 96 Crore plus escalation and is likely to be
executed over a period of three years.

[Vips]

Who’ll be India’s new-age Astronauts? Grueling tests to decide who’ll get Russia’s ticket for Gaganyaan training.

The selection process for the future astronauts ‘Gagan-nauts’ for the Human Space Flight programme under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) underway says a top official of the Indian Air Force (IAF). There is no woman officer who has been selected, as there are no women test pilots nor those in the fighter stream have enough experience as they have recently joined. Therefore, there will be no woman on-board the first manned mission Gaganyaan flight which has been scheduled in 2021-22.

According to the new Air Chief RKS Bhadauria, “The IAF is actively involved in the screening, selection, initial training, pre-flight post-flight health management and safety aspects of the Gagan-nauts.”

Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) of the IAF is the nodal agency for aeromedical aspects and vital crew healthcare management activities for the Human Space Programme.

It is a complicated selection process which has been planned by both the IAF and ISRO and involves intensive tests including psychological strength. Those who will be eventually shortlisted will be a combination of test pilots and those who clear the grueling physical exercises, radiological tests and psychological tests.

There was a combination of candidates who were initially shortlisted which included test pilots, volunteers as well as fighter pilots. The selection process has been divided into three phases and at the end of this process only 10-12 has made the cut and finally, only six are likely to go to Russia for the training.

Both IAF and ISRO have signed an MoU earlier this year for training of the future astronauts. And IAF has been ensuring that the selection is done carefully. Once the selected pilots clear the IAM stage, they will go to the ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre which was inaugurated earlier this year.

According to officials, for the final stage, the six selected will leave for the Russia leg of the training on-board a Soyuz spacecraft. Both ISRO and the Russian space agency Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities have an MoU for working jointly on the first manned space mission.

The final six selected by IAF will be sent to Russia for a short module of training on-board a Soyuz spacecraft.

[Indranil]

Did we miss this here

EXCLUSIVE: ISRO Reveals Details Of New Scramjet Demonstrator

Great, detail filled article.

What would be the launch vehicle: L40?

[Varoon Shekhar]

^
Nice development, but we are also waiting for the second RLV launch. The first one, RLV-D1, was in May/2016. The RLV-D2 is designed to land on a runway, to demonstrate reusability. Awaiting with high eagerness, if not bated breath

[Thakur_B]

Did we miss this here

EXCLUSIVE: ISRO Reveals Details Of New Scramjet Demonstrator

Great, detail filled article.

What would be the launch vehicle: L40?

Noob pooch, how do they measure combustion chamber pressure in a scramjet?

[Vips]

^
Nice development, but we are also waiting for the second RLV launch. The first one, RLV-D1, was in May/2016. The RLV-D2 is designed to land on a runway, to demonstrate reusability. Awaiting with high eagerness, if not bated breath

According to a AV report on Youtube, very soon there is a going to be a landing test in Chitradurga in Karnataka. The RLV will be dropped from a height of 3 km by a Helicopter, the onboard system will then help this vehicle to glide and land on runway.

[Prasad]

Could this be it (C10)
image

Good overview webinar done part of Aeroindia on

"Indian Space Program & Future Technologies needed for Ground Aerospace Activities"

Mention of metholox engine again. Plan to put RLV over the 1st and 2nd stage of GSLV. Schmatic shows the RLV to have two engines (possibly 2x10T metholox?).

Not sure whether you guys resolved this but RLV will have a SC500 engine and a C50 engine, to put 10 tons into LEO.

[Indranil]

That is to change the lower stage of the TSTO to RLV?

[Varoon Shekhar]

According to a AV report on Youtube[/url], very soon there is a going to be a landing test in Chitradurga in Karnataka. The RLV will be dropped from a height of 3 km by a Helicopter, the onboard system will then help this vehicle to glide and land on runway.

That's good, but it would have been nice to read about an upcoming actual flight test, from ground launch to landing. This is the impression given 3 years ago( i.e that the next launch would involve a launch and landing, not just a drop test). Anyway, steps are important

[Prasad]

According to a AV report on Youtube[/url], very soon there is a going to be a landing test in Chitradurga in Karnataka. The RLV will be dropped from a height of 3 km by a Helicopter, the onboard system will then help this vehicle to glide and land on runway.

That's good, but it would have been nice to read about an upcoming actual flight test, from ground launch to landing. This is the impression given 3 years ago( i.e that the next launch would involve a launch and landing, not just a drop test). Anyway, steps are important

Nope. The plan was always launch(launch+flight+pseudo-landing), landing, orbital insertion/de-orbiting, scramjet integration.

[Prasad]

That is to change the lower stage of the TSTO to RLV?

If you look at the image (in prasanna's post) closely, the RLV has an interstage. While the RLV isn't a confirmed configuration yet, currently it is expected to be a "wing-ed semicryo flyback booster with LOX+kerosene semicryo engine and a cryo orbiter which will land using airbags/parachutes/thrusters".

[prasannasimha]

According to a AV report on Youtube[/url], very soon there is a going to be a landing test in Chitradurga in Karnataka. The RLV will be dropped from a height of 3 km by a Helicopter, the onboard system will then help this vehicle to glide and land on runway.

That's good, but it would have been nice to read about an upcoming actual flight test, from ground launch to landing. This is the impression given 3 years ago( i.e that the next launch would involve a launch and landing, not just a drop test). Anyway, steps are important

No LEX or landing experiment was always planned to be a drop test and to be done after HEX following whioch there is REX return flight experiment and finally SPEX Scramjet propulsione xperiment followng which the builkding blocks for TSTO plan will in place

[sajaym]

The RLV seems to be the size of a Toyota Fortuner, so I'm guessing this is going to be the first high profile mission of the new IAF Chinook helicopter. Only the Chinook can carry such a load to that height. Our MI-26s are currently not operational.

[Indranil]

Very good podcast hosted by Gurbir Singh: https://astrotalkuk.org/episode-90-an-u ... heshwaran/

Some of the topics we covered are listed below

India, along with Singapore, Azerbaijan and Brazil were candidate countries to host 2022 IAC. India hosted the IAC 1988 and 2007. This interview was recorded a day before the announcement was made. Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan was selected as the host for 2022.
Potential ISRO participation with NASA’s Artemis programme return to the Moon. Italy and Japan will join NASA. (ISRO remains uncommitted at this stage).

PS4 Orbital Platform – ISRO is making use of the 4th stage of the PSLV to host payload in LEO for several months after it has completed the delivery of the primary payload(s). It will be augmented with RCS and propulsion system to maintain attitude and orbit – potentially indefinitely! Solar panel on the outside will deliver up to 100W. End of mission, the platform will comply with agreed guidelines – to a minimum perigee of 500km if not deorbit.

Gaganyaan – Coming up parachute tests by end of this year, launch abort t(in-flight) test. Uncrewed test flight next year and 2021. Crewed flight to LEO by 2022 is still on target. Crew selection process is still progressing. Selection criteria require test pilot experience so females will not be part of the first crew. The first flight will consist of a crew of 3. Initially, a team of 4 will go to Russia for astronaut training – a single backup. (Surprising – I would have expected at least 6 for two teams – primary and back up).

Human Spaceflight and Exploration conference in Bangalore, India in January 2020. This mission is to generate public awareness of India’s Gaganyaan programme. Rakesh Sharma and astronauts from other countries will also be present.

Small Satellite Launch vehicle (SSLV) to address the newly developing market for small satellites. Currently, small satellites use rideshare that does not offer customised timing or orbit. Both are determined by the primary payload. The SSLV to only from Sriharikota.

The reference in the Indian (Google translation from original Telegu) press for a proposed new launch site in Kulasekharapattan is not really taken seriously by ISRO. Initially to be launched from Sriharikota but may develop a mobile launcher in the future. Sea launch is not under consideration at the present.

Alternative launch sites may come in the future but currently, Sriharikota’s launch capacity is not being used fully.
ISRO’s first mission to Venus (Shukriyaan) to be launched in 20203. Mass and mission architecture already defined. Aditya-L1 – launch in the second half of 2022. Mars Orbiter Mission 2, architecture not yet finalised – may include lander and rover. No date yet.

Chandrayan-3 – not announced yet but there will be a Chandrayaan-3 and more.

Failure Analysis Committee investigating. ISRO has a fairly good idea from the data on what went wrong. So far – hard landing resulting in spacecraft damage. Why did it happen? The problem is a minor due to “dispersion”? i.e. something was off-nominal but would not say if hardware or software issue? The FAC report will be publically published.

Space station – announced by the ISRO chairman. It will happen but no timeline.

Reusable Launch Vehicle second mission will involve an airdrop and land on a strip at Chitradurga in Karnataka. Target date – December 2019.
Semi cryogenic engine. Engine development in progress with a target date of 2022. Testing and significant progress will take place AFTER the Gaganyaan mission is over.

Next GSLV-Mk3 scheduled for mid-2020 for comsat launches.

Will India use the name “astronaut”? ISRO will conduct something in the way of a public poll and make a formal decision.
Gaganyaan will not be one-off. May go to the Moon, ISS or participate in Artemis. ISRO not ruling out anything.
ISRO continuing to cooperate with Russia, France, ESA, the USA, Collaboration with China is also possible. Two experiments from the Indian Institute of Science will be conducted on the Chinese Space Station. Collaboration with China in science is straight forward but at the agency level – that may come in the future

One very interesting that was confirmed was that SSLV was designed to be launched from a mobile platform. So, it is a strategic launcher as well. However they are currently not investing in the platform yet. But the entire east coast could be used for polar launches.

Another sad fact that I had very much suspected is that the SC120/200 stages are not the priority till Gaganyaan is launched. I suspected so, and am a little disheartened by it.

[jaysimha]

space India 1994 nostalgia
https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/f ... cation.pdf

[prasannasimha]

https://www.isro.gov.in/update/31-oct-2 ... -exosphere

[UlanBatori]

Can't say how true: RT.com cites ESA images of water ice on Mars

[A Nandy]

https://www.livemint.com/science/news/c ... 30008.html

"On technology side, we could not succeed in completing a soft landing, but all systems of the mission, functioned well till about 300 metres from the moon surface. Despite failures, ISRO has the desire to succeed. Chandrayaan-2 is not the end of story," said the ISRO Chief.

Highlighting ISRO’s future projects, Sivan said scientists were working on some advanced satellite missions. "Our projects on solar mission and historic human spaceflight mission are on track. The Small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) is ready to make its maiden flight early next year," he said.

The space agency is also working on connecting Navik Signals to cellphones to develop several related applications needs. The testing of 200 tonne semi-cryogenic engine, to power ISRO's Reusable Launch Vehicle, is also expected to begin soon.

[Vips]

Russia to help provide life support system to Gaganyaan astronauts.

Russian space corporation Roscosmos subsidiary Glavkosmos signed a contract with Isro’s human space flight centre (HSFC) last week "to review a project to assess the possibility of using Russian flight equipment in life support systems and providing thermal regime for the manned spacecraft Gaganyaan", a Roscosmos release said.

A life support system is a group of devices that allow a human to survive in space. The system supplies air, water and food, maintains optimum body temperature and deals with human waste products. The thermal control system keeps all the spacecraft’s component systems within acceptable temperature ranges during all phases of the mission. If a component is subjected to extreme temperatures, it could get damaged or its performance could be severely affected.

Russia has gained expertise in developing space flight systems as it has been using such critical space survival systems since 1960s.

As such a space mission is new to Isro, it seems the Indian space agency doesn’t want to waste time in the development of such critical space systems and instead wants to use the expertise of its reliable partner in order to meet the 2022 mission deadline, set by PM Narendra Modi during his Red Fort speech last year.

The two countries had then also discussed Indian-crewed flight carrier rocket aerodynamic tests, piloted vehicle and crew rescue system. It was then reported that the two sides may also negotiate the contracts for supply of crew seats, windows and spacesuits.