Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

All threads that are locked or marked for deletion will be moved to this forum. The topics will be cleared from this archive on the 1st and 16th of each month.
Locked
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Vips »

Detailed report from Nasa Spaceflight: Indian PSLV launches RISAT-2BR1 military satellite.

SRO launched the fiftieth PSLV mission Wednesday, with its workhorse rocket flying for the second time in barely a fortnight to deploy a radar imaging spy satellite for India’s military. The RISAT-2BR1 satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 15:25 local time (09:55 UTC), with deployment into low Earth orbit expected sixteen and a half minutes later.

RISAT-2BR1 is an all-weather radar reconnaissance satellite, able to image the Earth in both daylight and at night, regardless of any clouds obscuring the surface. It is the second spacecraft in a new series of RISAT-2B satellites which are replacing and upgrading India’s radar imaging capabilities.

Wednesday’s launch followed the launch of the first RISAT-2B series satellite, simply named RISAT-2B, in May. The RISAT-2BR1 satellite is nearly identical to the first satellite, however at 628 kilograms (1,385 lb), it is marginally heavier. The satellite was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which also operates the RISAT constellation. Officially the program performs remote sensing to support agricultural projects, forestry and disaster management, however, RISAT is primarily designed for military surveillance.

RISAT-2BR1 carries a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload, which transmits radio signals towards the Earth’s surface and records how they are reflected back towards the satellite. Processing echoes detected from the original signal allows the satellite to build up a profile of the ground below it. RISAT-2BR1’s SAR operates in the X-band of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The RISAT-2BR1 satellite is expected to be deployed into a near-circular orbit, 576 kilometers (358 miles, 311 nautical miles) above the Earth and inclined at 37 degrees. It is expected to operate for at least five years.

Because RISAT uses radio waves – transmitted from the satellite – instead of visible light from the Sun to illuminate the Earth, it can collect images even when it is night in the location to be observed. The X-band signals can also penetrate cloud cover to expose the surface below. The RISAT spacecraft complement India’s optical imaging satellites, such as the Cartosat series.

Within the RISAT program, there are two separate series of satellites. RISAT-2 (and now 2B) spacecraft carry X-band payloads. The original RISAT-2 satellite was launched in April 2009. RISAT-2 was developed under a partnership between ISRO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and was based on the Israeli TecSAR radar-imaging satellite which ISRO launched as part of the agreement. The imaging system aboard the RISAT-2B satellites is believed to be a development of the Israeli system used on RISAT-2.

RISAT-1 satellites, by contrast, operate in the lower-frequency C-band. RISAT-1 was launched in April 2012 but failed after four and a half years on orbit. A replacement, RISAT-1A, is due to launch next year.

Wednesday’s launch used India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, flying in its PSLV-QL configuration. The flight number for Wednesday’s mission was PSLV-C48, which marked the fiftieth flight of ISRO’s workhorse rocket. First flown in 1993, PSLV is India’s longest-serving carrier rocket and has been used for two-thirds of the country’s total orbital launches to date.

PSLV was developed to replace India’s previous rocket, the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV – also known as Advanced Satellite Launch Vehicle). The much larger PSLV offered a payload capacity many times that of the ASLV, allowing ISRO to become more self-reliant in launching its own satellites instead of relying on foreign launchers. PSLV was designed with a particular focus on missions requiring near-polar low Earth orbits.

Despite failing to reach orbit on its maiden flight – after a software error causing the rocket to go out of control – PSLV bounced back and achieved a successful launch at the second time of asking in October 1994. Following a third developmental launch in March 1996 the rocket completed its initial testing and the first operational launch took place in September 1997. That mission reached a lower-than-planned orbit, however, the IRS-1D satellite was still able to reach – and even exceed – its planned mission objectives.

When it returned to flight in May 1999, PSLV began a string of thirty-six consecutive successful launches which would continue until 2017. While many of the rocket’s payloads have continued to be scientific and remote sensing satellites bound for near-polar sun-synchronous orbits, PSLV has also been used to launch geostationary satellites and missions to the Moon and Mars.

PSLV’s first geosynchronous launch came in September 2002, with the METSAT-1 weather satellite which was later renamed Kalpana-1. Subsequent missions have included the lightweight GSAT-12 communications satellite and nine satellites for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), also known as NavIC. Owing to PSLV’s lower performance compared to rockets designed for geostationary launches, these satellites have typically been dropped off in subsynchronous transfer orbits, with the satellites maneuvering themselves into their final orbits.

In 2008 a PSLV was used to send ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon, while November 2013 saw the launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission to explore the red planet.

In recent years PSLV has attracted an increasing number of commercial payloads, including dedicated launches and particularly rideshare missions where multiple small satellites utilize excess capacity on other customer or Indian government launches. Wednesday’s mission saw PSLV deploy nine rideshare satellites as part of an agreement between ISRO and commercial provider NewSpace India Limited.

The Rideshare passengers – via ISRO
The largest rideshare satellite aboard PSLV-C48 is QPS-SAR 1, carried for Japan’s Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space Incorporated (iQPS). QPS-SAR 1, which will be named Izanagi once it reaches orbit, is the pathfinder for a planned constellation of radar imaging satellites which will be used for near-real-time monitoring of the Earth. Like RISAT-2BR1, it uses synthetic aperture radar (SAR). QPS-SAR 1 will be able to image the Earth at resolutions of about one meter (3.3 feet).

The other satellites on Wednesday’s launch were built to varying CubeSat specifications. CubeSats are spacecraft conforming to a series of standard form factors based around ten-centimetre (3.9-inch) cubes, or Units. The CubeSat standard has allowed standardized deployment mechanisms to be developed, cutting the cost of launching these satellites.

The 1st Generation High Optical Performance Satellite Technical Demonstrator (1HOPSAT-TD) is a twelve-unit CubeSat, measuring 20 by 20 by 30 centimeters (7.9 x 7.9 x 11.8 inches). Built by US company Hera Systems, it is intended to validate the design of a series of satellites which Hera will deploy in the near future as part of an Earth-imaging constellation. 1HOPSAT-TD carries an optical imaging system with a resolution of one meter (3.3 feet).

Duchifat-3 is a three-unit CubeSat developed by Israel’s Herzliya Science Centre. Built by high school students to give them experience working on a space mission, the satellite carries Earth imaging and amateur radio payloads.

NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator 1 (PTD-1) was developed by the Ames Research Center using a six-unit CubeSat bus built by Tyvak International – serial number Tyvak 0129. PTD-1 is the first in a series of five CubeSats that NASA is developing to test new miniaturized satellite technologies in orbit. PTD-1 will test a Hydros thruster, a propulsion system that uses power from the satellite’s solar arrays to electrolyze water, splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen which are then used to propel the satellite. Hydros is expected to be able to generate one newton of thrust.

COMMTRAIL was also built by Tyvak International, based around a three-unit CubeSat bus with serial number Tyvak 0092. To be operated by an unspecified Italian company, COMMTRAIL will be used to test ultra-high frequency (UHF) machine-to-machine communications.

The final four CubeSats on Wednesday’s launch were Lemur-2 spacecraft for US operator Spire Global. These join an ever-growing constellation of miniature satellites used for weather monitoring and relaying AIS and ADS-B tracking data from ships and aircraft back to ground stations.

PSLV is a four-stage rocket, using a mixture of solid and liquid-fuelled stages. The PSLV-QL configuration used for Wednesday’s launch is one of two new configurations that have been added to the PSLV family this year to fill the gap in performance between its smallest and largest versions.

The original PSLV design – now known as the PSLV-G – relied on six PS0M boosters, each consisting of an S-9 solid rocket motor, to provide additional thrust in the early stages of flight. In 2007 ISRO introduced the PSLV Core Alone, or PSLV-CA configuration, omitting the boosters on missions that do not require the rocket’s full performance. The following year a new PSLV-XL configuration made its debut, using upgraded PS0M-XL boosters with stretched S-12 motors to accommodate heavier payloads.

The new PSLV-DL and PSLV-QL configurations – with two and four PS0M-XL boosters respectively – fill the gap between PSLV-CA and PSLV-XL that was previously occupied by PSLV-G, allowing ISRO to standardize on the enhanced boosters. PSLV-C48 will be the second PSLV-QL to fly, following the rocket’s maiden flight in April which carried the EMISAT electronic surveillance satellite.

For Wednesday’s mission, PSLV flew from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. This was the first of two PSLV launch pads to be built at the facility, replacing smaller launch complexes to the South that were used for the earlier SLV and ASLV rockets. The First Launch Pad was the site of PSLV’s maiden flight in 1993, and now shares the rocket’s launches with the nearby Second Launch Pad. Having two operational launch pads has allowed ISRO to increase the frequency of its launches.

The gap of fourteen days, five hours and fifty-seven minutes between the previous PSLV launch – November’s deployment of Cartosat-3 – and Wednesday’s mission is the shortest turnaround between two PSLV launches to date, although ISRO has achieved slightly shorter gaps between PSLV and GSLV missions before. November’s PSLV launch took place from the Second Launch Pad.

When it flies from the First pad, PSLV is assembled in place at the launch complex. A mobile service tower encloses the vehicle while it is being built up, moving away from the pad once the rocket is complete. The twenty-eight-hour countdown for Wednesday’s launch began at 11:25 local time (05:55 UTC) on Tuesday.

Once the countdown reaches zero, PSLV’s first stage ignited. The first stage, or PS1, consists of an S-138 solid rocket motor that burns hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB). All four PS0M-XL boosters are ground-lit, with the first pair igniting four-tenths of a second after the core stage and the second pair following suit two-tenths of a second later. Like the core stage, these boosters burn HTPB propellant. With all five solid rocket motors burning, PSLV-C48 was released to begin its ascent.

The boosters burned for 69.5 seconds before burning out and separating – again in pairs at 0.2-second intervals. The first stage continued burning alone for about another fifty-one seconds before itself burning out and separating. Two-tenths of a second after the spent first stage was jettisoned, PSLV’s second stage engine ignited to begin its own burn.

PSLV’s liquid-fuelled second stage – designated PS2 or L-40 – has a single Vikas engine consuming UH25 propellant, a mixture of three parts unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and one part hydrazine hydrate, and dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. Vikas is a license-built version of the French Viking engine, used on earlier members of the Ariane series of rockets.

Under the power of its Vikas engine, the second stage burned for two minutes and 32 seconds. Forty-nine seconds into the burn, with PSLV flying at an altitude of 115 kilometers (71 miles, 62 nautical miles) the rocket shed its payload fairing. Termed a “heat shield” by ISRO, the fairing protects PSLV’s fourth stage and payload as the rocket climbs through Earth’s atmosphere. Once the rocket reaches space the fairing serves no further purpose and is discarded to save weight.
At the end of the second stage burn, PSLV’s second and third stages separated. The third stage, or HPS3, uses an S-7 solid rocket motor with HTBP propellant. It ignited 1.2 seconds after staging and burned for about seventy seconds. Once the third stage burned out, the launch entered a brief coast phase as the rocket climbed towards the apogee – or highest point – of its trajectory.

Nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds after liftoff, PSLV jettisoned the expended third stage. The rocket’s fourth stage will ignite ten seconds later for a five-minute, 13-second burn. PSLV’s fourth stage, PS4 or L-2.5, has two engines burning liquid propellants – monomethylhydrazine and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON-3) – to ensure a precise orbital insertion. The stage can be restarted for multiple burns if a mission requires it, although for Wednesday’s launch the stage made one burn before spacecraft separation.

As the primary payload of Wednesday’s launch, RISAT-2BR1 was the first satellite to separate from the PSLV. It was released 62 seconds after the final burn is complete – 16 minutes and 26.5 seconds after PSLV lifts off from Satish Dhawan. One minute after RISAT separated, PSLV will begin deploying its secondary payloads – a process that lasted three minutes and fifty-three seconds.

Wednesday’s launch was the fifth PSLV mission in 2019, and the sixth launch of the year for ISRO. Another PSLV mission, carrying RISAT-2BR1’s sister satellite, RISAT-2BR2, is still scheduled for the end of December.
sajaym
BRFite
Posts: 315
Joined: 04 Feb 2019 09:11

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by sajaym »

Vips wrote: The gap of fourteen days, five hours and fifty-seven minutes between the previous PSLV launch – November’s deployment of Cartosat-3 – and Wednesday’s mission is the shortest turnaround between two PSLV launches to date... Another PSLV mission, carrying RISAT-2BR1’s sister satellite, RISAT-2BR2, is still scheduled for the end of December.


Very impressive launch schedule. This is the most ideal launch intensity for future Bharatiya Space Station / moon exploration / moonbase type missions. So it's good that ISRO is getting used to this tempo of operations.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Vips »

Any confirmation of the date for next RISAT/PSLV launch?
Firstpost and Timesofindia have conflicting reports on whether the launch will be within this calendar year as planned and (dislcosed) by ISRO.
Last edited by Vips on 11 Dec 2019 22:12, edited 1 time in total.
Varoon Shekhar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2178
Joined: 03 Jan 2010 23:26

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

Yes, very impressive turnaround between the Cartosat-3 and Risat-2BR1 missions! However, it looks like the next Risat( 2BR2) is now going to be launched in February. Wonder what the sudden change was caused by. One hopes it has something to do with the preparations for the first SSLV mission!
Gerard
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8012
Joined: 15 Nov 1999 12:31

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Gerard »

sanjaykumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 6095
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 05:51

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by sanjaykumar »

Nice capture of stage separation.
Gerard
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8012
Joined: 15 Nov 1999 12:31

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Gerard »

Yes. Don't think DD footage ever showed that.
Kakarat
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2225
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 13:59

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Kakarat »

The first stage separation is not visible like this from SHAR as are look from behind the vehicle and from chennai its more perpendicular to the flight path.
Maybe I should skip going to SHAR once I try capturing from the chennai beach
Kakarat
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2225
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 13:59

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Kakarat »

ISRO reveal RISAT-2BR1

Image

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1205102264580329478
Today at 1400 hrs IST, Radial Rib Antenna of #RISAT2BR1 spacecraft was successfully deployed in-orbit. This complex technology involved unfurling & deployment of the 3.6 m antenna which was folded & stowed during launch. The deployment was completed in 9 mins 12 s.
Prasad
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7793
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 00:53
Location: Chennai

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Prasad »

Hey IR,
weren't you asking about this specific antenna sometime back?
Kakarat
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2225
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 13:59

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Kakarat »

ISRO had announced it has developed this Radial Rib Antenna immediately after Risat-2B Launch
Prem Kumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4218
Joined: 31 Mar 2009 00:10

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Prem Kumar »

So, does RISAT-2B have a different type of antenna?
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Indranil »

Prasad wrote:Hey IR,
weren't you asking about this specific antenna sometime back?
Yeah, I was. Here it is in closed position.

Image
Kakarat wrote:ISRO had announced it has developed this Radial Rib Antenna immediately after Risat-2B Launch
Correct.
Varoon Shekhar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2178
Joined: 03 Jan 2010 23:26

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

Wish sections of the Indian media didn't overstress the security function of RISAT-2BR1. It doesn't necessarily possess only that role. ISRO itself says nothing about the surveillance capability of the satellite. One paper mentioned 'spy satellite' three times!
juvva
BRFite
Posts: 380
Joined: 20 Oct 2008 17:34

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by juvva »

Gerard wrote:
WOW, this is way better than DD broadcast.
Kakarat
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2225
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 13:59

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Kakarat »

My first set of photos

https://twitter.com/Spacelaunch_IN/stat ... 7537007616
PSLV C-48 Launch from First Launch Pad as seen from the Launch Viewing Gallery at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota
Image
Image
Image
Image
Kakarat
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2225
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 13:59

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Kakarat »

https://twitter.com/Spacelaunch_IN/stat ... 5087808512
PSLV C-48 in flight as seen from the Launch Viewing Gallery at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota
Image
Image
Image
Image

Next Exclusive first time shots of Strap-on boosters falling from the sky
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Vips »

Next for Isro: A mobile launchpad.

The next decade will be a compilation of milestones if everything goes as per plan for Isro, which, among many big ticket programmes in its pipeline, will also build a mobile launchpad for the proposed small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) class of vehicles.

Just last week, China demonstrated its ability to do this by using mobile launchers developed for its military to put into space seven civilian
satellites. But Isro chairman K Sivan told TOI that that the agency won’t be using military technology for its proposed mobile launchpads.
From a mission to Sun (Aditya) to Chandrayaan-3, and from Gaganyaan

The Chinese satellites were, on Saturday, launched using KZ-1As rockets, a lightweight solid fuel projectile developed by the China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC), using technology initially for use by the military, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which on March 27, 2019, showed off India’s capabilities of hitting a satellite in space using a missile will also have the ability to turn around the technology and spin it off as a mobile launcher.

Sivan, however, said: “We won’t be working with DRDO. As of now the focus is on developing the second spaceport in Tamil Nadu, but we are also working on building mobile launchpads.” Isro has already requested for Rs 120 crore for a new launchpad for SSLV, which will be part of the new spaceport being proposed in Kulasekarapattinam, a town in the Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin.

Isro will need more than 2,000 acres of land in Kulasekarapattinam, the process to acquire which has already begun. Isro, at present, carries out all its launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota, about 100km from Chennai. Set up in 1971, SDSC will continue to serve the space agency with PSLV and GSLV launches even in the future. “For the Gaganyaan mission, we will require some changes to be made and those modifications will be carried out at Sriharikota,” Sivan had told TOI.

Isro, which has planned at least two experimental flights of SSLV in the coming year, will also look at involving private players for development of future rockets. The space agency has been opening up opportunities for the private sector with the first official expression of interest (EOI) inviting private consortiums to build as many as five PSLVs issued in August this year.

While Isro had earlier allowed private players to assemble satellites, an EOI for launch vehicles was a major shift in the way Isro has been working over the decades. According to a senior official from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the cost of one fully integrated PSLV launch vehicle is Rs 200 crore. This means that the value of the deal Isro is offering private industry— to build five PSLVs—is at least Rs 1,000 crore.
abhik
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3090
Joined: 02 Feb 2009 17:42

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by abhik »

Didn't see this posted earlier: Onboard camera view of deployment of Radial Rib Antenna of RISAT2BR1 in orbit
Prem Kumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4218
Joined: 31 Mar 2009 00:10

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Prem Kumar »

Beautiful video - thanks for sharing!
dinesha
BRFite
Posts: 1211
Joined: 01 Aug 2004 11:42
Location: Delhi

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by dinesha »

jaysimha
BRFite
Posts: 1696
Joined: 20 Dec 2017 14:30

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by jaysimha »

People might have come across this links earlier. still posting for record.


Space India
https://www.dos.gov.in/space-india

Special Publications
https://www.dos.gov.in/special-publications
Varoon Shekhar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2178
Joined: 03 Jan 2010 23:26

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

GISAT-1 launch January 15:
https://aajtak.intoday.in/gallery/india ... 43223.html
https://www.gstv.in/every-30-minutes-in ... rati-news/

If these sites are to be believed, ISRO will launch GISAT-1 on January 15th! Did ISRO neglect to announce the mission after the last launch( of RISAT in December) because they weren't sure of the date. Or trying to keep it fairly muted? Or misunderstood by 'next launch in February' to mean only next PSLV ( not GLSV) launch?
prasannasimha
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1214
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 00:22

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by prasannasimha »

The next launch will be GSLV F10 for GISAT1 Date is not yet finalized. May be in Jan or Feb
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Vips »

Per earlier reports the other RISAT was to be launched within a month of the first. Also the dates for SSLV got postponed from July 2019 to Year end 2019 then January 2020 and now the reports vaguely mentions there will be two launches of SSLV during 2020 not mentioning when.
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Indranil »

Via Reddit and Nasaspaceflight forum.

PLANNED LAUNCHES OF GSLV

Image

Image

So, there are a few things that one can surmise from here.
1. 4m fairing is back. That does allow more flexibility in payload. This will allow some of the satellites like NISAR which are based on the I-3K bus to be lofted by the GSLV Mk2.
2. The ogival shape allows better aerodynamics and the FRP reduces weight.
3. It seems like they are now very confident of burning the CUS to depletion. This will be the defacto moving forward.
4. There seem to be two more avenues for increasing payload: 1) USe of HTVE in the strapons and decreasing the guidance margin on GS2 from the current 607 kgs. It will come with confidence in the lower stages.
mody
BRFite
Posts: 1362
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 11:31
Location: Mumbai, India

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by mody »

The weight of the GISAT-1 and 2 combined is less then 4,600 Kgs. Why can't they be launched together by a single GLSV-MKIII? The total weight is within the total payload capacity of the launcher. Is it due to volume constraint?
Launching the tow together, will surely be cheaper.
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Indranil »

GSLV Mk3 launches are already booked for next 3 years.

I have said this a few times now. The human spaceflight program is important. It draws eyes like no other, but its current prioritization over everything else is misplaced (again IMHO). I hope it helps Modi return to power in 2024.

For example, operationalizing the SC120 and SC200 stages should have had much higher priority. But these stages will only be integrated in the GSLV Mk3 and launched only after successful HSF flight, which I don't see happening in by 2021.

I personally would be much more happier when we have developed our ULV. Imagine a time when PSLV, GSLV Mk2,and Vikas engine based stages have been retired.

1. SC120+CUS18 becomes our PSLV-CA equivalent. Possible boosters are PSOMs, or S85s
2. SC120+CUS32 becomes another core which could be booster by S85s, SC120s.
3. SC120+CUS32 +CUS18 becomes another core which cannot be launched in core alone mode. It has to use S85s, SC120s, S139s or S200s as boosters
4. SC200+CUS32 becomes another core which cannot be launched in core alone mode. It has to use S85s, SC120s, S139s or S200s as boosters
5. SC200+CUS32 +CUS18 becomes another core which cannot be launched in core alone mode. It has to use S85s, SC120s, S139s or S200s as boosters

After these, we have the SC500 stage, reusable stages etc. We have always said that we have a disadvantage in launching westward because dropzones overlap landmasses. Imagine when this same bane changes into a boon when we try to recover stages!!!
Cybaru
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2914
Joined: 12 Jun 2000 11:31
Contact:

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Cybaru »

If we can get one 7-10 Meters resolution GeoStationary satellite up there (3.6 meter telescope), surveilling the Indian ocean will become really easy for round the clock tracking of all large ships. The smaller ships will still pose problems as far as IDing them, but we will be able to track almost all ships that matter.

No getting around needing a segment of tiny, high revisit orbit small sats, that live in a lower orbit.
tandav
BRFite
Posts: 722
Joined: 26 Aug 2016 08:24

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by tandav »

SpaceX is using reusable conventional rockets to reduce costs of Spacelaunch. However I have a feeling that Gas guns like in project SHARP have the potential to quicklaunch satellites, supplies and fuel to space at much lower costs than SpaceX. ISRO should try some pilots. I have this idea that a tunnel bored 1KM into earth can serve as a long enough gas gun that can be used to launch low earth payloads quickly reaching 11KM/S launch speeds quite efficiently.

1) Disposable plastic sleeve (say HDPE) to reduce the wear and tear on the barrel
2) Ablatives on the payload to handle the heat load in lower atmosphere
3) A small course correction rocket engine for final injection to orbit.

Issues:
1) Limited by bore diameter and only standard size payloads are launchable,
2) High G tolerant payloads only


https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2016 ... am-hussein?
prasannasimha
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1214
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 00:22

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by prasannasimha »

tandav wrote:SpaceX is using reusable conventional rockets to reduce costs of Spacelaunch. However I have a feeling that Gas guns like in project SHARP have the potential to quicklaunch satellites, supplies and fuel to space at much lower costs than SpaceX. ISRO should try some pilots. I have this idea that a tunnel bored 1KM into earth can serve as a long enough gas gun that can be used to launch low earth payloads quickly reaching 11KM/S launch speeds quite efficiently.

1) Disposable plastic sleeve (say HDPE) to reduce the wear and tear on the barrel
2) Ablatives on the payload to handle the heat load in lower atmosphere
3) A small course correction rocket engine for final injection to orbit.

Issues:
1) Limited by bore diameter and only standard size payloads are launchable,
2) High G tolerant payloads only


https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2016 ... am-hussein?
The gas gun theory was given up as G forces were just too high and did not give meaningful payloads. There are many CT's around this but they remain CT's
prasannasimha
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1214
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 00:22

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by prasannasimha »

As a note GSLV Mk2 payload fairing was 3.4 meters wide (was never 4m before) and the new faring is 4 meters wide with ogival nosecone
Indranil
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8428
Joined: 02 Apr 2010 01:21

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Indranil »

The ill-fated GSLV F06 flew with a 4 mtr fairing. But it was not ogival in shape.
prasannasimha
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1214
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 00:22

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by prasannasimha »

Yes but that was a failure and as you said it had a nonogival fairing
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by chetak »

Scientist Nambi Narayanan, hounded by Congress and Hamid Ansari’s close aide, to get compensation of Rs. 1.3 crores

Scientist Nambi Narayanan, hounded by Congress and Hamid Ansari’s close aide, to get compensation of Rs. 1.3 crores


Image


DECEMBER 27, 2019

The Kerala government has in-principle approved to give compensation of Rs 1.3 crore to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. This compensation was approved for his wrongful arrest and harassment by the Kerala Police in the 1994 ISRO spy case. Nambi Narayanan had filed a case against his unlawful arrest in Thiruvananthapuram sub-court.

Kerala state cabinet today gave in-principle approval to give Rs 1.3 crore compensation to former ISRO scientist S Nambi Narayanan, to settle a case he filed in Thiruvananthapuram Sub Court against his unlawful arrest. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/ii0redpmvL

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2019

Nambi Narayanan was a scientist in ISRO and headed the cryogenics division. In November 1994, Narayanan was arrested along with two other scientists D Sasikumaran and K Chandrasekhar at that time by the Kerala police after allegations of espionage under the sections 3,4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act.

Apart from these three scientists SK Sharma, an Indian representative of the Russian Space Agency, a labour contractor and a man named Fauzia Hassan were also arrested. All of them were accused of giving secret information of ISRO’s rocket engine to Pakistan.

In July 2019, former RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) officer NK Sood had made explosive revelations about his time in Iran, Hamid Ansari (the Vice-President in Congress regime) and the vilified scientist Nambi Narayanan. In an exclusive interview, Sood revealed how a close aide of Hamid Ansari, India’s Vice-President during Congress regime, was instrumental in ruining the career of India’s greatest space scientists, Nambi Narayanan.

The former RAW officer while talking to journalist Chiranjeevi Bhat had said: “A man named Ratan Sehgal has been an associate of Hamid Ansari. You must have heard the name of Nambi Narayanan. He was accused of espionage but the Supreme Court found all the allegations against him baseless. They were acquitted innocent. However, no one knows who hatched the conspiracy against him? Ratan Sehgal did all this. It was he who laid the trap of espionage charges to vilify Nambi Narayanan. He did this to spoil the image of India at the International level. While Ratan was in the IB, he was caught while spying for the American agency CIA. Now he is happily living in America. He is close to former Vice-President Ansari and used to scare us. He used to instruct us,” had revealed the RAW officer.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Vips »

It is not the money that will bring closure or any sense of justice for the wrong doing in this case. The Congress/Communist stooges who actively collaborated with anti national forces in falsely implicating Shri Nambi Narayananan to sabotage a vital project should be prosecuted and put in jail.
Prem Kumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4218
Joined: 31 Mar 2009 00:10

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by Prem Kumar »

Kerala Govt has "in principle" agreed. Knowing how justice works here, I'd love to see the day when Dr. Nambi Narayanan actually receives the money.

Yes, we have a very truncated system of justice, unlike say the U.S. All the traitors who hatched the conspiracy must be prosecuted & sentenced - notably Hamid Ansari. Ratan Sehgal must be given the Litvinenko treatment, wherever he might be in the world. It'll send a message that you cannot hide.

Besides this, there are so many other anti-national cases with no closure in sight: shutting down of TSD & compromising the intel officers, Hindu terror fake case, 26/11 insider help, the attempt to give away Siachen etc.
SRajesh
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2069
Joined: 04 Aug 2019 22:03

Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion - Sept 2016

Post by SRajesh »

Prem Kumar wrote:Kerala Govt has "in principle" agreed. Knowing how justice works here, I'd love to see the day when Dr. Nambi Narayanan actually receives the money.

Yes, we have a very truncated system of justice, unlike say the U.S. All the traitors who hatched the conspiracy must be prosecuted & sentenced - notably Hamid Ansari. Ratan Sehgal must be given the Litvinenko treatment, wherever he might be in the world. It'll send a message that you cannot hide.

Besides this, there are so many other anti-national cases with no closure in sight: shutting down of TSD & compromising the intel officers, Hindu terror fake case, 26/11 insider help, the attempt to give away Siachen etc.
Saar that would make us a pariah in the Sicular/Western eyes.
Should be more CIA isstyle as nobody knows how 'Khan' deals with 'Mir Sadak's' 8)
effective and both parties know but cant do anything??
Locked