Re: Indian Space Program: News & Discussion
Posted: 16 Aug 2024 09:37
The launch of SSLV-D3 developmental flight
Consortium of Indian Defence Websites
https://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/
Nonsense and garbage. Lot of PR nonsense and their launch was just garbage. Those are model rockets with fuel canisters that can be replugged and flown again. Search for High Power Rocketry and L3 (or Level 3) certifications and you will get several hits on you tube. I myself (on my own) was aiming for L1 to L3 certification. Now that hobby has been put on back burner until I retire from the rat race.
"Today, we are working on the first mission of the Gaganyaan, called G1. The first unmanned mission. The status today is the rocket, the S200 stage, the L1, [and] C32 stage are all at Satish Dhawan Space Centre," Somanath said, as reported by the Economic Times.
That rocket is the Launch Vehicle Mark-3, or LVM3 for short. Meanwhile, the crew module and service module for the uncrewed flight are undergoing integration at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and U R Rao Satellite Centre, respectively.
"All systems will reach Sriharikota in one and a half months, and the launch will be in December," Somanath said, according to the Times of India.
The GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) instrument on the EOS-08 satellite commenced operations on August 18, 2024. The raw data is being processed at the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO) in Shadnagar, Hyderabad, using algorithms and data processing software developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), Ahmedabad. Multiple levels of data products have been successfully generated.
GNSS-Reflectometry represents a new mode of remote sensing. Signals from Global and Regional Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS/RNSS), such as GPS and NavIC, are reflected off various Earth surfaces, including oceans, agricultural lands, and river bodies. These reflected signals are collected by a precision receiver onboard the satellite (Fig. 1) as it orbits the Earth at an altitude of 475 km. This measurement system operates without dedicated transmitters and is shallow in resource consumption—requiring minimal size, weight, and power. Additionally, it can scale up as a constellation of receivers for faster coverage, making this innovative remote-sensing mode highly useful.
The GNSS-R instrument, developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), is India’s first space-borne precision receiver. It collects ground-reflected GNSS signals and measures their power and other signal characteristics. These measurements are used to derive scientific information about the regions covered by the receiver, including soil moisture, surface inundation, and ocean surface wind and wave measurements. The instrument provides a resolution of 15 km x 15 km over oceans and better than 1 km x 1 km over land. Delay-Doppler Maps (DDMs) are the primary outputs from GNSS-R raw data processing (Fig 2). These DDMs are used to derive parameters such as reflectivity and Normalized Bistatic Radar Cross-Section (NBRCS), which are then used for the retrieval of various scientific parameters.
All the science products are generated at SAC-ISRO using in-house developed algorithms. The first land data was collected over the Sahara Desert (North Africa) using a high-resolution mode of 1 km, which is significantly better than that of contemporary CYGNSS sensors. This data was processed to retrieve soil moisture (Fig. 3) at high resolution, and the results were found to be within the expected range. Another high-resolution land dataset was acquired over the Amazon Rainforest on August 21. This data has been used to generate surface inundation masks along the specular reflection track, showing sensitivity even towards sub-kilometer river widths (Fig. 3). The first ocean data was collected on August 19, over a region of the Pacific Ocean. This data was processed for the retrieval of wind speed and significant wave height (Fig. 4), with all obtained values falling within the expected ranges.
Call it lunar diplomacy or what you may. Two arch rivals, India and China, are likely to team up with Russia for setting up a nuclear power plant on the moon, according to a recent report in EurAsian Times referring to Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass, saying this was highlighted by Rosatom chief, Alexey Likhachev.
Rosatom is Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation having ties with India
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum recently at Vladivostok in Russia, Likhachev said: “… with the involvement of the international community, our Chinese and Indian partners are very interested in this,’’ he said.
India’s interest in the project assumes significance in the context of the country planning a manned mission to the moon by 2040 and setting up a base.
According to Tass, the lunar power project, led by Rosatom, aims to build a small nuclear power plant capable of generating up to half a megawatt of energy, providing the necessary power for the base.
Likhachev reiterated that China and India are eager to be involved in creating this ground-breaking lunar energy solution.
Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, had previously declared in May that work on this nuclear power plant was underway, intending to deploy it to the moon.
The reactor will provide energy for a proposed lunar base, which Russia and China are jointly working on. India’s desire for a lunar base coincides with its possible participation in the lunar power project.
The construction of this lunar nuclear power plant will be complex. Russia previously revealed that it would likely be carried out autonomously without the direct involvement of humans.
In 2021, Russia and China announced plans to build a joint lunar base called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) which could be commissioned in phases between 2035 and 2045.
Experts said India is playing its diplomatic cards carefully with the US and Russia. While it is sending Shubhanshu Shukla of the Gaganyaan mission to the International Space Station in the US, it is now exploring the possibility of joining hands with China on the Russian lunar power project.
This essay focusses on the political-economic impact of the utilization of outer space on economically capable Global South states. A frontier that was predominantly accessed by the Global North has since seen the rise of developing countries, such as India, who are taking an active interest in the economic and security concerns on the use of space as they themselves have become spacefaring nations. States, specifically actors from the global south, benefit from taking a mercantilist approach to outer space. While there does exist regulation of activities in space, such as the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967, it can be considered outdated for the advancements made in the economic and military potential of outer space in 21st century and it should be noted that the bodies that govern peaceful cooperation of outer space are part of the United Nations and hence this means that the ultimate decision-making body on matters regarding space are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council who hold veto power. All five are spacefaring nations, and four out of the five (excluding China) are a part of the Global North.
Therefore, this essay claims that countries of the Global South such as India and others that have an active interest in utilizing outer space for economic interests must follow a mercantilist approach or they will not be able to succeed in a frontier that is slowly being hegemonized by the Global North. What exactly is a mercantilist approach? Mercantilists take the approach “that economic activity is and should be subordinated to the primary goal of building a strong state. In other words, economics is a tool of politics, a basis for political power. That is a defining feature of mercantilist thinking. Mercantilists see the international economy as an arena of conflict between opposing national interests, rather than an area of cooperation and mutual gain.” (Jackson and Sørensen, 2015, pg. 4)
The utilization of outer space has become essential for the functioning of the global economy on Earth. An example of this is satellites providing GPS and connectivity that have become crucial for telecommunications, e-commerce, trade, and hence the international economic order (IMF, 2021). There are also military usages of satellites in space for the purpose of communication, navigation, and intelligence gathering. (Space.Com, 2014) Recently, private companies have pushed for a move towards greater privatization in space, like SpaceX’s Starlink or Virgin Galactic’s suborbital space tourism services. These companies have also been closely working with government institutions such as SpaceX’s collaboration with NASA (Costa, 2022). For these private companies, having access to outer space earlier than others helps in creating a potential monopoly over private business in space for themselves (Foust, 2023).
As technology has developed, mining in space of asteroids and the moon has become a real possibility. Asteroid or lunar mining can potentially solve resource scarcity issues on Earth as well as be a highly lucrative endeavour for states and private businesses involved: “Despite the high price tag, the development of asteroid mining technology may very well be a worthwhile endeavor due to the extremely valuable resources that asteroids have to offer. For example, Asterank, which measures the potential value of over 6,000 asteroids that NASA currently tracks, has determined that mining just the top 10 most cost-effective asteroids–that is, those that are both closest to Earth and greatest in value–would produce a profit of around US$1.5 trillion.” (Yarlagadda, 2022)
However, the Outer Space Treaty is largely ambiguous on the matter and states have proceeded to make their own legislation regarding mining in space, an example of this bring the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (Oduntan, 2015). The Artemis Accords (2020), drafted by the US, are a series of non-binding bilateral agreements between the US and other countries for a “common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space”(NASA, n.d.). The Artemis Accords reinforces principles of cooperation in space while including issues of concern in the 21st century such as the “extraction and utilization of space resources, including any recovery from the surface or subsurface of the Moon, Mars, comets, or asteroids” (Artemis Accords, pg. 4). Emphasis should be given to the fact that the Artemis Accords are a non-binding agreement and hence there are no legal consequences to breaking the principles of the accord, especially to the USA. Even if the UN decides to impose sanctions on those that have breached the Artemis Accords, if the US themselves are a breacher they would simply veto any decision against them. Therefore, the international political system is grossly tilted in favour of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, benefitting them greatly in the utilization—and potential exploitation—of resources in outer space without significant consequences.
So why must economically capable Global South countries take a mercantilist approach to outer space? The answer is to prevent further domination over them by the Global North. There are various resources in space that are scarce on Earth, and accessing resources in space such as helium-3 would transform the nuclear energy sector on the planet. (Kilment, 2006) Any state that manages to successfully extract these resources first would immediately gain the upper hand in international trade of the said resource as well as using the new resources to further push economic development and production. Strengthening of a state’s economy would lead the periphery/semi-periphery states to be less reliable on the exploitative “core” countries of the world system. (Hopkins and Wallerstein, 1982) and allow them to have a greater say in economics and geopolitics
Another feature of mercantilism of space would be the militarization or weaponization of this frontier. Hence, from an offensive realist lens, this essay argues that states from the Global South, such as India, that have the economic capability to weaponize/militarize space should do so, and it is only after building such weapons the state should show restraint. The purpose of such weapons should not be aggressive in nature, but rather to protect their own economic interest in space while also ensuring they do not fall back to the Global North in military capability. While states should invest in protective measures in space by the production of weapons that can be used in outer space, all states should avoid military conflict in space. Such a conflict could spill over to the terrestrial plane leading to large-scale destruction and the use of weapons of mass destruction. The aim of the Global South should be to strengthen their economic and political position to such an extent that they do not let outer space be another frontier where the current terrestrial status-quo applies, but rather use the resources present in outer space and utilize them to strengthen their terrestrial political power.
In conclusion it should be noted that this essay does not advocate aggressive mercantilism in outer space, but rather defensive mercantilism, one where “states look after their national economic interests because that is an important ingredient of their national security; such policies need not have overly negative effects on other states.” (Jackson and Sørensen, 2015, pg. 4) It also does not dispute key principles of the OST, (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 1966) but rather encourages it; fair and peaceful cooperation in outer space has the potential to bring about profound net-positive economic change here on Earth. However, this essay recognizes the existing deficiencies in international space law and the repeated lack of accountability by the P5 who use the United Nations as a tool to their means of power politics (Glennon, 2003, pg. 18) rather than benefitting the international community as a whole. The reasonable solution to this is either major reforms in the UN Security Council or creating a new international governing body specifically related to activities in outer space that is more neutral in nature than the current United Nations. Pessimistic about the former, the latter scenario is more likely as the politics and economics of outer space further complexes. When such a scenario does arise, the Global South should be in a position to play a more active role in the making of such an institution and the creation of stronger space legislation. Thus, economically capable Global South states with an interest in outer space must pursue a defensive mercantilist policy and use outer space to the best of their abilities to strengthen their position economically and militarily on Earth so they too can have an equal presence in global power politics, refusing to be subordinates to the Global North’s interests.
Will there be any aerocapture on this mission? Or just regular thrust-braking?Amber G. wrote: ↑19 Sep 2024 01:18 Indian Cabinet has cleared the Venus Orbiter Mission. This will ensure more in-depth research to understand the planet!
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2055982
FYI: This in addition to India approves moon sample return, ..space station module and reusable launcher.Amber G. wrote: ↑19 Sep 2024 01:18 Indian Cabinet has cleared the Venus Orbiter Mission. This will ensure more in-depth research to understand the planet!
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2055982
Wait and see the details --" VOM (Venus Orbiter Mission) is for scientific exploration & for better understanding of Venusian atmosphere, geology & generating large amount of science data by probing into its thick atmosphere."sanman wrote: ↑19 Sep 2024 02:00Will there be any aerocapture on this mission? Or just regular thrust-braking?Amber G. wrote: ↑19 Sep 2024 01:18 Indian Cabinet has cleared the Venus Orbiter Mission. This will ensure more in-depth research to understand the planet!
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2055982
To paraphrase Abdul Kalam - if they're going all that way, why not even drop something down there?
You left out Bharat Antariksh Station.Rakesh wrote: ↑19 Sep 2024 18:50 Click on link below for the press releases....
https://x.com/ImChitrakAseri/status/1836377290713788852 ---> Cost of all the approved programs as of Sept 2024:
• US $2.41 billion dollars for Gaganyaan
• US $1 billion dollars for NGLV development
• US $251 million dollars for Chandrayaan 4
• US $147 million dollars for Venus mission
• US $42 million dollars for Axiom seat
The Electro Optical-Infrared (EOIR) payload on board EOS-08, ISRO’s latest Earth Observation Satellite, launched through the third developmental flight of ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on August 16, 2024, has commenced its operations (EOS-08 Mission). EOIR is a state-of-the-art payload aboard EOS-08, along with the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload and the SiC UV Dosimeter. Developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), the EOIR payload is equipped with advanced mid-wave infrared (MIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) channels, marking a significant advancement in thermal imaging technology with its high performance.
One of the first images captured by the EOIR payload was taken on August 19, 2024, over Pune city at 07:45 AM local time, as shown in Figure 1. The MIR image highlights the payload’s ability to capture high-resolution thermal images.
if i am not mistaken IIR satellites can provide early warning wrt missile launches/tests etcAshokk wrote: ↑24 Sep 2024 19:42 EOIR Payload on EOS-08 Begins Operations, Offering excellent Thermal Imaging Capabilities[img]https://www.isro.gov.in/media_isro/imag ... eoir_1.png[/imgThe Electro Optical-Infrared (EOIR) payload on board EOS-08, ISRO’s latest Earth Observation Satellite, launched through the third developmental flight of ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on August 16, 2024, has commenced its operations (EOS-08 Mission). EOIR is a state-of-the-art payload aboard EOS-08, along with the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload and the SiC UV Dosimeter. Developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), the EOIR payload is equipped with advanced mid-wave infrared (MIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) channels, marking a significant advancement in thermal imaging technology with its high performance.
One of the first images captured by the EOIR payload was taken on August 19, 2024, over Pune city at 07:45 AM local time, as shown in Figure 1. The MIR image highlights the payload’s ability to capture high-resolution thermal images.
Not a expert of these systems (may be someone here can give more particular details), but Yes, you're correct. IIR (Infrared Imaging) satellites, like ISRO's EOS-08, play a crucial role in early warning systems for missile launches/tests.