Indian Space Capabilities

[indiatester]

http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/videos/CE20 E1 ENGINE HOT TEST-05 AT MET (635 SEC) AT MET ON 28.04.2015-MPEG-2.mp4.mp4

Is this a test in cold + vacuum conditions?

 

[Bhasad Singh Mundi]

Is this a test in cold + vacuum conditions?

Nop. high altitude test would be conducted later this year.

 

[Techy]

ISRO carries out series of cryogenic engine development tests
Published May 3, 2015
SOURCE: PTI

After successful test of the high thrust cryogenic engine recently, a series of development tests on the engine are being carried out to validate the performance and to prove its design, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has said.

Successful long duration hot test (635 seconds) of high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) was carried out on April 28 at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Tamil Nadu’s Mahendragiri. The achievement is considered as a major milestone in the development of next generation launch vehicle, GSLV MkIII, ISRO said.

The CE20 cryogenic engine is being indigenously developed by ISRO to power the cryogenic stage of GSLV MkIII launch vehicle, ISRO has posted on its Facebook page.

The completion of successful long duration hot test has once again proved ISRO’s capability in mastering the complex cryogenic technology, it said.

Sharing details about the test, ISRO said all subsystems of this engine such as Thrust Chamber, Injector, Gas Generator, LOX & LH2 Turbo pumps, Control Components, Pyro systems etc, and the ground Test Facility systems performed very well and the parameters are well within the prediction.

It said a series of development tests on this engine are being carried out to validate the performance and to prove the design of the engine, adding, two cold start tests and four short duration hot tests were already carried out on this engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri.

The indigenously developed cryogenic engine will help India put satellites of upto four tonnes in geostationary orbit.

 

[jaatram]

Approval for GSAT-17 communication satellite and launch services
Press Information Bureau

Approval for GSAT-18 communication satellite and launch services
Press Information Bureau

 

[BruceWayne007]

how many satellites does india have in orbit?

 

[indiatester]

how many satellites does india have in orbit?

Satellites by Country or Organization - India
Enjoy

 

[Bhasad Singh Mundi]

 

[Hindustani78]

Isro HQ sitting on breached lake
Prashanth G N Bengaluru, May 7, 2015, DHNS:
Terrain trouble: Saga over demolitions on lake beds continues as residents struggle

Sixty-one breached lakes have been handed over to public institutions for “public purpose” in Bengaluru since the late chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde’s rule from 1983-84.

And on one of such lakes sits the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) headquarters, Antariksh Bhavan, at Sanjaynagar, RMV Extension, North Bengaluru.

Isro was looking for land in the early 1980s for its headquarters and one among the sites shown to it was the present piece of land, which was a lake, V Balasubramanian, former additional chief secretary, revealed to Deccan Herald.

Balasubramanian, who was the chief secretary to Hegde, recalled how the lake was handed over to Isro.

“I happened to be the chief secretary under Mr Hegde, and former chief election commissioner T N Seshan was the joint secretary in the Space department. Those days, people were powerful and he used to call me saying, ‘Subramanian, I’m the joint secretary calling from the Space department; why don’t you help us with land for Isro?’ Eventually, Seshan managed to prevail over the government to part with land.

But what we had then were lakes. After the government’s permission, the lake was breached and the land was handed over to Isro for its headquarters. This meant that the lake itself was handed over to Isro. Mind you, technically, it is not an encroachment because the government itself breached the lake and handed it over to Isro,” Balasubramanian said.

But the former top official hastened to add: “But if you ask me whether Isro is sitting on a lake today, it is. There was a lake then. This was in 1984. All in all, 61 breached lakes have been handed over since then to a variety of public institutions for public purpose.

What was given to Isro was also for public purpose. Likewise, the city railway station today, the bus stand, the hockey and football stadiums, the Kanteerava stadium, all of these are located on lakes.

They were all breached lakes - there were so many lakes then that you had to go in for breach and then get land and build on them.”

“But of course, there are lakes which have been handed over for private activities, too,” Balasubramainan said. “The Challaghatta lake has been handed over to the Golf Association. There are people who know how these things happened. What is a public and a private purpose has to be understood clearly.

But the overall conclusion I am drawing from the recent activity is that a good number of lakes in the City have been breached after a public purpose has been defined. But breached lakes by government and given away for other purposes also.”

how many satellites does india have in orbit?

Department of Space
25-February, 2015 15:51 IST

27 satellites operational in the country and action has been taken towards developing 26 indigenous satellites

There are 27 satellites that are operational in the country currently. This information was provided by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to Lok Sabha today.

These are as follows:

(i) 11 Communication Satellites namely, INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-7, GSAT-8, GSAT-10, GSAT-12, GSAT-14 and GSAT-16.

(ii) 12 Earth Observation Satellites namely, Resourcesat-2, RISAT-1, RISAT-2, Cartosat-1, Cartosat-2, Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, Oceansat-2, SARAL, Kalpana-1, Megha-Tropiques and INSAT-3D.

(iii) 3 Navigational Satellites namely, IRNSS-1A, IRNSS-1B and IRNSS-1C

(iv) 1 Mars Orbiter Mission

 

[Shan-e-ibrahim]

ISRO carries out series of cryogenic engine development tests
Published May 3, 2015
SOURCE: PTI

After successful test of the high thrust cryogenic engine recently, a series of development tests on the engine are being carried out to validate the performance and to prove its design, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has said.

Successful long duration hot test (635 seconds) of high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) was carried out on April 28 at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Tamil Nadu’s Mahendragiri. The achievement is considered as a major milestone in the development of next generation launch vehicle, GSLV MkIII, ISRO said.

The CE20 cryogenic engine is being indigenously developed by ISRO to power the cryogenic stage of GSLV MkIII launch vehicle, ISRO has posted on its Facebook page.

The completion of successful long duration hot test has once again proved ISRO’s capability in mastering the complex cryogenic technology, it said.

Sharing details about the test, ISRO said all subsystems of this engine such as Thrust Chamber, Injector, Gas Generator, LOX & LH2 Turbo pumps, Control Components, Pyro systems etc, and the ground Test Facility systems performed very well and the parameters are well within the prediction.

It said a series of development tests on this engine are being carried out to validate the performance and to prove the design of the engine, adding, two cold start tests and four short duration hot tests were already carried out on this engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri.

The indigenously developed cryogenic engine will help India put satellites of upto four tonnes in geostationary orbit.

Is this high altitude test? I thought most of the tests are done in vacuum

 

[kurup]

^^^^^^^^ various cycles analysed by ISRO for CE-20 cryogenic engine which finally adopted Gas Generator cycle

Heavy lift Launch Vehicle = HLV

A Heavy lift Launch Vehicle capable of placing up to 10 ton class of spacecrafts into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit is currently under study by a project team.

This new generation launch vehicle will derive its propulsion modules from LVM3 as well as from new developments, which include semi cryogenic booster stage, larger solid strap on boosters as compared to S200 strap on motors used in LVM3 and a larger cryogenic upper stage.

The Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle will have an optimal and robust design incorporating the latest technologies.

Welcome to VIKRAM SARABHAI SPACE CENTRE - Heavy Lift Launcher

 

[Audio]

Copy from Chinese space capabilities thread question

Yo yo, i need your help guys. Doing research for my book and have following questions:

Does India have an agency that is responsible for charting potential dangers to Earth (asteroids)
Where is it? (city) links to it would be very helpful
Need to know the official designation of the chief of this agency. -like director general?
Does it have "jurisdiction" to shoot ABM or that falls under IAF or IA antiarcraft division.

You can go wild with all prediction, projections and future plans in the next 20-30 year timeframe.

----------------------------------

that's it for now, but i'm sure i'll have more questions as time progresses. Don't worry, you will be portrayed as heroic!

@sancho idk who else to tag, iirc you seem knowledgeable about aerospace....anyone else is welcome too ofcourse.

 

[Hindustani78]

Updated: May 21, 2015 05:59 IST
ISRO hopes to end use of leased transponders - The Hindu

National space agency ISRO expects to end its dependence on foreign satellites in a couple of years by putting three to four communication spacecraft in orbit, ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said on Wednesday.

Of the 286 transponders totally available for various uses in the country, a third (33 per cent) is being leased for the past few years on a handful of commercial Asian and U.S. satellites.

“Today there are 96 leased transponders other than in the C-band. We [are coming] up with a series of communication satellites. Our objective is to replace whatever is currently being provided by foreign leasing and replace them with Indian transponders in a couple of years,” Dr. Kiran Kumar said.

New communication satellites will fill the gap

 

[Hindustani78]

Cabinet
21-May, 2015 18:50 IST

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle continuation Programme Operational Flights PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Continuation Programme of fifteen operational flights of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50.

The PSLV continuation Programme will enable the launch of satellites required for Earth Observation, Navigation and Space Sciences along with the possibility of clinching commercial launch service contracts.

The total fund requirement is Rs. 3090 crore and includes the cost of fifteen PSLV vehicles, Programme Elements, Programme Management and Launch Campaign.

The PSLV Continuation Programme will meet the demand for the launch of satellites at a frequency of four to five launches per year, with a greater focus on enhancing the level of participation by the Indian industry. All the fifteen operational flights would be completed during the period 2017-2020.

Presently, PSLV operational flights, which were sanctioned in 2008, are being utilized to meet the satellite launch requirements.

The operationalisation of PSLV has made the country self-reliant in the launching capability of satellites for earth observation, disaster management, navigation and space sciences. The PSLV Continuation programme will sustain this capability and self-reliance in the launching of similar satellites for national requirements.

Background:

PSLV has emerged as a versatile launch vehicle to carry out Sun-Synchronous Polor Orbit (SSPO), Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and low inclination Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions. With the recent successful launch of PSLV-C26 on 16th October 2014, PSLV has completed three developmental and twenty-five operational flights and the last twenty-seven flights have been successively successful. PSLV has established itself as a workhorse vehicle for national satellites with a production capacity that would enable responding fast to commercial launch opportunities also.

***

 

[Hindustani78]

Mars mission makes India top ranking space power: China report
Beijing, May 22, 2015, (PTI)

India's accomplishment in becoming the only Asian country to send a spacecraft to Mars has earned it a place in the top rankings of space-faring nations, a report by a Chinese research institution has said.

The US, Europe, Russia, China, Japan and India are the leading powers in space, the Beijing Institute of Space Science and Technology Information, affiliated to the China Academy of Space Technology, said in a report.

India became the first Asian country to successfully send a probe to Mars in 2014, marking a breakthrough in its space capability, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

The institute for the first time evaluated the space capabilities of 20 countries and regions across six aspects: strategy, product systems, infrastructure, industrial scale, innovation and international influence. China's space capabilities are ranked the fourth in the world, and the gap between the leading powers is narrowing, the report said.

Last year saw a record 92 launches around the world, with 262 spacecraft put into orbit, it said.

The US' status as the only superpower in space is unshakable, but the gap between the US and other nations is narrowing, it said.

Europe and Russia are ranked as the next two great powers.With its technological advantages and alliances with the US, Europe has also made a giant leap in its space capability.

Russia has curbed its decline, showing signs of recovery, thanks to its medium and long-term plans and reform of its space industry, the report said.

Pursuing an independent development path, China has made remarkable accomplishments in space technology, showing strong momentum and potential.Helped by technological innovation, active international cooperation and an alliance with the US, Japan has also made rapid developments.

The report also mentions emerging countries in space represented by Canada and the South Korea, which closely follow China, Japan and India.

Space has become a "high frontier" as nations jostle for political, economic, military and scientific and technological advantages. Driven by the needs of national security and economic interests, more countries are vying to flex their muscles in space, the report said.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Earth Science
28-May, 2015 18:01 IST
Various Developments Relating to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Over the Last One Year of NDA Government

The ministry of Earth Sciences deals with various interlinked and self-regulating systems including atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, geosphere and biosphere. They function together and their interactions are complex and significant. To understand such complex phenomena Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO) was set up and it uses high computing facilities (a backgrounder is at PIB Backgrounders) and modeling techniques for making various assessments. Such a scientific understanding of the earth system helps us to improve prediction of climate, weather and natural hazards as well as afford sustainable use of resources.


Some of the details of working of the Ministry over last one year are: -


· With advancements in observations and modeling technology, two recent cyclones, HudHud and Nilopher, were predicted well in advance giving sufficient time to respond. Several lives have been saved as the local administrations have shifted people from exact areas where it was forecast that the cyclones would hit

· On Good Governance Day on 25th December 2014, an SMS Disaster Alert system (for cyclones, weather, storms and heavy rains) was dedicated to the nation. On the same day, a mobile application for android phones/tablets – ‘India Weather’- was also launched for giving current-day and four-days forecast of weather in 310 Indian cities.

· The then Minister of State for S&T and Earth Sciences, Shri Jitendra Singh, commissioned Heliport Aviation Weather Forecasting System at Vaishnodevi, in August 2014.

· X-band Radar in Srinagar has been installed as a part of augmentation, strengthening and integration of network of all the observations in the Himalayan terrain.

· Ago-meteorological advisories provided to 10 million farmers through mobiles in 622 districts. Block level forecast for 37 districts (342 blocks) being initiated in pilot mode.

· Commissioned High Altitude Cloud Physics Lab at Mahabaleshwar to study micro physical characteristics of aerosols and clouds and associated environmental conditions.

· Developed an indigenous Earth System Model to address climate variability and change and developed simulations for this century.

· For ocean and polar research, the government sanctioned over Rs. 1050 crore for acquisition of a Polar Research Vessel (PRV) in last October.

· Deployed India’s first moored observatory in the Arctic on 23rd July 2014 equipped with multi-sensor sub-surface observatory in the inner part of Kongsfjorden at a depth of 180 m. The mooring is capable of acquiring data even during the winter when the surface is frozen with ice.

· Developed Polar Remotely Operated Vehicle’s (PROVe) systems having conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen sensors and Irradiance meter. PROVe was deployed near ice shelf from the ship at the India Bay in Antarctica at a depth of 62 m.

· Development and deployment of indigenous drifters to measure sea surface temperature, pressure, and currents, having INSAT communication.

· The Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, laid the foundation stone for the Ocean Research Facility of Earth System Science Organisation – National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT) near ocean front at Thupilipallam village in Vakadu Mandal, near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh on April 25.

· High performance computing resource of 1.2 petaFLOPS has been deployed for weather and climate modelling. It is the most powerful machine in SE Asia.

· Deployed a US drilling vessel ‘JOIDES Resolution’ for the first time in the Arabian Sea for drilling the oceanic plate up to 1.5 km. The Expedition aims to understand the interaction between the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau uplift and the development and evolution of the Indian summer monsoon. Four sites in the eastern Arabian Sea will target sediments for the Indus submarine fan to better understand the relationships of mountain building, weathering and erosion, and climate change.


*****

KSP/SS