Indian Space Capabilities

[nitesh]

NASA may set up R&D centre in Pune
NASA may set up R&D centre in Pune
BS Reporter / Pune October 25, 2008, 18:57 IST
While India has just entered the list of moon-mission countries, the pioneer and global leader is aerospace projects US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seems to have taken India very seriously. NASA is on the verge of taking a decision to set up its largest non-US centre near Pune, which would necessarily be a huge theme park
The project, which has been kept under heavy confidential barriers by NASA as well as its Indian-partner for this theme park, the Lavasa Corporation, is expected to be launched within a year's time frame over a sprawling area of more than 300 acres. The same marks NASA's entry into India, a country that over last two decades has emerged as a critical player in global aerospace research, execution and management projects. NASA's flourishing relations with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and its sincere interests in India have reportedly led to this particular project.

While Nasa officials did not disloce any information regarding this project, Lavasa Corporation too avoided a comment. "The talks with NASA are confidential. I cannot reveal any information about this tie-up at this moment," Lavsa Corporation chief operating officer Rajgopal Nogja told Business Standard. When asked, when is an official announcement expected in this regard, Nogja said, the announcement would happen only when the deal is signed.

US-President Dwight Eisenhower had established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958. The move was then seen as a response to the Soviet Union's launch of the first artificial satellite in the year 1957. Later, the NASA grew out of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) involved in reaserch projects for 40 years then. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, for the first time walked on the moon as part of the NASA project. NASA has more than 14 centres and facilities within US while they have certain other establishments in other parts of the world. The upcoming project, hence, would become its first ever-huge set up outside the United States of America (USA), an official working very close to these developments told Business Standard.

As part of its 50 years of celebrations, NASA has decided to expand its reach through a number of projects specifically in the research and development, academics, promotion and awareness segments. "Considering the presence of Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and a large number of top-brass educational institutions in India, the NASA officials seem to have finalised Pune city to set up the NASA theme park," the official stated.

The proposed theme park would come up along the backwaters of Varasgaon dam on a 300-acre huge piece of land, which is part of the controversial Lavasa Lake City promoted by Hindustan Construction Company (HCC). NASA plans to invest more than Rs 150 crore over this project. Located around 45 kilometers west of Pune, the theme park would be aimed at attracting youngsters and tourists towards NASA's activities. NASA is also giving a thought to set up a research and development centre at this venue, which would primarily be aimed at new technologies and space browsing, sources claimed.

 

[Flintlock]

Chandrayaan sends Indian space scientists rushing back home
Tuesday, 28 October , 2008, 12:31
Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 October , 2008, 12:32



Bangalore The successful launch of India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has inspired many Indian space scientists working abroad to return home for a promising career in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a top official said.

"Our moon mission has aroused tremendous interest in the scientific community the world over. The launch has made many overseas Indian space scientists think of returning and working in our organisation to further their career prospects," the official told IANS.

Chandryaan special: Destination Moon

Though the state-run ISRO's human resource department is yet to receive applications from abroad, the official who didn't want to be named confirmed that enquiries for job prospects in the space agency started since the Oct 22 launch of Chandrayaan from Sriharikota spaceport, about 80 km north of Chennai.

Chandrayaan%u20131 successfully placed in orbit

"There have been some enquiries though at a personal level. For instance, Chandrayaan director M. Annadurai got e-mail from scientists, mostly of Indian origin, congratulating him for the lunar mission and offering to join the space agency," the official pointed out.

Many persons of Indian origin (PIOs) currently working in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US and the European Space Agency (ESA) in Europe or at Kourou in French Guiana, South America, began their career as scientists in ISRO or in Indian academic/research institutes before migrating in search of greener pastures.

'It was a perfect launch'

"Some Indian space scientists working in NASA may be mulling to come back to work on our projects. They might be keen on applying for a suitable post in commensurate with their experience and expectations. We welcome them on merit," the official noted.

But the official added that as a policy the Indian space agency did not recruit foreign nationals.

"Indian born scientists and PIOs are, however, eligible to apply in ISRO. To our knowledge, barring a few, not many Indian scientists are working in ESA. If any, they may be second or third generation Indians with European nationality," the official hinted.

Annadurai has said scientists from NASA and ESA, including PIOs have sent feelers expressing interest to work for ISRO, even at lower salaries. Annadurai could not be reached for his comments.

ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair had told reporters at Sriharikota that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had put in place packages for scientists working in the space organisation and the atomic energy agency on the basis of the Sixth Pay Commission.

"We are in the process of getting these things (revised packages) cleared at the final approval stage. But I don't think we can give the phenomenal salary offered by the IT firms. We will give respectable living conditions in line with society," Nair affirmed.

In accordance with the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations, the government has revised pay scales of space scientists and engineers to Rs.31,000 from Rs.18,000 at entry-level posts; to Rs.60,000 from Rs.43,000 at middle-level posts and to Rs.70,000 from Rs.45,000 for the top posts - director and above.

The 36-year-old ISRO, headquartered in Bangalore, with multiple locations across the country, has a total workforce of 16,500, including about 10,000 scientists and engineers. About 6,500 are employed in administrative and auxiliary services.

"Our attrition rate is less than the best of IT companies. Though there is a dearth of outstanding science or engineering graduates opting for a career in space science/technology, we are able to manage the demand-supply gap fairly well," the official observed.

To ensure a steady stream of supply to its various departments, ISRO has commenced a space university at Thiruvananthapuram this academic year where about 150 students with science background are offered a five-year course in space technology and applications.

"The graduating students will have a five year bond to serve with the organisation. They get oriented to work on space application and programmes, with opportunity to do projects at our various facilities," the official added.

About 90 percent of ISRO scientists/engineers are home-grown, having graduated from Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, Bits Pilani or other top engineering universities/colleges.

Chandrayaan sends Indian space scientists rushing back home - Sify.com

 

[Flintlock]

India’s lunar experience: small heads with big dream

India’s first unmanned moon mission - Chandrayaan-I - ISRO - NASA - all are big things, indeed! But, the people involved behind ISRO’s recent success have a small, smaller, start! Majority of these glittering personalities are the gift of little native towns of India. The achievement brought by these heroes has, once again, proved India’s strong educational ethos.

Quality and perfection with which Chandrayaan-I has been launched, has made the world staring India with great surprise and respect. Even America has started calculating amount of drift ISRO’s small heads have caused in their leading space programs. Barak Obama, US Democratic Presidential nominee, has already warned America saying India’s recent moon mission must not be ignored and should be taken as a wake-up call for them.

If you look at the long list of scientists those made the Chandrayaan-I a grand success, you will find majority of these scientists are the graduates of relatively smaller regional engineering colleges of India, and not from the IIT’s as one might think about. Two good examples of such low-profile engineering colleges are Government College of Technology and PSG College of Technology, both from a small town, Coimbatore, of India,

“Comments and observations with envy that have come from overseas after Chandrayaan-1’s launch reaffirms ISRO’s matured and advanced technologies,” said G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO. Even NASA has shown interest, following Chandrayaan-I, in working with ISRO recognizing India’s space power.

India’s lunar experience: small heads with big dream

 

[Flintlock]

Recapturing the American spirit

DAN RATHER
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

NEW YORK -- A little more than two weeks ago, when Barack Obama and John McCain met for the second presidential debate, Obama spoke up for his alternative-energy plan by invoking perhaps this nation's greatest achievement:

"Now, when JFK said we're going to the moon in 10 years, nobody was sure how to do it, but we understood that, if the American people make a decision to do something, it gets done."

Last week, India, which started its space program in the same year that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted the U.S. flag on the lunar surface, launched its own mission to the moon. Unlike Apollo 11, the Indian Chandrayaan spacecraft that lifted off from an island in the Bay of Bengal Wednesday was not manned, but it does reflect a national spirit that our country once possessed, and which we will fail to reclaim at our own peril.

How to define that spirit?

Some inside and outside of India have been critical of the Chandrayaan moon shot, saying that even at its relatively modest $78 million price tag, the cost of the mission represents an expenditure that the country can little afford, given the fact that millions of its inhabitants still live in conditions of crushing poverty.

But the mission's advocates point to Chandrayaan as a first step toward scientific goals that are worthy of the expenditure. Some of these goals are of a practical nature, such as determining the prevalence of helium-3, a rare isotope that could be used as an energy source, and constructing a three-dimensional map of the lunar surface, which could facilitate future missions for mining lunar resources. And some of these goals serve pure science, such as experiments designed to learn more about the moon's origins.

They also point to the burgeoning space programs of China and Japan, and emphasize India's need to prove itself worthy of a share of the growing market for launching private satellites.

All these goals, poetic and prosaic, add up to vision -- long-term, beyond-the-immediate-horizon vision. This is the kind of vision that is given much lip service in our own political rhetoric. But when it comes to practice, some in America have said in recent years that we can't afford it, just as some are still saying that now -- not in the midst of a Global War on Terrorism, not as we face the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, not as we contemplate enormous projected budget deficits.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy called upon America to put a man on the moon and return him safely, among other goals, "not because they are easy but because they are hard." In the years that followed, our nation fought the Vietnam War and launched, in the Great Society, some of its most ambitious social programs. We saw our society divided over issues of race and war. And yet, in 1969, Kennedy's goal saw fruition.

The lesson is not only that we as a nation can achieve great things even in difficult times, but that our ambition to achieve great things is a necessary engine of progress. Despite what we might like to tell ourselves, America has never had a monopoly on this kind of forward-looking spirit. But there was a time when we surely had the world's largest supply of it.

India's own reach into space serves as a much-needed reminder that, at the start of this new century, the rest of the world is catching up. And if America wishes to stay great, we need to discover once again the ambition to not only survive the present but also capture and define the future.
Dan Rather is a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.

Recapturing the American spirit

 

[Humanoid]

What's up with you today? I never said anything about media campaigns or "camera friendly" scientists.

All they need is some good pictures and a decent website. How hard can it get?

I can understand that they work on a really shoestring budget, but making a decent website isn't all that expensive.

Also, PR isn't something dishonest or evil, as you are making it out to be. Have you seen the Indian Army ads on tv?

I think it was copied and pasted from Bharat-Rakshak..

 

[Vinod2070]

No, I just mentioned my thoughts. I am happy with ISRO's achievements and may be was a bit overzealous in defending them.

 

[deltacamelately]

How come there are no Pakistani posters on this thread?
Lack of interest or plain ignore?

 

[Neo]

How come there are no Pakistani posters on this thread?
Lack of interest or plain ignore?

Atleast 35 replies by Pakistani members, did you mis them all?

Unlike some other fora we manage to keep high profile threads like this one troll free, its been quite educative sofar, with or without Pakistani contribution.

 

[nitesh]

The Hindu : Sci Tech : How Chandrayaan-1 is raised to higher orbits

How Chandrayaan-1 is raised to higher orbits

R. PRASAD

Chandrayaan-1 could have been fired to reach the moon, which is about 3,84,000 km from earth, in one shot. But that was not done. Instead the spacecraft is being moved towards the moon in increasingly elliptical orbits with an apogee (farthest point from the earth) increasing many times more than the perigee.

“We could have done it one shot, but there is a possibility of missing the moon,” said M. Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan-1 to this Correspondent. “So we have adopted an incremental increase in the orbits’ perigee.”

That probably explains why the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has decided to settle for five increasingly elliptical orbits before Chandrayaan-1 reaches the moon’s sphere of influence. Why is the firing always undertaken at the perigee position?

Firing at perigee

“To increase the apogee, we must fire at the perigee [position]. And firing should consume less energy. So the firing is done at the perigee,” Dr. Annadurai explained.

One more reason to fire at the perigee is to ensure that the spacecraft can be tracked by 3-4 ground stations. “The spacecraft is allowed to complete one or more orbits till such time 3-4 ground stations can track it. But we will fire it at the earliest opportunity,” he said.

But not always can one assume that the firing will happen as planned. So any change in this will in turn affect the apsidal line (imaginary line that connects the apogee and perigee). This should be corrected and maintained if the rendezvous with the moon is to happen.

Increasing the apogee

And what ensures that the apogee increases many hundred kilometres after every firing while the perigee changes by only a few kilometres? “When the firing is done exactly at perigee, the velocity increases and the apogee keeps increasing. There will be no change in the perigee position,” he said.

But firing the spacecraft exactly at the perigee position is only theoretically possible. This results in a small change in the perigee altitude.

Duration of firing

“It is not an instant firing [at the perigee]. It takes a few hundred seconds to complete the firing,” he said. But great effort is however taken to centre the firing around the perigee position.

For instance, the first firing to take Chandrayaan-1 from the initial orbit to the first orbit (with an apogee of 38,000 km) took about 1060 seconds to complete. The second firing to take the spacecraft to the nearly 75,000 km apogee took 920 seconds. And the third firing to raise it to about 1,65,000 km apogee took 560 seconds.

The fourth firing to take Chandrayaan-1 to 2,67,000 km will take about 190 seconds and finally the last raise to 3,80,000 will take 150 seconds.

Though the original plan was to reach 2,00,000 km apogee in the third orbit, ISRO could only raise it to 1,65,000 km. So will that lead to any problems? “This can be made up for in the next firing,” Dr. Annadurai said.

Use of propellant

Will the change in the orbit-transfer strategy from five-and-half days to nearly a fortnight lead to increased fuel consumption and hence reduced mission life? “The amount of propellant required to fire the spacecraft to 4,00,000 km is less, whether it is done in one shot or in stages. And the propellant is used only for changing the orbits and not for orbiting around the earth,” he explained.

Orbiting around the earth is mainly through the gravitational force of the earth. But the gravitational influence of sun and moon would still play a role, though minor. Since the spacecraft goes around only for a few days in each orbit, there will not be any change in the orbits and hence the need to use propellant to correct the orbits would not arise.

But that will not be case when Chandrayaan-1 orbits the moon for two years. “There will be a need to correct the orbit once in two weeks to maintain a 100 km circular orbit,” said Dr. Annadurai.

Less energy required

While earth’s gravitational force will exist even when the spacecraft moves further and further away from the earth, the force will decrease with distance. “So firing it to the fourth and fifth orbit will require less energy,” said Dr. Annadurai. “Since some propellant is already used in the previous firings, the overall mass would come down. So the effort required to fire reduces.”

Reverse firing

Five-and-half days after the fifth firing, Chandrayaan-1 will have its rendezvous with the moon. Chandrayaan-1 will get nearer to the moon on November 8 when it reaches the 3,81,000 km apogee.

Though the moon’s influence will be predominant, the velocity of Chandrayaan-1 has to be reduced to enable the moon to capture it. Else, it can fly past the moon.

Once captured by the moon’s gravity, the velocity of the spacecraft has to be reduced to help it reach its final destination of 100 km circular orbit around the moon.

This is achieved by reversing what was done to raise its orbits.

“First, the firing is resorted at both perigee and apogee positions. And the firing takes place only after the orientation of the spacecraft is reversed — turned 180 degrees,” he said.

While the momentum of the spacecraft allows it to move in the same direction, the reverse firing helps it to reduce the velocity. The reduction in velocity is again undertaken in an incremental manner to reach the predetermined 100 km circular orbit around the moon.

 

[deltacamelately]

Atleast 35 replies by Pakistani members, did you mis them all?

Unlike some other fora we manage to keep high profile threads like this one troll free, its been quite educative sofar, with or without Pakistani contribution.

My Dear Neo,
I concede I must been plain lazy reading here and there and probably must have missed them in the process. I sincerely thought something must be wrong as newer posts didn't find newer comments. My bad though.

regards,

 

[nitesh]

some interesting thoughts here:

BBC NEWS | Americas | Venezuela joins space club nations

Despite the money spent on the satellite project, Mr Marcano Gonzalez believes the investment is justified, and he cites the example of India.
"Thirty years ago India began its space programme when the country had high levels of poverty. Space technology has allowed the nation to maintain social and cultural cohesion to emerge from under-development.
"Today it is a big power with a voice among nations."

 

[nitesh]

Some good news guys, the camera is tested successfully:

Chandrayaan-1 Camera Tested

 

[Sam Dhanraj]

Some good news guys, the camera is tested successfully:

Chandrayaan-1 Camera Tested

Some beautiful pics taken by the camera...For instance this one is now my wallpaper..

 

[nitesh]

Some beautiful pics taken by the camera...For instance this one is now my wallpaper..

Same here sam it is on my wallpaper

 

[nitesh]

Just waiting for 15 nov hope everything goes fine and the chandrayaan reaches to moon orbit correctly. My view will change for the moon completely as my country's flag will be there. What you guys think?