Indian Space Capabilities

[duhastmish]

http://www.defence.pk/forums/indian...rs-proposals-purchase-three-more-awacs-9.html

IAF to have its own eye in space

With a view to increasing its surveillance capabilities, Indian Air Force is going to have its own satellite
in space by the end of 2010.

"We will launch our satellite by the end of 2010," IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said here yesterday.

The satellite to be launched by ISRO next year will be a dual-use satellite and will be used for civilian purposes also.

It will help the IAF to position its aerial and ground assets and targets. It would be used to gather navigational information.

In the recent past, IAF has been working closely to develop its space-based capabilities. It even has plans of setting up an Aerospace command under it but it has faced opposition from the other two services over the issue.

Its southern command based in Thiruvananthapuram works closely with ISRO in space related areas. At the air headquarters also, one Air Vice Marshal rank officer looks after space operations.

 

[slugger]

IIT-K satellite'Jugnu' in final stages

Kanpur: A micro satellite being developed by IIT Kanpur in co-operation with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been christened 'Jugnu'.

The satellite, which is near completion, will be handed over to ISRO in November, who after testing will launch it.

Work on the satellite, which is aimed at gathering prior information regarding flood, drought and disaster management is in the last stage and will be handed over to ISRO in November for further test and launch, IIT Kanpur director Prof Sanjoy Govind Dhande told here today.

Last year in August, both ISRO and IIT-K had inked an MoU to develop a micro satellite dedicated for agricultural purpose.

"A team of mechanical engineering department of the institute has almost finished the work on the satellite. They will need another 6-7 months to give final touch to the project," he said.

Scientists have used indigenous technology to develop 'Jugnu', whose weight and length are 3kg and 34cm respectively, he said, adding an estimated amount of Rs 2.5 crore has been spent to develop the satellite.

The hi-tech cameras fitted in the satellite will send photographs regarding agriculture, weather and soil to the base station, he said.

The satellite can also be used to link other big satellites in the space, he added.

Bureau Report

 

[indiatech]

Chandrayaan spurs space ambition in IITs- LATEST NEWS-The Economic Times

Chandrayaan spurs space ambition in IITs


MUMBAI: When Chandrayaan-I soared into space last October, so did the dreams of many young and aspiring IITians keen on a career with the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Says a professor from IIT-Bombay's aerospace engineering department, "Ever since Chandrayaan lifted off, space has become the magic word among students. They aspire to become rocket scientists and hope to play a role in taking India beyond the moon some day."

The fact that ISRO has planned a manned mission to the low earth orbit (Leo, 2000 km above earth) in 2014, a mission to Mars around 2020 and another to the moon is a great source of excitement, he adds.

Two fourth year BTech aerospace students, Shashank Tamaskar and Kartavya Neema, are already doing a research project on interplanetary flight. Says Shashank, "Inspired by Chandrayaan-I, I am doing a study on a satellite's flight from Leo to the moon." He started work on the project in August 2008, when Chandrayaan was being primed for its historic launch, and hopes to complete it in ayear.

Asked if he would like to join ISRO, he says, "Definitely, after I complete my studies." The budding rocket scientist said that the focus among students earlier had been on designing planes, but "with the success of Chandrayaan, most of us are talking about designing rockets and satellites".

Kartavya says he is designing a flight path for a satellite to Mars. "For both of us, the inspiration came from Chandrayaan," he confirms, adding thathe'd love to work at Isro.

Echoing their views is Gyandeep Singh Momi, an aerospace student at IIT-Kharagpur. "Space has become the catchword here after Chandrayaan and most aerospace students want to be involved with space technology." Gyandeep says that Chandrayaan also had a strong impact at their student festival earlier this year. "Nearly 50% of the emphasis was on rocketry. And we had a Nasa astronaut talking to us."

After India tested its nuclear weapons at Pokhran on May 11 and 13 in 1998, the number of applications received by BARC's training school in Trombay increased manifold. Today, job openings at ISRO carry more lucrative packagesbecause a slew of projects is in the pipeline.

The space buzz has infected IIT-Kanpur as well. S Kamle, head of the aerospace engineering department there, says, "Now, there's a lot of excitement in our department about space, with students talking about rocketry and satellites." They had been designing a rover for Chandrayaan-II, he adds, which is slated for launch in 2012. But during PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow in November 2007, a decision was taken to carry a Russian rover and lander instead.

IIT-Bombay is also designing a micro satellite which will be launched by Isro's PSLV. The project started when Chandrayaan-I was steadily moving from the laboratory and workshop to the launch pad at Sriharikota.

ISRO is well aware of this groundswell of excitement. "The success of Chandrayaan-I has given a lot of confidence to students. More now want to be part of India's space programme," says its chief spokesperson S Satish.

 

[indiatech]

IIT-K satellite 'Jugnu' in final stages

Kanpur: A micro satellite being developed by IIT Kanpur in co-operation with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been christened 'Jugnu'.

The satellite, which is near completion, will be handed over to ISRO in November, who after testing will launch it.

Work on the satellite, which is aimed at gathering prior information regarding flood, drought and disaster management is in the last stage and will be handed over to ISRO in November for further test and launch, IIT Kanpur director Prof Sanjoy Govind Dhande told here today.

Last year in August, both ISRO and IIT-K had inked an MoU to develop a micro satellite dedicated for agricultural purpose.

"A team of mechanical engineering department of the institute has almost finished the work on the satellite. They will need another 6-7 months to give final touch to the project," he said.

Scientists have used indigenous technology to develop 'Jugnu', whose weight and length are 3kg and 34cm respectively, he said, adding an estimated amount of Rs 2.5 crore has been spent to develop the satellite.

The hi-tech cameras fitted in the satellite will send photographs regarding agriculture, weather and soil to the base station, he said.

The satellite can also be used to link other big satellites in the space, he added.

 

[LCA]

Picture of ISRO's RLV in Aero India from another discussion forum:

 

[nitesh]

Hey that's exciting so AVATAR is slowly getting in to reality. So hope we can see DRDO HSDTV also soon. That will be really great as we will be gettting hold on one more crucial tech Scramjet engines.

 

[LCA]

yeah... i think there is a race going b\w ISRO's avatar and DRDO HSDTV or Brahmos-2.
And also the misslie in the picture very much look like astra or akaash.

 

[nitesh]

any way LCA we have hypersonic missiles Hint: Check shourya

PS: Let us not derail the thread

 

[nitesh]

The Hindu News Update Service

ISRO gets 27 per cent hike in budgetary allocations

New Delhi (PTI): ISRO today got a 27 per cent hike in budgetary allocation, a major chunk of which is will be spent on missions to moon, development of the semi-cryogenic engine and building a rocket for launching heavier satellites.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was allocated Rs 4,459 crore, an increase of Rs 960 crore over the previous year's sanction of Rs 3,499 crore, in the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here.

Development of a semi-cryogenic engine for future advanced satellite launch vehicles has been allocated Rs 75 crore as against Rs 4.09 crore last year. The Cabinet had approved the project for development of the semi-cryogenic engine recently.

Chandrayaan-I and its future missions have been provided Rs 90 crore as against Rs 88 crore last year, while the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III project has received Rs 217 crore as against Rs 240.19 crore last year.

The GSLV Mk III, which will have the capability to put in orbit four-tonne satellites, is expected to be launched later this year.

ISRO's institute for training space science personnel has received Rs 175 crore as against Rs 65.25 crore last year. The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, currently functioning from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, is developing its permanent infrastructure at Valiamala in Kerala.

The space agency has received Rs 50 crore for its programme to send a human in space. The objective of the Human Space Flight Programme is to develop a fully autonomous manned space vehicle to carry a two-member crew to a 400-km low earth orbit and ensure their safe return to earth.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, a constellation of seven satellites, has been provided with Rs 270 crore.

The IRNSS is expected to provide position accuracies similar to the Global Positioning System in a region centered around the country with a coverage extending up to 1,500 km from India.

The VSSC, a lead facility for development of satellite launch vehicles, has received Rs 613.42 crore as against Rs 494.69 crore last year.

 

[duhastmish]

with this allocation i can smell GSLV-III and avatar some where down the corner. Not far from reality, with this funding i am hoping many more of our brain will come back and indulge in ISRO instead of NASA.

 

[nitesh]

After moon mission, ISRO now lines up twin launch

Bangalore, Feb 17 (PTI) After the successful Chandrayaan-I moon mission, Indian Space Research Organisation is now getting ready for a twin launch - a "breakthrough" Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) and ANUSAT.
Bangalore-headquartered ISRO is targeting a March last week date for launching them on board the indigenously built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Sriharikota spaceport.

Indian space scientists see the 1,780-kg Risat as a major milestone for the country as far as remote sensing satellites are concerned. RISAT mission would have a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating in a multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode.

SAR, being an active sensor, operating in the microwave range of electromagnetic spectrum, provides the target parameters such as dielectric constant, roughness, and geometry, and has the unique capability for day-night imaging, and imaging in all weather conditions including fog and haze, and also provide information on soil moisture.

"So far, all satellites launched by ISRO are optical remote sensing satellites. But RISAT will have all other capabilities," ISRO spokesperson S Satish told PTI.

RISAT is capable of taking pictures during night as well and even in cloud-covered conditions, an expertise Indian remote sensing satellites did not have previously. PTI

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/C382EFD377669B7B6525756000223345?OpenDocument

 

[nitesh]

Isro set to use indigenously developed cryogenic engine for GSLV launch

Isro set to use indigenously developed cryogenic engine for GSLV launch
Bibhu Ranjan Mishra / Bangalore February 18, 2009, 0:55 IST

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is expected to launch a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) in July this year, using an indigenously developed cryogenic engine. The flight that is likely to launch the GSAT-4 into orbit will mark the end of India's dependence on Russia, which had been supplying the cryogenic engines since 1991. India has so far launched five GSLV rockets.

The launch vehicle is capable of placing a 2-tonne satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit, uses all the three kinds of propellants — solid, liquid and cryogenic. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) uses only solid and liquid propellants and is capable of carrying payloads less than 2 tonnes.

"All the previous GSLV flights had cryogenic engines procured from Russia. For the first time, indigenously developed cryogenic engines will be used. This is a development started almost parallelly to procurement from Russia. We have completed all the tests, including qualification and flight acceptance. Now the engine is fully qualified and will be used in the next flight of GSLV," a highly-placed source in Isro told Business Standard.

Work on developing India's own cryogenic engine was started by Isro shortly after the project to develop the GSLV was initiated in 1986. However, failing in the initial attempt to develop the highly complex cryogenic engine on its own, Isro inked a $120 million contract with Soviet space enterprise Glavkosmos in 1991 for supply of two KVD-1 cryogenic engines. India has so far procured seven Russian-built cryogenic engines, of which five have been used during the previous GSLV launches of Isro.

With an initial project cost of about Rs 235 crore, the work for the development of India's own cryogenic engine was jointly carried out by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Trivandrum, Material Development and Research Centre at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Liquid Propulsion Test Facility (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. Isro conducted the flight acceptance test of the indigenous cryogenic engine on December 18 last year at the LPSC, which was found to be quite satisfactory.

"The flight acceptance hot test of the cryogenic engine was carried out at the liquid propulsion systems centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. This engine will be used in the next GSLV launch in April 2009 for carrying the 2.3-tonne geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT)," the space research agency had stated at that time.

GSAT-4, the communication satellite that Isro intends to launch using the indigenous cryogenic engine powered GSLV, will provide internet connectivity in remote villages. "We are going to launch GSAT-4 which will have digital connectivity on board. It's meant for data transfers from computers at remote villages," says Isro Chairman G Madhavan Nair.

Isro is planning to use the GSLV for the Chandrayaan-II mission scheduled for 2012 as opposed to PSLV that was used to launch Chandrayaan-I

 

[satishkumarcsc]

India plans delayed scramjet flight test for 2010

There are a lot of anomalies in this article...but the source is sort of credible....

 

[nitesh]

:: ISRO ::

annual report

 

[macintosh]

India urged to review space prog

New Delhi, Feb 22: India should undertake a strategic and comprehensive review of its space programmes as quickly as possible given "the military character and military functions" of China's space programme, a senior US expert in Asian military affairs said on Saturday.

Painting a "horror picture" of China's rapidly expanding global military reach, Richard Fischer Jr, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in the US, said Indian private universities should begin satellite or space development programmes as has been done in the United States.

Initiating a discussion on "Chinese military modernisation" at the Observer Research Foundation, a public policy think tank here, he said China's space and satellite programmes have a military character and military functions.

Given this, he stressed on the need to develop satellite and space technologies to counter China's advancement in these areas.

"We have to look forward to China performing military activities from moon," Fischer said, noting that Beijing's moon programme spokesman had said the team to moon would carry telescopes and lasers.

"What are they going to do with laser and telescope on the moon?" he wondered.

Fischer said the Chinese moon programme had even forced the US to take a re-look at its own lunar programme and to give it high priority with the necessary funds even at a time of economic meltdown.

He said the satellite programmes, to be developed by private Indian universities after obtaining legal permission, should be "completely outside the government's tentacles".

"If China can develop A-Sats and SLVs, why can't India?" he asked, offering India a seat in the US' second moon programme on a bilateral or trilateral basis. He said even Russia might be offering India such cooperation as it had offered to China.

He said India should make "necessary hard choices in these trying circumstances".