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Indian Space Capabilities

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MOM’s Navigation Challenge

If you go outside (in Bangalore) and hit a golf ball towards Los Angeles, the golf ball has to come straight into the cup, exactly to the hole, that’s how accurate you have to come in. And to make it a little bit more challenging; the hole is moving.

Dr. Charles Elachi, Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA

Mars is moving and so is the Earth !
After 680 million kilometers of travel, the target is to arrive within a tiny circle of less than two kilometers, at the right epoch.


source-- FB

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The objective of tracking MOM & maneuvering it accordingly in the 4 expected course-corrections while en-route to Mars is an extraordinary effort. Congratulations to all concerned!

Just boggles the mind!
 
Mangalyaan-1's c.$75m Budget Equates to:
  • c.15% of NASA's budget for its comparable MAVEN mission
  • 2.1 % ofIndia's c.$3.5bn aid contributions to other nations
  • Less than 2% of the estimated £2.5bn in salaries paid to UK employees by Indian companies
  • 0.3 % of India's $24bn IMF bailout contribution to the Eurozone crisis
  • 0.02% of India's total government expenditure in 2013
Mars is a 'Red' Herring: Why India's Space Programme Is a Global Role Model | Abhaey Singh

While we have nothing against the UK, their jingoism is only pathetic and shows the last vestiges of memories of a colonial past.

Such people who make these noises are just second rate, third class jingoists.

I liked it when Chinese media reminded them of this reality. Some Indian politicians have done that in the past as well.

UK nothing but an ‘old European country for travel and study’ – Chinese media — RT News

They need us more than we need them.
 
I am wondering if UK will be taking help of ISRO because of storm that hit it.

That will be seriously a bad joke played by Nature.
 
MARS MISSION PAYLOADS
  • Lyman Alpha Photomoter (LAP): measures amount of hydrogen and deuterium which will help scientists understand the loss of water from Mars
  • Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA): Studies the neutral composition of the upper atmosphere
  • Mars colour camera: Takes images of the surface of Mars and its satellites Phobos and Deimos
  • Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer: Measures thermal emissions and helps map surface composition and minerals
BBC News - How the Mars mission helps India
 
I am wondering if UK will be taking help of ISRO because of storm that hit it.

That will be seriously a bad joke played by Nature.
They had taken the help of our railway engineers to help with some of their old rail tracks and signals.
 
Mars Orbiter: ISRO to carry out first trajectory correction manoeuvre on December 11

India’s first interplanetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), will get its first Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) on December11, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Monday.
As Mangalyaan continues its fuel-less journey to the Red Planet, the Indian space agency will carry outthe first trajectorycorrection manoeuvreon December11.
Although the Mars spacecraft is travelling in the intended trajectory,ISRO has planned four trajectory corrections to fine tune it so as to keep it in the correct intended track. The second TMC is happening in April 2014,then in August2014, and then in September2014.
“We have already imparted the velocity required by MOM to reach Mars during the Trans-Mars Injection (on December1) and now MOM is cruising with a velocity of about32.8 km/s. The first TCM is scheduled on December11,” ISRO sources said.
The propulsion system of MOM, which is to travel a total distance of about 680 million km, will be using monomethyl hydrazine as fuel and dinitrogen tetroxide as oxidizer during all the four TCMs, they said.
MOM was not taking the shortest route to the Red Planet,since accelerating and later decelerating to match the planet’s speed would require an extremely large amount of fuel in that option,said ISRO while interacting with space enthusiasts in its official page on social networking site Facebook.
“The route which requires the least amount of fuel is an elliptical orbit which forms a tangent to the Mars’ and Earth’s orbit around the Sun. MOM is travelling a distance of about 680 million km in this elliptical trajectory. This kind of transfer is called a Hohmann transfer,”ISRO said.
ISRO also said that the targeted mission life of MOM was six months after Mars Orbit Insertion.
“Fuel is required even in Martian orbitfor orientation control of the spacecraft.The mission can be extendedif suchnon-renewable resourcesin the spacecraft last longer,” it added.
The Mars Orbiter was launched into Earth orbit from the First Launch Pad at Sriharikota,Andhra Pradesh on 5 November,2013,by ISRO’s PSLV-C25 rocket.

Mars Orbiter: ISRO to carry out first trajectory correction manoeuvre on December 11
 
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From ISRO: Mars Orbiter Mission
The first Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) of Spacecraft was carried out successfully at 06:30 hrs (IST) by firing the 22 Newton Thrusters for a duration of 40.5 seconds. The spacecraft is travelling at a distance of about 29 lakh (2.9 million) km away from Earth.
 
Isro to decide December 27 on GSAT-14 launch date
IANS | Dec 16, 2013, 01.50 PM IST

CHENNAI: The Indian space agency Dec 27 would decide the date for the launch of communication satellite GSAT-14 using its heavier rocket geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV), said a senior official.

"The GSLV launch will be in January. The exact date will be decided Dec 27 at a meeting," MYS Prasad, director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), told IANS over phone from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

A couple of hours before the rocket was all set for launch Aug 19, to put into orbit GSAT-14, the mission was aborted after the liquid fuel started leaking from its second stage/engine.

The mission's important aspect is that the rocket's cryogenic third stage/engine is designed and built by Isro.

A cryogenic engine is more efficient as it provides more thrust for every kilogram of the propellant burnt.

The successful flight of this rocket is crucial for India as it will be the first step towards building rockets that could carry heavier payloads, up to four tonnes.

For Isro, perfecting the cryogenic engine technology is crucial as it can save precious foreign exchange by launching communication satellites by itself.

The 49.13 metres tall GSLV, weighing around 414 tonnes, is a three-stage/engine with four strap-on motors hugging the first stage.

The first stage is powered by solid fuel, while the four strap-on motors and the second stage are powered by liquid fuel. The third is the cryogenic engine powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

According to Prasad, currently tests are being conducted on the rocket systems.

Earlier, the re-launch was expected to happen in December but the Indian space agency decided to carry out full fledged tests on all systems which consumed time.

Isro officials told IANS that the rocket would be moved to the launch pad Dec 28 or 29 and after that around 10 days would be needed to ready the rocket for its flight.

The cuboid shaped GSAT-14 is India's 23rd geostationary satellite built by Isro. It has a life span of 12 years.

The 1,982-kg satellite carries six extended C-band and Ku-band transponders (receivers and transmitters of signals) and two Ka-band becons. The satellite will be used for tele-medicine and tele-education services.

Isro to decide December 27 on GSAT-14 launch date - The Times of India
 
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