Indian Space Capabilities

[typoerror]

why wont you guys understand that far from deridingg our achievements I am pointing out how far behind we still are. irrespective of the reasons we are decades behind. and al little bit of organizational introspection will show the disparity. my engineering project was done in MCF, hassan. It was a mathematical model to predict the decay of old satellites and how to safely bring them back to earth thereby preventing space clutter. that was 12 years back and there was a very obvious disparity in staffing back then even.

 

[gslv mk3]

ISRO has open houses every 6 months in all itsmajor locations. If you were really interested you would go. IIT entry data state wise is also made available every year. if you were interested you would check.


and no, i am not wrong. the first russian cryo engine to ever fly was the kvd 1 on the gslv. dont hate me for being the messenger.


I mentioned Andhra.

The Energia one ?

 

[typoerror]

Dude ISRO takes students from mains exam and not from IIT so all you theory is wrong.....

what theory sir. all i am saying is there is a disparity in intake. its not possible that the brightest engineering talent in the country does not find its way into our premier defence and strategic institutes.

more perspective:
china is currently building a launch vehicle with a GTO payload of 100 tonnes
india is currently building a launch vehicle with a GTO payload of 12 tonnes

The entire debate started with someone saying ISRO is a model organization. Actually, the model research org in India is BARC. Nuclear energy is the only field where we are actually at par or ahead of the others. this is in two parts

1) fuel cycle theory, where we are ahead of many others in fission and at par with most others in fusion
2) technology and materials, where we are not more than a decade from being at par

 

[typoerror]

KVD-1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the wiki entry of KVD 1, Russias first cryo engine, whcih itself was a modified system.

The thing is cryo's are not the bees knees of spaceflight, semi-cryos are. So we are no where near the pinnacle of heavy launch

 

[Vinod2070]

what theory sir. all i am saying is there is a disparity in intake. its not possible that the brightest engineering talent in the country does not find its way into our premier defence and strategic institutes.

more perspective:
china is currently building a launch vehicle with a GTO payload of 100 tonnes
india is currently building a launch vehicle with a GTO payload of 12 tonnes

The entire debate started with someone saying ISRO is a model organization. Actually, the model research org in India is BARC. Nuclear energy is the only field where we are actually at par or ahead of the others. this is in two parts

1) fuel cycle theory, where we are ahead of many others in fission and at par with most others in fusion
2) technology and materials, where we are not more than a decade from being at par

Well it may be that many of the bright Engineers from UP and Bihar are more interested in IAS and such things rather than organizations like ISRO.

In fact I have seen this tendency personally.

Also the fact that ISRO doesn't pay so well so the best and the brightest don't necessarily go there. Most of the talent there gets groomed within.

 

[typoerror]

Well it may be that many of the bright Engineers from UP and Bihar are more interested in IAS and such things rather than organizations like ISRO.

In fact I have seen this tendency personally.

Also the fact that ISRO doesn't pay so well so the best and the brightest don't necessarily go there. Most of the talent there gets groomed within.

I am not speculating on the reasons for the situation, just an observation that it is not ideal.

 

[kurup]

Isro's Mahendragiri centre elevated, gets more powers

TIRUNELVELI: The liquid propulsion systems centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli will henceforth be called as the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Propulsion Complex, according to Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan, who made the official announcement at a function held in Mahendragiri on Friday.

With this, the long-pending demand of the scientists and stakeholders of the LPSC in Mahendragiri, one of the three such centres in the country, has been met with. The move would now help the complex to get autonomous power and would function as a separate department of Isro. The Mahendragiri centre, which was functioning under LPSC in Valiyamala near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, would henceforth directly report to the Isro chairman.

D Karthikesan, associate director of LPSC, Mahendragiri, who was described as outstanding scientist by Radhakrishnan during the programme, would take charge as the director of the newly-elevated Isro Propulsion Complex from February 1. He would have autonomous powers as head of the department.

Addressing the scientists, Radhakrishnan said that the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Liquid Propulsion System Centres, Isro Propulsion Complex and Sriharikota would be working together as a single unit in launching the vehicles. "We need coordination to launch the vehicles and cryogenic engine development. Considering the need for effective coordination between Isro Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, LPSCs and Isro, a team has been formed. Director of LPSC will chair it, director of Isro Propulsion Complex will be member secretary, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the additional secretary and scientific secretary in department of space will be the members," he said.

To ensure clean records, a team consisting of joint secretary in the department of space, director launching vehicle programme office, controller of LPSC, group director of programme validity evaluation group of LPSC and two senior representatives of Isro Propulsion Complex has been constituted, the chairman also said.

The Mahendragiri centre has been instrumental in assembling and testing as many as 125 engines made by Isro so far. The elevation would be a challenge to the scientists working in the centre. They should take up the challenge and develop themselves. In another five to 10 years the complex should develop a lot, the chairman insisted.

Talking about the recently launched GSLV-D5 rocket Radhakrishnan said that Isro is developing very fast. The GSLV was launched with great precision and well positioned. It is performing well as expected, he said.

Meanwhile, minister of state in Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said on Friday that the third rocket launching pad is being considered in Kulasekaranpattinam of Tuticorin district by the central government. Talking to reporters at Mahendragiri, the minister said that there has been a demand for setting up the launching pad in Kulasekaranpattinam, as it is found to be a vantage point. He praised the scientists in Isro for taking the country to the next level in space research. The elevation of the Mahendragiri centre would further help in the development, he said.

Isro's Mahendragiri centre elevated, gets more powers - Times Of India

 

[typoerror]

Isro's Mahendragiri centre elevated, gets more powers

TIRUNELVELI: The liquid propulsion systems centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli will henceforth be called as the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Propulsion Complex, according to Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan, who made the official announcement at a function held in Mahendragiri on Friday.

With this, the long-pending demand of the scientists and stakeholders of the LPSC in Mahendragiri, one of the three such centres in the country, has been met with. The move would now help the complex to get autonomous power and would function as a separate department of Isro. The Mahendragiri centre, which was functioning under LPSC in Valiyamala near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, would henceforth directly report to the Isro chairman.

D Karthikesan, associate director of LPSC, Mahendragiri, who was described as outstanding scientist by Radhakrishnan during the programme, would take charge as the director of the newly-elevated Isro Propulsion Complex from February 1. He would have autonomous powers as head of the department.

Addressing the scientists, Radhakrishnan said that the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Liquid Propulsion System Centres, Isro Propulsion Complex and Sriharikota would be working together as a single unit in launching the vehicles. "We need coordination to launch the vehicles and cryogenic engine development. Considering the need for effective coordination between Isro Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, LPSCs and Isro, a team has been formed. Director of LPSC will chair it, director of Isro Propulsion Complex will be member secretary, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the additional secretary and scientific secretary in department of space will be the members," he said.

To ensure clean records, a team consisting of joint secretary in the department of space, director launching vehicle programme office, controller of LPSC, group director of programme validity evaluation group of LPSC and two senior representatives of Isro Propulsion Complex has been constituted, the chairman also said.

The Mahendragiri centre has been instrumental in assembling and testing as many as 125 engines made by Isro so far. The elevation would be a challenge to the scientists working in the centre. They should take up the challenge and develop themselves. In another five to 10 years the complex should develop a lot, the chairman insisted.

Talking about the recently launched GSLV-D5 rocket Radhakrishnan said that Isro is developing very fast. The GSLV was launched with great precision and well positioned. It is performing well as expected, he said.

Meanwhile, minister of state in Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said on Friday that the third rocket launching pad is being considered in Kulasekaranpattinam of Tuticorin district by the central government. Talking to reporters at Mahendragiri, the minister said that there has been a demand for setting up the launching pad in Kulasekaranpattinam, as it is found to be a vantage point. He praised the scientists in Isro for taking the country to the next level in space research. The elevation of the Mahendragiri centre would further help in the development, he said.

Isro's Mahendragiri centre elevated, gets more powers - Times Of India

This is awesome news. Please put this in perspective to what I said earlier about Mallu dominance. There is some level of politics in every organization, but in ISRO it had started to get detrimental. Look at the statement - the long pending demand - says a lot does it not? Please dont stone me for this. I spent time in ISRO centres, I am not exagerrating. If you know an ISRO scientist ask him and he will tell you.

We have to accept our shortcomings before we can become the best. I think our current chairman understands that. Awesome.

 

[kurup]

This is awesome news. Please put this in perspective to what I said earlier about Mallu dominance. There is some level of politics in every organization, but in ISRO it had started to get detrimental. Look at the statement - the long pending demand - says a lot does it not? Please dont stone me for this. I spent time in ISRO centres, I am not exagerrating. If you know an ISRO scientist ask him and he will tell you.

We have to accept our shortcomings before we can become the best. I think our current chairman understands that. Awesome.

LPSC is also dominated by Mallus , afaik .

 

[typoerror]

LPSC is also dominated by Mallus , afaik .

Dominated yes, but not majority. They are less than 50%.

 

[amitkriit]

Dude ISRO takes students from mains exam and not from IIT so all you theory is wrong.....

ISRO and DRDO make campus visits. At least that was the case at IIT Kharagpur. ISRO even has a small office inside the campus. The recruitment team did not manage to get any one interested, not one person turned up for the interview despite all the persuasion. Reason is not money but the following:
A. These organizations are not controlled by the domain experts but by the bureaucrats who love to be reminded about their special status by the "cattle class" working under them, this might involve little coercion from time to time. Working conditions are not good.
B. Internal politics. People concentrate less on work and more on leg pulling. There is a strong South Indian lobby.
C. Copycats. There is little scope for innovation. Bosses do not like failure and bad press. They love to get inspired by the product brochures and specs published by the phoren organizations. They take the principle of "not reinventing the wheel" very seriously and mostly overstretch it.
D. Government Apathy. I know instances when the government pressurized the management to water down the specs so as to make room for the foreign suppliers even though the technology and manufacturing capability was locally available.

 

[Supply&Demand]

Update from ISRO on Mars Orbiter Mission:

Another 233 days for MOM to reach Mars. MOM is 144 million km away from earth and moving at a velocity of 31.3 km/s with respect to Sun. As of now; a signal traveling at the speed of light takes around 48 seconds to reach MOM.

ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission - Bangalore, India - Government Organization | Facebook

 

[HariPrasad]

For interested people ... our brand new SLV is ready !

Pl provide details. it is very interesting.

 

[RPK]

GSLV-linked facilities | Frontline

Behind the January 5 triumph of the GSLV-D5 with an indigenous cryogenic stage are some massive facilities that ISRO has built at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.

The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota features the spaceport with its two launch pads; propellant filling centres near the first and second launch pads; a bulk storage facility for liquid propellants; and a world-class Mission Control Centre.

The bulk storage facility can house 400 tonnes of liquid propellants of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide, which are highly toxic. “The tanks should be absolutely leak-free,” said M.Y.S. Prasad, Director, SCDC. “There are so many pumps, heat exchangers; flow meters; temperature, pressure and flow sensors; safety relief valves, water drenching systems to quench a fire, and so on.”

The two propellant-filling centres are situated 10 km away from the launch pads and filling is done remotely with the help of optical links, computer networks and remotely controlled valves. While the mass of the liquid propellants loaded into the launch vehicle is measured by the mass flow meter, in the case of cryogenic propellants—liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen—the mass is measured by their temperature, pressure and other parameters. Yet, about 10.85 tonnes of liquid oxygen should be filled into the GSLV’s cryogenic stage with an accuracy of 70 kg, and 1,900 kg of liquid hydrogen should be pumped in with an accuracy of 12 kg, said Prasad. “Besides, we have to condition the storage tanks, circuits, tubes and valves by cooling them to –252° C so that there is no gas formation,” he added.

The sophisticated Mission Control Centre, inaugurated in January 2012, features more than 50 computers. It coordinates and conducts the launch operations during the countdown phase and until the injection of the satellite into orbit.

At Mahendragiri, near Nagercoil in the foothills of the Western Ghats, is the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, where the liquid stages (PSLVs) and the cryogenic stages are built. Also in Mahendragiri is the High Altitude Test (HAT) facility. It was set up for the GSLV-Mk III rocket—currently under development—but was modified to test the cryogenic engine of the GSLV-D5 and the subsequent GSLV-Mk II flights. “We modified the storage facilities, ejectors, support systems, etc. This took one year. It was challenging work. We worked day and night,” said M.C. Dathan, Director, LPSC. Vacuum conditions, simulating the space environment, have been created in the HAT for igniting the cryogenic engine. Dathan added that a Main Engine Test facility and a facility to ensure that the turbo-pump received clean fuel, without any contamination, had also been set up at Mahendragiri.

 

[nik22]

Kudos to ISRO