Indian Space Capabilities

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/607830/isro-increase-frequency-launches-12.html

The Indian Space Research Organisation is trying to increase its capacity to deliver by scaling up the frequency of launches to 12 per year from the seven at present by building more satellites and lowering the cost of access to space.

"Earlier, we were doing 2-3 (launches) per year, then we increased it to 4-5, last few years we have been doing seven launches," space agency Chairman A S Kiran Kumar told PTI.

"Now, we are trying to go up to 8-9 PSLV per year, two GSLV-Mk II and one GSLV-Mk III. Total about 12 per year," he said.

ISRO is trying to increase its capacity to deliver by scaling up the frequency of launches by building more satellites, lowering the cost of access to space and also to do heavier satellite launches, the Chairman said.

The space agency is in the process of constructing a second vehicle assembly building to improve the turnaround time and throughput for the PSLV so that with the same launch pad ISRO can do more launches, he said.

Kiran Kumar said approval for a proposal to build a space station was yet to come.


ISRO plans to undertake the Chandrayaan-2 mission in the first quarter of the next calendar year, he said.

"It (Chandrayaan-2) is a fully Indian affair. There is no Russian participation in that," Kiran Kumar said.

"All the developments required for that, all the variable thrust engines, lander, rover....all that work is going on and we are getting ready for this launch," he said.

"Another Mars mission, Venus mission or Asteroids mission...all these possibilities we are working on; study teams are looking at it, and then we will finalise at some point of time and start getting approvals for them," he said.

On reusable launch vehicle, he said ISRO has identified its next steps in terms of air-breathing propulsion system.

"We are now trying to do an experiment where it will demonstrate that the thrust generated is more than the friction so that you have a net positive thrust.

"What we have (already) demonstrated is combustion happening with oxygen and hydrogen. The next step is the thrust whatever is generated should be more than the friction that's going to come up because of the surfaces involved," Kiran Kumar explained.

"Once that is done, then it's a big capability. So we are working towards that now and in terms of reusable launch vehicle I think landing gear system to that and conducting some experiments that is the next step and beyond that we are looking to scale up the model and do the next set of activities," he said.

 

[RISING SUN]

ISRO to increase frequency of launches to 12 per year
The Indian Space Research Organisation is trying to increase its capacity to deliver by scaling up the frequency of launches to 12 per year from the seven at present by building more satellites and lowering the cost of access to space.

"Earlier, we were doing 2-3 (launches) per year, then we increased it to 4-5, last few years we have been doing seven launches," space agency Chairman AS Kiran Kumar told PTI.

"Now, we are trying to go up to 8-9 PSLV per year, two GSLV-Mk II and one GSLV-Mk III. Total about 12 per year," he said.

ISRO is trying to increase its capacity to deliver by scaling up the frequency of launches by building more satellites, lowering the cost of access to space and also to do heavier satellite launches, the Chairman said.
The space agency is in the process of constructing a second vehicle assembly building to improve the turnaround time and throughput for the PSLV so that with the same launch pad ISRO can do more launches, he said.

Kiran Kumar said approval for a proposal to build a space station was yet to come.

ISRO plans to undertake the Chandrayaan-2 mission in the first quarter of the next calendar year, he said.

"It (Chandrayaan-2) is a fully Indian affair. There is no Russian participation in that," Kiran Kumar said.

"All the developments required for that, all the variable thrust engines, lander, rover....all that work is going on and we are getting ready for this launch," he said.
"Another Mars mission, Venus mission or Asteroids mission...all these possibilities we are working on; study teams are looking at it, and then we will finalise at some point of time and start getting approvals for them," he said.
On reusable launch vehicle, he said ISRO has identified its next steps in terms of air-breathing propulsion system.
"We are now trying to do an experiment where it will demonstrate that the thrust generated is more than the friction so that you have a net positive thrust.
"What we have (already) demonstrated is combustion happening with oxygen and hydrogen. The next step is the thrust whatever is generated should be more than the friction that's going to come up because of the surfaces involved," Kiran Kumar explained.


"Once that is done, then it's a big capability. So we are working towards that now and in terms of reusable launch vehicle I think landing gear system to that and conducting some experiments that is the next step and beyond that we are looking to scale up the model and do the next set of activities," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...nches-to-12-per-year/articleshow/58326033.cms

 

[li0nheart]

Venus mission: Isro invites proposals for space experiments

waves a India National Flag at the launch of PSLV-C37, carrying CARTOSAT-2 along with 104 nano satellites at Sriharikota in February this year. (TOI picture for representation)
HIGHLIGHTS

• The exploration of Venus began in the early 1960s.
• The focus of the Venus mission will be atmospheric and surface studies, Sun-Venus interaction, biology experiments and technology demonstration.

MUMBAI: This week, Isro inviting proposals for space-based experiments from scientists across the country.

According to Isro, the payload capability of the Venus-bound satellite is expected to be 175 kg with 500W of power. The orbit will be 500 X 60,000km around Venus, which will gradually reduce over several months.

The focus of the mission will be atmospheric and surface studies, Sun-Venus interaction, biology experiments and technology demonstration. An Isro official told TOI that though it is an approved mission, the date of the launch is yet to be firmed up.
According to Isro, the exploration of Venus began in the early 1960s with fly by and lander missions and atmospheric probes.

"In spite of great progress made in exploring Venus, there still exist gaps in our understanding about surface, sub-surface features and processes, and super rotation of the Venusian atmosphere, its evolution and interaction with solar radiation solar wind," Isro stated.

http://m.timesofindia.com/india/ven...or-space-experiments/articleshow/58336243.cms

 

[#hydra#]

Venus mission: Isro invites proposals for space experiments

​

waves a India National Flag at the launch of PSLV-C37, carrying CARTOSAT-2 along with 104 nano satellites at Sriharikota in February this year. (TOI picture for representation)
HIGHLIGHTS

• The exploration of Venus began in the early 1960s.
• The focus of the Venus mission will be atmospheric and surface studies, Sun-Venus interaction, biology experiments and technology demonstration.

MUMBAI: This week, Isro inviting proposals for space-based experiments from scientists across the country.

According to Isro, the payload capability of the Venus-bound satellite is expected to be 175 kg with 500W of power. The orbit will be 500 X 60,000km around Venus, which will gradually reduce over several months.

The focus of the mission will be atmospheric and surface studies, Sun-Venus interaction, biology experiments and technology demonstration. An Isro official told TOI that though it is an approved mission, the date of the launch is yet to be firmed up.
According to Isro, the exploration of Venus began in the early 1960s with fly by and lander missions and atmospheric probes.

"In spite of great progress made in exploring Venus, there still exist gaps in our understanding about surface, sub-surface features and processes, and super rotation of the Venusian atmosphere, its evolution and interaction with solar radiation solar wind," Isro stated.

http://m.timesofindia.com/india/ven...or-space-experiments/articleshow/58336243.cms

Dual band SAR radar should be there

 

[Hindustani78]

ISRO offered the highest price for all three parcels when HMT announced sale of land last year. The Union Cabinet cleared the land sale to ISRO on March 31.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/hmt-space-to-tick-again-for-isro/article18209738.ece

About 208 acres of land being acquired by ISRO in ₹1,194-crore plan

Spaces that produced the iconic HMT watches in Bengaluru and Tumakuru for over 50 years are set to change hands and will start ticking again, this time for satellite, launcher and planetary missions.

About 208 acres of land belonging to public sector HMT in the two locations are being acquired by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in a ₹1,194-crore plan to expand and decongest its facilities across the city.

The Bengaluru-based space headquarters, which is doubling its yearly quota of satellites and launch vehicles, wants to shift, expand or reshuffle operational facilities in the city to these locations.

This could be one of ISRO’s big expansions in recent years since it took up around 500 acres in the multi-agency ‘science complex’ at Challakere, about 200 km away.

ISRO needs space for future plans and resources are never sufficient, ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar told The Hindu. “Many of our facilities in Bangalore are located in the centre of the city and have got saturated. We were looking at new options when [the HMT] opportunity came up. We need space, especially for recent activities in which we have involved industry in assembling spacecraft.”

Two such satellite projects are going on at ISITE [ISRO Spacecraft Integration Test Establishment] in Marathahalli in the East. A solar cells venture with BHEL is in the offing.

ISTRAC, which tracks and controls remote sensing, planetary and navigation missions from Peenya in the West, may need additional systems in phases to control an increasing number of future satellites. They may be put up in the new locations as “Peenya is fully boxed in and there is no scope to expand”. A decade ago, it had to set up the Deep Space Network at Byalalu, around 30 km away.

“We have a general idea about using this land. We will take stock of the entire issue and work out a specific plan of action to see how we can make any change” in locating old and new activities, Mr. Kiran Kumar said.

Three-month process

HMT chairman and managing director S. Girish Kumar said in an e-mail reply: “The time schedule to finalise the [land transfer] process is within the next three months subject to receiving payments” from the buyer.

HMT will survey the land with ISRO and issue allotment letters after selling machinery and moveable property at its factories. They include factory buildings, townships and sheds, while a small part has been encroached upon.

ISRO offered the highest price for all three parcels when HMT announced sale of land last year. The government had closed the loss-making watch factory before that. The Union Cabinet cleared the land sale to ISRO on March 31. A one-acre parcel went to GAIL for ₹34 crore.

Of the 11 centres in the city, including the headquarters, satellite activities are split between ISAC and its second campus ISITE. A unit of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre is nearby in the East. Its sensors unit, the Laboratory for Electro-Optical Systems, is near ISTRAC.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/608712/isro-all-set-launch-gslv.html

Chennai, DH News Service, Apr 28 2017, 15:53 IST

GSLV-F09 mission is the eleventh flight of GSLV and its fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS). DH photo

Moving another step forward in the space technology race, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch GSLV mission on May 5 in a bid to provide various communication applications in the Ku-band with coverage over south Asian countries.

ISRO sources told Deccan Herald on Friday that GSAT-9, a geostationary communication satellite, is configured around ISRO’s standard I-2K bus, with lift off mass of 2,230 kg.

“GSLV-F09 will be launched from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota on May 5”, a senior ISRO official said.

According to an ISRO official, after getting clearance from Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorization Board (LAB), the countdown of the GSLV-F09 launch mission will be announced.

The main structure of the satellite is cuboidal and is built around a central cylinder with a mission life of more than 12 years. GSLV-F09 mission is the eleventh flight of GSLV and its fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS).

The success of the previous GSLV mission in September last year provided much-needed boost for future GSLV missions to launch satellites weighing two to 2.2 tonnes using the country's indigenous cryogenic engine.

 

[Shajida Khan]

Instead of getting bogged down to catch this train which they have already missed, Indian government will do better to catch the next one. Calcium Ion batteries

http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v15/n2/abs/nmat4462.html

Theoretically they can hold twice the amount of energy compared to Lithium Ion batteries and Calcium is not exactly that rare in India.

There are many research groups in Japan who are actually working on Calcium ion battery, remember Lithium ion was also commercialized by Japanese only. Indian government should encourage some of Indian students to go work in Japan and learn fundamentals of this technology and bring it back in India. Also starting PSUs/research institutes dedicated to this might make sense. Last and most important step will be large scale commercial manufacturing.

 

[ashok321]

Ability to put any satellite into any orbit: Isro gearing up for the biggest challenge


Every engineer works under constraints. For those designing the third generation geostationary launch vehicle (GSLV), the main constraints were the launch facilities at Sriharikota and the capabilities of Indian industry. They could design a big rocket, but the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) would have had to build an expensive place to launch them. They would have also had to find companies to make the vehicle components, as making big rocket components was beyond industry capabilities.


When Isro started developing this rocket a decade and a half ago, it was far from being a thoroughbred organisation. It was not of great repute, its technical skills not cutting edge and its commercial potential, negligible. The first generation GSLV had just been test-flown, but its satellite had not reached its desired orbit. The GSLV Mark III was a complex vehicle and some of its critical technologies had to be developed from scratch. Isro’s cryogenic engine development had hit hurdles and got delayed beyond reasonable measure.


However, by the turn of the century, Isro had shown glimpses of its current prowess. It had learned the art of making satellites. Its polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) had begun to put remote-sensing satellites into low earth orbit with precision, and this vehicle was slowly acquiring a reputation for reliability. The PSLV was relatively easier game.

The GSLV was a different matter altogether, requiring powerful solid motors and liquid engines in the early stages and a cryogenic engine on top. GSLV Mark III was conceived as a heavy lifter, by Indian standards, capable of putting communication satellites into a geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the earth. A powerful cryogenic engine needed to be developed quickly.

Isro is now readying the vehicle for its first full flight at the end of this month, roughly three weeks after another flight of the current generation GSLV on May 5. Isro has used new ideas in its design, necessitating new methods in manufacturing. Some of these ideas will be tested for the first time in a flight from Sriharikota. It would be the first flight of GSLV III using India’s fully-indigenous cryogenic engine. If successful, it would also be India’s first launch vehicle qualified for human space flight. “This vehicle is going to be at the frontier for Isro,” says G Ayyappan, Mark III project director. “It can be used for human flight as well.”

All of these combine to make it one of the most critical flights in Isro’s history. Although the space technology frontier has moved on, promising to keep Isro engineers busy for a long time, GSLV Mark III is the culmination of all that Isro initially set out to do when first set up in the 1960s. When fully ready, it would give Isro self-reliance and the ability to put any satellite into any orbit.

The current flight of GSLV III is a developmental flight. Isro is planning another developmental flight a year later. It takes at least two flawless developmental fights for the vehicle to be ready for commercial use. This year, India will put two communication satellites in orbit using the French Arianne launcher. One of these satellites will weigh 5.6 tonnes. It is beyond the capabilities of even the current GSLV III, which is now being developed to put four-tonne satellites into geostationary orbit. Later versions of the GSLV will be able to put satellites weighing up to seven to eight tonnes into geostationary orbit.

Isro had gone through a difficult period a few years ago, when a launch of its GSLV Mark II failed. This failure had its impact on GSLV Mark III as well. “Because we had problems with Mark II,” says Isro chairman Kiran Kumar, “we had to rework some facilities of Mark III for Mark II. So Mark III got slightly delayed.” The successful flight of GSLV Mark II in 2014 was thus a major milestone for Isro. It also qualified India’s cryogenic engine, which was a reengineered version of the Russian cryogenic engines.

The cryogenic engine in Mark III is entirely designed in India, and is twice as powerful as the Mark II cryogenic engines. Isro has used a different technology for this engine called the gasgenerator cycle, primarily because it gave the engineers the freedom to test each component separately. The earlier engine used a method called staged combustion, where the entire engine had to be tested as one entity. “We have now made about 200 tests on the engine and its components separately,” says Kiran Kumar.

For the cryogenic engine, Isro had to create new high altitude test facilities at Mahendragiri near Thiruvananthapuram. Isro tested the full engine in April 2015 for 635 seconds, and again in June 2015 for 800 seconds, well beyond the duration of its burning during a real flight. It had two more tests subsequently, one early in 2016 and another in December 2016. The performance of the new cryogenic engine would be the most crucial aspect of the flight later this month, as it is being tested for the first time in a flight. Although there are other new features in the vehicle, some of these have already been tested in a partial flight two years ago. “We had doubts about the configuration,” says K Radhakrishnan, former chairman of Isro. “So we decided to have an atmospheric test flight with a passive cryogenic engine.”

This flight was on December 18, 2014, when Isro tested the recovery of a crew module. Isro had doubts about the configuration because it had two boosters on either side of the liquid core stage, with the core stage not firing with the boosters. GSLV Mark II had four strap-on motors surrounding the core stage. “The aerodynamics of Mark III special because the strap-ons are in one plane,” says S Somanath, former project director of GSLV Mark III and now the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre near Thiruvananthapuram. The absence of strap-ons in the other plane makes the pitching and yawing manoeuvres slightly different.

At 3.2 meter in diameter, the strap-on motors are the third largest in the world. Apart from their size, the use of two strap-on motors provided another challenge for Isro. The two motors had to match their performance precisely. If not, one would tilt the vehicle to the other side during flight. To avoid this imbalance, Isro made the boosters from one casting, by splitting it into two. It was Isro’s first attempt at pair casting. It was to ensure uniformity of material and uniform degradation and it needed the development of new infrastructure.

GSLV Mark III has a core liquid stage with twin engines, another – smaller – novelty in design. The liquid engines would switch on only a 100 seconds after lift-off, but well before the strap-on motors cease firing. The launch vehicle has redundant control electronics, a requirement for any vehicle used for human flight. Isro engineers have provided Mark III with other requirements for human flight vehicle, in terms of acceleration, noise and other safety margins. Isro has already designed and test-flown a crew module.

In the end, the decision for a human flight rests with the politicians. Whether the country embarks on a human flight or not, it is necessary for Isro to design vehicles that can carry heavier and heavier payloads. Not just for communication satellites, but for future inter-planetary missions as well. The GSLV Mark III will fly this month with a 3.2-tonne satellite, the GSAT-19. The vehicle is designed to take a payload of four tonnes, but it would still not be enough for some of Isro’s future requirements.

“Satellites are getting heavier and heavier,” says K Sivan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. “So we have to increase the capacity of the vehicle.” GSLV Mark III can be tweaked to later to carry more than six tonnes of payload into a geostationary orbit, by replacing the core liquid stage with a semi-cryogenic engine. This engine is under development, and might take three to four years. After its development, India would be able to put six to seven tonne-class of satellites into a geostationary orbit, and stop using expensive overseas facilities for launching its communication satellites.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/sc...-propulsion/article18347912.ece?homepage=true

The fully integrated GSLV-F06 carrying GSAT-9 at the second launching pad. | Photo Credit: ISRO

Test feature in May 5 mission is a tool to cut fuel load & space launch costs
This week's space mission, GSAT-9 or the South Asia Satellite, will carry a new feature that will eventually make advanced Indian spacecraft far lighter. It will even lower the cost of launches tangibly in the near future.

The 2,195-kg GSAT-9, due to take off on a GSLV rocket on May 5, carries an electric propulsion or EP system. The hardware is a first on an Indian spacecraft.

M.Annadurai, Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, explained its immediate and potential benefits: the satellite will be flying with around 80 kg of chemical fuel - or just about 25% of what it would have otherwise carried. Managing it for more than a decade in orbit will become cost efficient.

In the long run, with the crucial weight factor coming down later even for sophisticated satellites, Indian Space Research Organisation can launch them on its upcoming heavy rockets instead of sending them to space on costly foreign boosters. Shortly, its own vehicle GSLV MkIII is due for its full test flight.

Dr. Annadurai told The Hindu that GSAT-9's EPS would be used to keep its functions going when it reaches its final slot - which is roughly about two weeks after launch - and throughout its lifetime.

Normally the 2,000-kg class INSAT/GSAT communication satellites take 200-300 kg of chemical propellants with them to space. The fuel is needed to keep them working in space, 36,000 km away, for 12 to 15 years.

Dr. Annadurai said, "In this mission, we are trying EPS in a small way as a technology demonstrator. Now we have put a xenon-based EP primarily for in-orbit functions of the spacecraft. In the long run, it will be very efficient in correcting the [initial] transfer orbit after launch."

He said that the space agency normally uses up 25-30 kg of fuel on the satellite each year to maintain its functions and orbit position. An EP system would vastly bring this amount down.

Next big trend

A xenon based EPS can be five to six times more efficient than chemical-based propulsion on spacecraft and has many uses, according to Dr Annadurai, whose centre assembles all Indian spacecraft. A 3,500-kg EPS-based satellite, for example, can do the work of a conventional spacecraft weighing 5,000 kg, but cost far less.

"One day, we should be able to launch a 5-tonne equivalent spacecraft - but weighing less than it - on our own GSLV [MkIII.] We are not yet there," he said.

All this is on the way, may be in around three years. GSAT-20 is planned as the first fully EPS-enabled satellite; its features were not immediately available. ISAC and the Kerala-based Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre are lead centres in developing it.

A trend that started about four years back, EPS is expected to drive half of all new spacecraft by 2020. For Space-dependent sectors across the globe, the economic benefits of EP systems are said to be immense. Currently government-owned and private space players agencies are said to be scrambling to make space missions 30 per cent cheaper than now - by lowering the per-kg cost of lifting payloads to specific distances.

*******

Special Correspondent
New Delhi April 30, 2017 13:35 IST
Updated: May 01, 2017 00:36 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...te-on-may-5/article18332816.ece?homepage=true

The “South Asia satellite” being built by India for use by countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region will be launched on May 5.

This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann ki Batt radio address on Sunday in which he said the capacities of the satellite and the facilities it provides “will go a long way in addressing South Asia’s economic and developmental priorities.”

“Natural resources mapping, tele-medicine, the field of education, deeper IT connectivity or fostering people to people contact — this satellite will prove to be a boon in the progress of the entire region. It is an important step by India to enhance co-operation with the entire South Asia… it is an invaluable gift. This is an appropriate example of our commitment towards South Asia,” Mr. Modi said in his address.

The satellite was announced by Mr. Modi during the 2014 SAARC summit in Nepal and all SAARC countries have since joined it except Pakistan.

The total cost of launching the satellite is estimated to be about ₹235 crore and the cost associated with the launch will be met by the Government of India, Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh had stated earlier in the Parliament.

The satellite called GSAT-09 enables full range of applications and services in the areas of telecommunication and broadcasting applications viz. Television, Direct-to-Home (DTH), Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), Tele-education, Telemedicine and Disaster Management Support.

The 2,230 kg satellite was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and has 12 Ku-band transponders. It is cuboid in shape and built around a central cylinder has a mission life of over 12 years.

It will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using a Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-II launch vehicle.

The GSLV-F09 is about 50m tall and is the 11th flight of the GSLV. It is also the its fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) engine.

 

[ashok321]

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201705021053194601-india-space-vehicle-test/


The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) added another milestone to its list of achievements by successfully showcasing a solar-electric hybrid vehicle. ISRO’s different engineering branches at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram developed the vehicle.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The team working on the project developed a solar panel to fit on the roof of a car, along with an internal gearbox, control electronics for the battery and solar panel, and a conversion kit for fitting an electric motor to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

The vehicle was powered by ISRO's famed Lithium-ion batteries, with a high power supercapacitor to meet the power demands to achieve required torque. ISRO also ensured to not compromise the safety while integrating various subsystems.

The vehicle was successfully test-driven, including an uphill drive. The space agency will now focus on building indigenous Lithium-ion fuel cells, supercapacitors and an electric motor.

"ISRO is doing a lot of things in addition to launching satellites. And all projects are interlinked and laying down the foundation for an industrial complex which will boost innovation and job creation. They have started sub-contracting many of their product building processes, which again will help in the growth of industries," Dr. Mayank N. Vahia, Department of Astrophysics, at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, told Sputnik.

India is aiming to push the use of electric vehicles to tackle rising pollution in its cities with the government setting a target of 6 million electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads by 2020 under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.


The sales of electric vehicles in India is currently very low, rising 37.5 percent to 22,000 units in the year ended March 31, 2016, over 16,000 in 2014-15, according to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles. Of these 22,000 vehicles, only 2,000 were cars and other four-wheelers.

The high cost of batteries, a majority of which are imported, is a major hindrance to the development of the sector. Yet another challenge is to create a network of docking stations or charging stations for electric vehicles although that is more of a demand-related problem.

"A helping hand is required to create the infrastructure… There are two concerns for electric vehicles-first is cost and second is infrastructure," Mint quoted Abdul Majeed, partner and national auto practice leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers as saying.

The government recently asked ISRO to share its technology on Lithium-ion batteries with other public and private sector firms to give a push to the production of batteries in India and bring down the cost of electric vehicles.

 

[Gregor Clegane]

Congrats Isro.

 

[ashok321]

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/sc...aving-electric-propulsion/article18347912.ece


This week's space mission, GSAT-9 or the South Asia Satellite, will carry a new feature that will eventually make advanced Indian spacecraft far lighter. It will even lower the cost of launches tangibly in the near future.

The 2,195-kg GSAT-9, due to take off on a GSLV rocket on May 5, carries an electric propulsion or EP system. The hardware is a first on an Indian spacecraft.

M.Annadurai, Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, explained its immediate and potential benefits: the satellite will be flying with around 80 kg of chemical fuel - or just about 25% of what it would have otherwise carried. Managing it for more than a decade in orbit will become cost efficient.

In the long run, with the crucial weight factor coming down later even for sophisticated satellites, Indian Space Research Organisation can launch them on its upcoming heavy rockets instead of sending them to space on costly foreign boosters. Shortly, its own vehicle GSLV MkIII is due for its full test flight.

Dr. Annadurai told The Hindu that GSAT-9's EPS would be used to keep its functions going when it reaches its final slot - which is roughly about two weeks after launch - and throughout its lifetime.

Normally the 2,000-kg class INSAT/GSAT communication satellites take 200-300 kg of chemical propellants with them to space. The fuel is needed to keep them working in space, 36,000 km away, for 12 to 15 years.

Dr. Annadurai said, "In this mission, we are trying EPS in a small way as a technology demonstrator. Now we have put a xenon-based EP primarily for in-orbit functions of the spacecraft. In the long run, it will be very efficient in correcting the [initial] transfer orbit after launch."

He said that the space agency normally uses up 25-30 kg of fuel on the satellite each year to maintain its functions and orbit position. An EP system would vastly bring this amount down.

Next big trend

A xenon based EPS can be five to six times more efficient than chemical-based propulsion on spacecraft and has many uses, according to Dr Annadurai, whose centre assembles all Indian spacecraft. A 3,500-kg EPS-based satellite, for example, can do the work of a conventional spacecraft weighing 5,000 kg, but cost far less.

"One day, we should be able to launch a 5-tonne equivalent spacecraft - but weighing less than it - on our own GSLV [MkIII.] We are not yet there," he said.

All this is on the way, may be in around three years. GSAT-20 is planned as the first fully EPS-enabled satellite; its features were not immediately available. ISAC and the Kerala-based Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre are lead centres in developing it.

A trend that started about four years back, EPS is expected to drive half of all new spacecraft by 2020. For Space-dependent sectors across the globe, the economic benefits of EP systems are said to be immense. Currently government-owned and private space players agencies are said to be scrambling to make space missions 30 per cent cheaper than now - by lowering the per-kg cost of lifting payloads to specific distances.

 

[boxer_B]

BENGALURU: A 28-hour countdown for the launch of the "South Asia" satellite or GSAT-9 began at 12.57pm on Thursday.

The Geostationary Communication Satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will blast off on Friday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The satellite will be launched on board the space agency's rocket GSLV-F09. Costing around Rs 235 crore, the satellite would serve the neighbouring countries through 12 Ku band transponders carried by it and has a mission life of 12 years.

The satellite is meant for providing communication and disaster support, connectivity among the countries of South Asia region.

Seven out of the eight SAARC countries are a part of the project, as Pakistan decided to opt out stating "it has its own space programme."

It will provide a significant capability to each of the participating countries in terms of DTH, certain VSAT capacity plus linking among the states for disaster information transfer.

Regional integration 'prime motto'

If there is one thing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's series of visits to South Asian countries and a slew of bilateral partnerships hopes to achieve, it is the regional integration, and, Friday's launch of the "South Asia" satellite is being seen as a major push in this direction.

The "South Asia" satellite will also provide a secured hotline connection between India and other participating countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This can not only be used during natural calamities and disasters but also during several man-made problems like terror attacks, insurgency, a military coup and so on.

However, as a senior MEA official puts it, there is more than just a hotline that India is providing: "Yes, regional communication is at the heart of regional integration that PM Modi has been emphasising on through all his bilateral partnerships. But integration is the prime motto and this satellite is a shining example of how to work together with like-minded countries and people."

The MEA, the official says, sees more than just a hotline to build partnerships through this project and the satellite has enough to offer.

"From broadcasting to telecommunication and telemedicine and from exchange of data of all kinds, like library information and meteorological findings, there are a host of applications that the GSAT-9 (South Asia Satellite) will provide India's neighbours," a senior Isro official said, adding that each country will be able to use at least one transponder for their local needs.

The MEA official said that through this, what India's is offering is not just its technological prowess but also "a shared future." "...The underlying philosophy of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" is to share the fruits of development for a shared future. We (MEA and PMO) have been working closely with out neighbours and this will bring us closer," the official said.

Sources who were privy to the meetings held in the run-up to the satellite development said that one of the major priorities of the neighbours was disaster management. "This satellite will help our neighbours to use India's expertise in managing situations during natural disasters. We have a neighbourhood that's highly prone to earthquakes and Tsunamis," the official said. While each of the countries can use the services from the satellite to meet their own local needs, there are also plans for some common interests that involved all the countries, the official said. "They will now immediately focus on building up infrastructure to utilise these services," the official added.

On whether there have been requests for further help to build up such infrastructure or get their manpower trained, the official said: "Parallel to the satellite launch, negotiations and talks are ongoing. Yes, some countries have indicated that they may need help, and we are open to it. The priority is to implement this."

(With input from agencies)

 

[punit]

everything Naarmal !!

 

[NirmalKrish]

http://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/gslv-f09-gsat-9

May 05, 2017
GSLV-F09 / GSAT-9
The launch of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09) carrying GSAT-9, is scheduled on Friday, May 05, 2017.

GSLV-F09 mission is the eleventh flight of GSLV and its fourth consecutive flight with the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS).

GSAT-9 is a Geostationary Communication Satellite with the objective to provide various communication applications in Ku-band with coverage over South Asian countries. GSAT-9 is configured around the ISRO’s standard I-2K bus, with lift off mass of 2230 kg. The main structure of the satellite is cuboid in shape built around a central cylinder with a mission life of more than 12 years.

GSLV-F09 will be launched from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota.