Indian Space Capabilities
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nitesh
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The Hindu : National : A long haul for ISRO
A long haul for ISRO
T.S. Subramanian
Moon Impact Probe mission: they got it right the first time itself
CHENNAI: What was remarkable about the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) separating from Chandrayaan-1, its 25-minute descent and crash-landing on the moon’s surface was that “we were able to do everything for the first time and correctly too,” said J.N. Goswami, Principal Scientist, Chandrayaan-1 mission, on Saturday.
At 8.31 p.m. IST on Friday, India emphatically registered its presence on the moon when the MIP crash-landed on the Shackleton crater in the moon’s south polar region. The panels of the MIP, which is a box-like instrument, were painted with the Indian flag. After the MIP separated from the mother-spacecraft at 8.06.54 p.m., it followed a curved path for 25 minutes before it impacted on the moon and self-destructed. The MIP had three payloads: a video camera, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received enormous amount of data from these three payloads throughout the MIP’s flight.
“Whatever we did [during the MIP mission], we did for the first time and without anybody telling us how to do it,” said Dr. Goswami, who is also Director, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. ISRO was able to release it from Chandrayaan-1, spin it up, reduce its velocity of descent and then “approximately impact it at a point where we wanted to go,” he said. The 35-kg MIP, which was “a mini satellite of Chandrayaan-1” did everything it was expected to do. Its three instruments collected the data during its descent and transmitted them to the mother-spacecraft, which sent it to the ground. “We were doing something new and for the first time. That is why we have reasons to feel happy about whatever we have done,” Dr. Goswami said.
It has been a hectic journey not only for Chandrayaan-1 but a long haul for the ISRO. It was on November 21, 1963 that a Nike Apache rocket from the United States took off from the beachhead in the fishing village of Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram and climbed to an altitude of 208 km. The two-stage rocket weighed 715 kg.
The Nike Apache released sodium vapour which, with its orange trail, lit up the twilight sky. The sight created a sensation in Kerala and the neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu. The Kerala Legislative Assembly was adjourned for a few minutes so that the members could watch the spectacle on the western sky. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President, was present at Thumba on that day and was in charge of Nike Apache’s payload.The launch signalled the start of India’s rocketry programme.
The indigenous space programme began on February 22, 1969, when a “pencil” rocket weighing 10 kg. from Thumba soared a few km. into the sky.
The Chandrayaan-1 has travelled 3,84,000 km to reach its final orbit of 100 km. above the moon. The PSLV-C11 that put it into its initial orbit around the earth stood 44.4 metres tall and weighed 316 tonnes.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, said: “Some decades ago, man never imagined that he could set foot on the moon. Decades from now, human colonies on the moon can become a reality. India also should be in the forefront of this challenging and exciting endeavour. Chandrayaan-1 is the first calculated and well-planned initiative by ISRO in this direction.”
A long haul for ISRO
T.S. Subramanian
Moon Impact Probe mission: they got it right the first time itself
CHENNAI: What was remarkable about the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) separating from Chandrayaan-1, its 25-minute descent and crash-landing on the moon’s surface was that “we were able to do everything for the first time and correctly too,” said J.N. Goswami, Principal Scientist, Chandrayaan-1 mission, on Saturday.
At 8.31 p.m. IST on Friday, India emphatically registered its presence on the moon when the MIP crash-landed on the Shackleton crater in the moon’s south polar region. The panels of the MIP, which is a box-like instrument, were painted with the Indian flag. After the MIP separated from the mother-spacecraft at 8.06.54 p.m., it followed a curved path for 25 minutes before it impacted on the moon and self-destructed. The MIP had three payloads: a video camera, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received enormous amount of data from these three payloads throughout the MIP’s flight.
“Whatever we did [during the MIP mission], we did for the first time and without anybody telling us how to do it,” said Dr. Goswami, who is also Director, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. ISRO was able to release it from Chandrayaan-1, spin it up, reduce its velocity of descent and then “approximately impact it at a point where we wanted to go,” he said. The 35-kg MIP, which was “a mini satellite of Chandrayaan-1” did everything it was expected to do. Its three instruments collected the data during its descent and transmitted them to the mother-spacecraft, which sent it to the ground. “We were doing something new and for the first time. That is why we have reasons to feel happy about whatever we have done,” Dr. Goswami said.
It has been a hectic journey not only for Chandrayaan-1 but a long haul for the ISRO. It was on November 21, 1963 that a Nike Apache rocket from the United States took off from the beachhead in the fishing village of Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram and climbed to an altitude of 208 km. The two-stage rocket weighed 715 kg.
The Nike Apache released sodium vapour which, with its orange trail, lit up the twilight sky. The sight created a sensation in Kerala and the neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu. The Kerala Legislative Assembly was adjourned for a few minutes so that the members could watch the spectacle on the western sky. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President, was present at Thumba on that day and was in charge of Nike Apache’s payload.The launch signalled the start of India’s rocketry programme.
The indigenous space programme began on February 22, 1969, when a “pencil” rocket weighing 10 kg. from Thumba soared a few km. into the sky.
The Chandrayaan-1 has travelled 3,84,000 km to reach its final orbit of 100 km. above the moon. The PSLV-C11 that put it into its initial orbit around the earth stood 44.4 metres tall and weighed 316 tonnes.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, said: “Some decades ago, man never imagined that he could set foot on the moon. Decades from now, human colonies on the moon can become a reality. India also should be in the forefront of this challenging and exciting endeavour. Chandrayaan-1 is the first calculated and well-planned initiative by ISRO in this direction.”
Tell me guys, how does it feel to experience something of this magnitude?
As a South Asian, this makes me proud to see each and every development in the region. But this is beyond anything I've seen in my life, its a piece of excellence...a previlege only owned by a few.
Honestly, I think I'll go crazy the day Pakistan sends a rocket to the moon. Hope I live long enough to see it happen.
As a South Asian, this makes me proud to see each and every development in the region. But this is beyond anything I've seen in my life, its a piece of excellence...a previlege only owned by a few.
Honestly, I think I'll go crazy the day Pakistan sends a rocket to the moon. Hope I live long enough to see it happen.
nitesh
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The Hindu : National : First 3-D image of Moon on Monday
First 3-D image of Moon on Monday
Staff Reporter
Bangalore: A year from now the world will have the most detailed three-dimensional image of the Moon, complete with the precise location of its craters and mountains, thanks to Chandrayaan-1. And the first 3-D picture of the Moon’s terrain, taken by the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on board Chandrayaan, will be processed by Monday, according to M. Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1.
“This is the next big event for the mission,” Mr. Annadurai told The Hindu. “This stereoscopic image, with its five-metre resolution, will set Chandrayaan apart from the previous lunar missions, and will be one of its most important contributions to science.” The images that would be obtained on Monday would be those taken around the Moon’s equator, he said. The pictures from the TMC’s three cameras would be overlaid to create this 3-D image. Within a year and a half all the images collected from the TMC would be “stitched together” to create a Moon globe, Mr. Annadurai said.
The TMC, one of 11 payloads on board Chandrayaan, has already produced a much-celebrated picture of the Earth on October 29 taken from a distance of 9,000 km. It has been capturing images of the Moon since November 13 from a height of 100 km from the lunar surface.
The images would be clearer than the other previous lunar missions, said S.K. Shivakumar, director of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC). “The highest resolution images of the Moon so far have been those taken by the Japanese space probe Kaguya earlier this year.” The TMC cameras would work for two months continuously, with a gap of six months in between, as they would be driven by the condition of illumination, said Mr. Shivakumar.
Mineralogical map
On Sunday, Chandrayaan’s next scientific experiment would be switched on: The Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI) would create a mineralogical map of the lunar surface and help in understanding the mineralogical composition of the Moon’s interior. “The two sets of images — those captured by the HySI and the TMC — will be overlaid to create an accurate picture of where the minerals are located,” said Mr. Annadurai.
By the end of the month, all the payloads would be operational. These included the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) and High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX), said Mr. Shivakumar.
First 3-D image of Moon on Monday
Staff Reporter
Bangalore: A year from now the world will have the most detailed three-dimensional image of the Moon, complete with the precise location of its craters and mountains, thanks to Chandrayaan-1. And the first 3-D picture of the Moon’s terrain, taken by the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on board Chandrayaan, will be processed by Monday, according to M. Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1.
“This is the next big event for the mission,” Mr. Annadurai told The Hindu. “This stereoscopic image, with its five-metre resolution, will set Chandrayaan apart from the previous lunar missions, and will be one of its most important contributions to science.” The images that would be obtained on Monday would be those taken around the Moon’s equator, he said. The pictures from the TMC’s three cameras would be overlaid to create this 3-D image. Within a year and a half all the images collected from the TMC would be “stitched together” to create a Moon globe, Mr. Annadurai said.
The TMC, one of 11 payloads on board Chandrayaan, has already produced a much-celebrated picture of the Earth on October 29 taken from a distance of 9,000 km. It has been capturing images of the Moon since November 13 from a height of 100 km from the lunar surface.
The images would be clearer than the other previous lunar missions, said S.K. Shivakumar, director of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC). “The highest resolution images of the Moon so far have been those taken by the Japanese space probe Kaguya earlier this year.” The TMC cameras would work for two months continuously, with a gap of six months in between, as they would be driven by the condition of illumination, said Mr. Shivakumar.
Mineralogical map
On Sunday, Chandrayaan’s next scientific experiment would be switched on: The Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI) would create a mineralogical map of the lunar surface and help in understanding the mineralogical composition of the Moon’s interior. “The two sets of images — those captured by the HySI and the TMC — will be overlaid to create an accurate picture of where the minerals are located,” said Mr. Annadurai.
By the end of the month, all the payloads would be operational. These included the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) and High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX), said Mr. Shivakumar.
Flintlock
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Neo, words cannot describe the feeling - it really brings a lot of things into perspective - it dispels a lot of cobwebs accumulated over the decades about what Indians can and cannot do - its a massive ego-boost, to say the least.
In a time where public service, and doing something for the sake of it- for the love of it - is seen as a negative thing by so many Indians, these scientists who work for peanuts - who would be grabbed up in any foreign country for a much better quality of life and far larger salaries - have chosen to dedicate so much of their time and life to this project - is to say the least, inspiring.
The guy in charge - Nair- actually cried on television. I am sure many, many Indians cried that day.
Logic note
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Dear Neo
As I see it .. We as a human race are capable of achieving a lot as we share same capacity. This achievement demonstrate that everyone or anyone can achieve the milestones .
and the best thing is this has been achieved with a democratic system ,which got its freedom only 60 years ago and it is still a developing country, still facing poverty, still trying to convince lot of its own people what unity can achieve , without ruthlessness of power .
As for Pakistan , We are same people , same origin and have same capacity to achieve milestones of human dreams . I am sure you will achieve it someday , but this someday depends on how fast you get over the Problems made by Pakistanis themself and not anyone else .
Best of Luck for that endevour
nitesh
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outlookbusiness.com : Pie in the sky
Pie in the sky
Chandrayaan-1 is a statement of sorts: India has space capabilities and is a low-cost player. And now, it’s building an ecosystem for companies
He just can’t conceal his excitement. "We are part of the moon mission," gushes TT Mani. His company, Avasarala Technologies, is responsible for a piece of chandrayaan-1: heat pipes, a critical component that regulates temperature in spacecraft and satellites, and ensures that electronic components don’t fail in space. When India blasted off its first unmanned mission to the moon last month, it launched million-dollar dreams of space entrepreneurs like Mani with it.
About 40 companies have contributed to Chandrayaan-1. Companies like Tata Advanced Material, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and L&T built the body and solar panel array elements (which power the craft). A clutch of small companies made myriad components like heat pipes, ground fixtures and power packages—critical components that have no scope for error. They are all part of the troupe of about 100 Indian companies in the private sector—big (the Tatas, L&T and Godrej) and small (Walchandnagar Foundry, Venkateshwara Engineering and Shoma Industries)—that have been quietly powering the country’s space ambitions.
No limits in the sky
At the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it’s take-off time. Following the success of Chandrayaan-1, ISRO is planning more launches. There’s Chandrayaan-2 in 2011, a mission to an asteroid or comet in 2015 and a Mars mission in 2019. ISRO is collaborating with several countries to carry an ultra-violet telescope (which captures images normal satellites cannot) in an Indian satellite within a year. It’s building a tropical weather satellite with France and collaborating with Japan on a project on disaster-management from space. It is building capabilities to launch heavier satellites (which can go 10-15 times further than conventional geo-stationary satellites that rotate along with the Earth) by 2010. The more satellites and crafts ISRO launches, the more business comes the way of Indian companies.
Besides its own launches, ISRO plans to step up commercial satellite launches for other countries and private players. This is a market worth $138 billion, and forms the lion’s share of the total global space opportunity of $251 billion, notes The Space Report 2008 (See table below: The Space Pie). To start with, ISRO wants to increase its commercial launches—which it began in April 2007, with the launch of Italy’s Agile astronomical satellite—from two to five in a year, and earn $70 million a year in the process. The bigger, long-term goal is a 10% market share, leveraging its 60-70% cost advantage over foreign players.
The business opportunity for India exists in three areas. One, building and launching satellites. Two, leasing space on these satellites for applications like direct-to-home (DTH) services, global positioning systems (GPS), education, telecom and weather monitoring, among others. Three, disseminating and processing data and images generated by satellites (for example, fisheries study water and weather patterns, and move their trawlers accordingly). In India, currently, ISRO dominates all three. The private sector, though, is gradually increasing its capabilities in satellite building and data processing. And, as the Indian space ecosystem develops, so will the opportunities for private firms.
Star wars
India’s space programme is largely self-sufficient—partly the unintended outcome of sanctions imposed by the US and Europe following India’s nuclear test in 1974—and aims to soon become completely independent of foreign support. India’s six remote-sensing satellites, the largest such constellation in the world, monitor the country’s land and coastal waters. India’s seven communication satellites, the biggest civilian system in the Asia-Pacific region, provide communication access, television coverage, even remote healthcare services and education to the rural poor.
What ails India’s space programme is weak marketing, which cramps the overseas
revenue potential of ISRO and private ancillary industries. The need to market better led to the birth of Antrix Corporation 16 years ago. Antrix, an anglicised spelling for Antriksh (space in Hindi), is the commercial arm of the Department of Space, and does the grunge work of convincing foreign space agencies the cost savings of launching payloads through ISRO.
In 2007-08, Antrix saw a spike in revenues to Rs 940 crore (Rs 660 crore in 2006-07), on the back of two satellite launches for overseas clients. The bread and butter, however, remains the leasing of transponder capacity on ISRO satellites. Even then, it pales before Europe’s Arianespace, which controls almost half of the global commercial launch business. But that’s also the opportunity for ISRO, Antrix and the private sector to aim for—and chip away at. Says Sridhara Murthi, Executive Director, Antrix: "PSLV is a proven vehicle to carry satellites. We are marketing its capabilities to get more business."
In addition, Chandrayaan is a statement to the world that India has top-notch space capabilities. And low cost—Chandrayaan is the cheapest moon mission. Says Murthi: "Opportunities for the private sector are huge because of growing demand for satellites. The challenge for Antrix is to cater to the diverse needs of the global market on the one hand and get the private sector ready on the other."
Still, in a business where geo-political loyalties run deep, because of privacy issues and because volumes aren’t big enough to look beyond, crossing over won’t be easy. In satellite manufacturing, Antrix competes with players like Orbital Sciences and Lockheed Martin of the US, Alcatel Alenia and Loral Space and Communications of Europe, and some Russian manufacturers. In services such as sale of high-resolution images, against SpotImage of France, and GeoEye and DigitalGlobe of the US. "We are competing with seasoned players. Currently, there is no integrated space industry in India that can work collectively," says Murthi.
This apprehension of competing in the global market is palpable across the sector. "Competing in the global market is tough," says B Malla Reddy, CEO, Astra Microwave Products, a Hyderabad-based company that manufactures TR modules (transmit/receive components) for remote-sensing satellites and automated weather stations. In 2007-08, Astra recorded revenues of Rs 25 crore from the space sector, with ISRO its sole buyer. Says Reddy: "Countries prefer sourcing from home. Indian component manufacturers can sell globally only if Antrix acts as a facilitator."
Antrix hasn’t yet started acting as a facilitator in a big way, but ISRO is helping component companies in the global market. Precision-machinery manufacturer Avasarala Technologies began by supplying heat pipes to ISRO. It has about 1,000 heat pipes in space, and recorded revenues of Rs 25 crore last year. This is expected to double next year when it enters the global market, with ISRO’s help. Avasarala will supply heat pipes to ISRO, which will then remake them into thermal panels and supply US satellite maker SS Loral. Says Mani: "Once volumes increase, we will go into the global market on our own. For now, we depend on ISRO, as we don’t have the financial muscle or technical capabilities. Also, future business is not assured."
Shifting priorities
Despite the teething troubles, everything points to greater private participation in space programmes. ISRO has been gradually getting out of the production cycle and has even been transferring technology to private players. Some large international players are also looking at India as an outsourcing centre to manufacture critical components or develop software to interpret data, and are looking to set up captive units in India. An increasing number of ISRO veterans are leaving to join private companies.
The ecosystem is building up and investment is trickling into the private sector. November 2007 saw the first private equity (PE) deal in the defence and nuclear space, with Blackstone picking up 26% in MTAR Technologies, a Hyderabad-based nuclear, defence and space components company, for Rs 260 crore. Shortly before this, AIG, through its AIG Asian Opportunity Fund II, had loaned $20 million to Avasarala Technologies to build a new production unit on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Most of the work being done by private companies is either low-end or marginal. "For the private sector to truly get into the space sector, a policy shift is needed," says Mukund Rao, COO of ESRI India, a GIS (geographic information system) software provider and an ex-ISRO scientist.
Rao says ISRO should take on only R&D and support functions, and pass on satellite manufacturing completely to the private sector, as it is in the US and Europe. Adds Shivananda Kanavi, VP-Special Projects, TCS, and a space industry specialist: "ISRO can only be unshackled through the creation and implementation of forward-looking, business-oriented policies. ISRO should network with private enterprise to pass on its scientific and engineering expertise and products," he says. Indian Inc would like that, and Chandrayaan-1 may just speed up the transition.
Pie in the sky
Chandrayaan-1 is a statement of sorts: India has space capabilities and is a low-cost player. And now, it’s building an ecosystem for companies
He just can’t conceal his excitement. "We are part of the moon mission," gushes TT Mani. His company, Avasarala Technologies, is responsible for a piece of chandrayaan-1: heat pipes, a critical component that regulates temperature in spacecraft and satellites, and ensures that electronic components don’t fail in space. When India blasted off its first unmanned mission to the moon last month, it launched million-dollar dreams of space entrepreneurs like Mani with it.
About 40 companies have contributed to Chandrayaan-1. Companies like Tata Advanced Material, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and L&T built the body and solar panel array elements (which power the craft). A clutch of small companies made myriad components like heat pipes, ground fixtures and power packages—critical components that have no scope for error. They are all part of the troupe of about 100 Indian companies in the private sector—big (the Tatas, L&T and Godrej) and small (Walchandnagar Foundry, Venkateshwara Engineering and Shoma Industries)—that have been quietly powering the country’s space ambitions.
No limits in the sky
At the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it’s take-off time. Following the success of Chandrayaan-1, ISRO is planning more launches. There’s Chandrayaan-2 in 2011, a mission to an asteroid or comet in 2015 and a Mars mission in 2019. ISRO is collaborating with several countries to carry an ultra-violet telescope (which captures images normal satellites cannot) in an Indian satellite within a year. It’s building a tropical weather satellite with France and collaborating with Japan on a project on disaster-management from space. It is building capabilities to launch heavier satellites (which can go 10-15 times further than conventional geo-stationary satellites that rotate along with the Earth) by 2010. The more satellites and crafts ISRO launches, the more business comes the way of Indian companies.
Besides its own launches, ISRO plans to step up commercial satellite launches for other countries and private players. This is a market worth $138 billion, and forms the lion’s share of the total global space opportunity of $251 billion, notes The Space Report 2008 (See table below: The Space Pie). To start with, ISRO wants to increase its commercial launches—which it began in April 2007, with the launch of Italy’s Agile astronomical satellite—from two to five in a year, and earn $70 million a year in the process. The bigger, long-term goal is a 10% market share, leveraging its 60-70% cost advantage over foreign players.
The business opportunity for India exists in three areas. One, building and launching satellites. Two, leasing space on these satellites for applications like direct-to-home (DTH) services, global positioning systems (GPS), education, telecom and weather monitoring, among others. Three, disseminating and processing data and images generated by satellites (for example, fisheries study water and weather patterns, and move their trawlers accordingly). In India, currently, ISRO dominates all three. The private sector, though, is gradually increasing its capabilities in satellite building and data processing. And, as the Indian space ecosystem develops, so will the opportunities for private firms.
Star wars
India’s space programme is largely self-sufficient—partly the unintended outcome of sanctions imposed by the US and Europe following India’s nuclear test in 1974—and aims to soon become completely independent of foreign support. India’s six remote-sensing satellites, the largest such constellation in the world, monitor the country’s land and coastal waters. India’s seven communication satellites, the biggest civilian system in the Asia-Pacific region, provide communication access, television coverage, even remote healthcare services and education to the rural poor.
What ails India’s space programme is weak marketing, which cramps the overseas
revenue potential of ISRO and private ancillary industries. The need to market better led to the birth of Antrix Corporation 16 years ago. Antrix, an anglicised spelling for Antriksh (space in Hindi), is the commercial arm of the Department of Space, and does the grunge work of convincing foreign space agencies the cost savings of launching payloads through ISRO.
In 2007-08, Antrix saw a spike in revenues to Rs 940 crore (Rs 660 crore in 2006-07), on the back of two satellite launches for overseas clients. The bread and butter, however, remains the leasing of transponder capacity on ISRO satellites. Even then, it pales before Europe’s Arianespace, which controls almost half of the global commercial launch business. But that’s also the opportunity for ISRO, Antrix and the private sector to aim for—and chip away at. Says Sridhara Murthi, Executive Director, Antrix: "PSLV is a proven vehicle to carry satellites. We are marketing its capabilities to get more business."
In addition, Chandrayaan is a statement to the world that India has top-notch space capabilities. And low cost—Chandrayaan is the cheapest moon mission. Says Murthi: "Opportunities for the private sector are huge because of growing demand for satellites. The challenge for Antrix is to cater to the diverse needs of the global market on the one hand and get the private sector ready on the other."
Still, in a business where geo-political loyalties run deep, because of privacy issues and because volumes aren’t big enough to look beyond, crossing over won’t be easy. In satellite manufacturing, Antrix competes with players like Orbital Sciences and Lockheed Martin of the US, Alcatel Alenia and Loral Space and Communications of Europe, and some Russian manufacturers. In services such as sale of high-resolution images, against SpotImage of France, and GeoEye and DigitalGlobe of the US. "We are competing with seasoned players. Currently, there is no integrated space industry in India that can work collectively," says Murthi.
This apprehension of competing in the global market is palpable across the sector. "Competing in the global market is tough," says B Malla Reddy, CEO, Astra Microwave Products, a Hyderabad-based company that manufactures TR modules (transmit/receive components) for remote-sensing satellites and automated weather stations. In 2007-08, Astra recorded revenues of Rs 25 crore from the space sector, with ISRO its sole buyer. Says Reddy: "Countries prefer sourcing from home. Indian component manufacturers can sell globally only if Antrix acts as a facilitator."
Antrix hasn’t yet started acting as a facilitator in a big way, but ISRO is helping component companies in the global market. Precision-machinery manufacturer Avasarala Technologies began by supplying heat pipes to ISRO. It has about 1,000 heat pipes in space, and recorded revenues of Rs 25 crore last year. This is expected to double next year when it enters the global market, with ISRO’s help. Avasarala will supply heat pipes to ISRO, which will then remake them into thermal panels and supply US satellite maker SS Loral. Says Mani: "Once volumes increase, we will go into the global market on our own. For now, we depend on ISRO, as we don’t have the financial muscle or technical capabilities. Also, future business is not assured."
Shifting priorities
Despite the teething troubles, everything points to greater private participation in space programmes. ISRO has been gradually getting out of the production cycle and has even been transferring technology to private players. Some large international players are also looking at India as an outsourcing centre to manufacture critical components or develop software to interpret data, and are looking to set up captive units in India. An increasing number of ISRO veterans are leaving to join private companies.
The ecosystem is building up and investment is trickling into the private sector. November 2007 saw the first private equity (PE) deal in the defence and nuclear space, with Blackstone picking up 26% in MTAR Technologies, a Hyderabad-based nuclear, defence and space components company, for Rs 260 crore. Shortly before this, AIG, through its AIG Asian Opportunity Fund II, had loaned $20 million to Avasarala Technologies to build a new production unit on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Most of the work being done by private companies is either low-end or marginal. "For the private sector to truly get into the space sector, a policy shift is needed," says Mukund Rao, COO of ESRI India, a GIS (geographic information system) software provider and an ex-ISRO scientist.
Rao says ISRO should take on only R&D and support functions, and pass on satellite manufacturing completely to the private sector, as it is in the US and Europe. Adds Shivananda Kanavi, VP-Special Projects, TCS, and a space industry specialist: "ISRO can only be unshackled through the creation and implementation of forward-looking, business-oriented policies. ISRO should network with private enterprise to pass on its scientific and engineering expertise and products," he says. Indian Inc would like that, and Chandrayaan-1 may just speed up the transition.
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nitesh
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Inspiring stories guys:
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | Dreamers catch the moon
Dreamers catch the moon
G.S. MUDUR AND CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
A picture of the moon’s surface taken by the Moon Impact Probe after separating from Chandrayaan-1, (above) project director Annadurai with the spacecraft before the launch. Pictures courtesy Reuters, Isro
New Delhi, Nov. 15: Mylswamy Annadurai had a choice — join a booming colour TV industry, or accept lower pay from a space agency still struggling with its earliest launch vehicles and satellites.
For the electronics engineer, who had never stepped out of his home district of Coimbatore till he had obtained an MTech from the PSG College of Engineering, it was an easy choice.
On Saturday, his “baby”, Chandrayaan-1, helped India complete its journey to the moon. “This is another step towards human presence in outer space,” said Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1 at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Satellite Centre, Bangalore.
His colleague, R. Venkata Ramanan, had disappointed his father when he didn’t even fill in application forms for an engineering degree and, instead, chose to do his BSc and MSc in mathematics at Madurai Kamaraj University.
On Saturday, Ramanan, who had helped compute the orbital paths, watched images of mountains on the moon relayed by Chandrayaan-1 to a space centre in Bangalore. “I’ve waited nearly 20 years for this,” said Ramanan, who began pencil-and-paper orbital calculations in 1989, some five years after joining the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
Many key people behind the moon mission had defied social pressure, rejected conventional wisdom or pursued childhood dreams to become part of India’s space enterprise. They had joined Isro in the ’70s and early ’80s when its profile was much lower than now.
Yet, experts within and outside Isro say the culture in India’s elite engineering institutes, as well as social pressure and the arrival of competition, is keeping some of the country’s best engineers away from the space agency. Of Isro’s 6,000 scientists and engineers, top Isro officials estimate, less than 100 are from the IITs.
“But we’re not unhappy, we’ve got extremely talented people. We have a rigorous process of selecting candidates,” said Isro chairman G. Madhavan Nair. “Our attrition rate is less than 10 per cent.”
In engineering streams such as electronics or software, attrition rates are almost twice higher. “Isro provides technological challenges and a stimulating environment. We provide a broad canvas. Youngsters are expected to fill in the colours by themselves,” Nair said.
“I thank God I got an opportunity to work on orbit dynamics,” Ramanan said. “With my background, I could have been put in other areas of aerospace, but somehow I was assigned what I wanted to do since my university days.”
Annadurai recalled that on a Friday, only three months after joining Isro, he had pitched an idea to develop a satellite simulator — software that would allow engineers to study how satellites would behave in space without actually building them.
“I got the green signal on Monday,” Annadurai said. The episode, Isro officials say, underlines a work culture that encourages ideas without regard for hierarchy.
“There’s freedom to think independently… and there are no punishments for genuine failures,” said George Koshy, who had joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in 1972 with a BTech from a college in Kerala and an MTech in mechanical engineering from IIT Mumbai.
Koshy had grown up near the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, India’s first launch site outside Thiruvananthapuram, hearing the sound and watching the smoke trails of India’s earliest rocket launches in the 1960s.
IIT faculty say some of their postgraduate students even today continue to follow Koshy’s early career vector. “Students who join us for MTech invariably come from lesser-known engineering colleges,” said Gautam Bandopadhyay, professor of aerospace engineering at IIT Kharagpur.
Some of these students seek jobs in public-sector aerospace firms such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the National Aerospace Laboratories or Isro, he said. But those who do their BTech at the IITs hardly ever continue in the institutes for a PG degree.
“Our own BTech students move from aerospace to IT or management-related jobs,” Bandopadhyay said.
Isro now has competition from foreign aerospace entities too. “New avenues have opened up,” said Abhijit Kushari, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at IIT Kanpur. “General Electric, Boeing and several European companies have been picking up our graduates.”
“Their recruitment process appears much simpler and faster, unlike Isro’s which involves tests and interviews and requires students to have specific levels of scores,” Kushari said.
“They pay much better too,” Bandopadhyay said.
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | Dreamers catch the moon
Dreamers catch the moon
G.S. MUDUR AND CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
A picture of the moon’s surface taken by the Moon Impact Probe after separating from Chandrayaan-1, (above) project director Annadurai with the spacecraft before the launch. Pictures courtesy Reuters, Isro
New Delhi, Nov. 15: Mylswamy Annadurai had a choice — join a booming colour TV industry, or accept lower pay from a space agency still struggling with its earliest launch vehicles and satellites.
For the electronics engineer, who had never stepped out of his home district of Coimbatore till he had obtained an MTech from the PSG College of Engineering, it was an easy choice.
On Saturday, his “baby”, Chandrayaan-1, helped India complete its journey to the moon. “This is another step towards human presence in outer space,” said Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1 at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Satellite Centre, Bangalore.
His colleague, R. Venkata Ramanan, had disappointed his father when he didn’t even fill in application forms for an engineering degree and, instead, chose to do his BSc and MSc in mathematics at Madurai Kamaraj University.
On Saturday, Ramanan, who had helped compute the orbital paths, watched images of mountains on the moon relayed by Chandrayaan-1 to a space centre in Bangalore. “I’ve waited nearly 20 years for this,” said Ramanan, who began pencil-and-paper orbital calculations in 1989, some five years after joining the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
Many key people behind the moon mission had defied social pressure, rejected conventional wisdom or pursued childhood dreams to become part of India’s space enterprise. They had joined Isro in the ’70s and early ’80s when its profile was much lower than now.
Yet, experts within and outside Isro say the culture in India’s elite engineering institutes, as well as social pressure and the arrival of competition, is keeping some of the country’s best engineers away from the space agency. Of Isro’s 6,000 scientists and engineers, top Isro officials estimate, less than 100 are from the IITs.
“But we’re not unhappy, we’ve got extremely talented people. We have a rigorous process of selecting candidates,” said Isro chairman G. Madhavan Nair. “Our attrition rate is less than 10 per cent.”
In engineering streams such as electronics or software, attrition rates are almost twice higher. “Isro provides technological challenges and a stimulating environment. We provide a broad canvas. Youngsters are expected to fill in the colours by themselves,” Nair said.
“I thank God I got an opportunity to work on orbit dynamics,” Ramanan said. “With my background, I could have been put in other areas of aerospace, but somehow I was assigned what I wanted to do since my university days.”
Annadurai recalled that on a Friday, only three months after joining Isro, he had pitched an idea to develop a satellite simulator — software that would allow engineers to study how satellites would behave in space without actually building them.
“I got the green signal on Monday,” Annadurai said. The episode, Isro officials say, underlines a work culture that encourages ideas without regard for hierarchy.
“There’s freedom to think independently… and there are no punishments for genuine failures,” said George Koshy, who had joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in 1972 with a BTech from a college in Kerala and an MTech in mechanical engineering from IIT Mumbai.
Koshy had grown up near the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, India’s first launch site outside Thiruvananthapuram, hearing the sound and watching the smoke trails of India’s earliest rocket launches in the 1960s.
IIT faculty say some of their postgraduate students even today continue to follow Koshy’s early career vector. “Students who join us for MTech invariably come from lesser-known engineering colleges,” said Gautam Bandopadhyay, professor of aerospace engineering at IIT Kharagpur.
Some of these students seek jobs in public-sector aerospace firms such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the National Aerospace Laboratories or Isro, he said. But those who do their BTech at the IITs hardly ever continue in the institutes for a PG degree.
“Our own BTech students move from aerospace to IT or management-related jobs,” Bandopadhyay said.
Isro now has competition from foreign aerospace entities too. “New avenues have opened up,” said Abhijit Kushari, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at IIT Kanpur. “General Electric, Boeing and several European companies have been picking up our graduates.”
“Their recruitment process appears much simpler and faster, unlike Isro’s which involves tests and interviews and requires students to have specific levels of scores,” Kushari said.
“They pay much better too,” Bandopadhyay said.
* New Delhi rejoices over moon probe landing
* Kalam wants to see an Indian on the moon in 15 years
* Kalam wants to see an Indian on the moon in 15 years
BANGALORE: The successful landing of the Moon Impact Probe on the lunar surface has not only boosted the confidence of the Indian Space Research Organisation to undertake inter-planetary travel in future, but also conveyed a firm message to the world that India means business in the field of space, ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair said here today.
It (the landing of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) and the Chandrayaan-I mission) has validated many of our assumptions and many of the principles involved in interplanetary travel. Its really a big boon (for ISRO). We can now take up travel to any other planet with confidence, a jubilant Nair said in an interview, a day after the historic event.
Last night, the Indian space programme achieved a unique feat with the placing of the Indian tricolour on the Moons surface. The Indian flag was painted on the sides of MIP, one of 11 payloads of Chandrayaan-I spacecraft that successfully hit the lunar surface at 20:31 hrs. This is the first Indian built object to reach the surface of the Moon.
I am extremely happy that the nation has responded very positively to this event (MIP landing and Chandrayaan-I), Nair, also the Secretary in the Department of Space, said.
Nair said Chandrayaan-I was a coup of sorts in the branding stakes and ISROs brand has skyrocketed with Indias first unmanned Moon mission.
ISROs name has been high all the time. This is another significant event. I am sure in the global community, we will have much more respect than what was (there) in the past, he said.
The Chandrayaan-I mission has sent a clear signal internationally that India is really a space power and it means business. That message has been given to everybody, Nair said.
Rejoices: India rejoiced Saturday over the landing of a lunar probe on the moons surface that vaulted the country into the league of space-faring nations like the United States, Russia and Japan.
Politicians across the spectrum buried their differences to hail the milestone in Indias space history in which the nation joins Russia, the US, Japan and the European Space Agency in successfully landing moon probes.
Today is a historic day for India, said Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party. Opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani called it an event to be recorded in golden letters.
Former Indian president and rocket scientist Abdul Kalam said the landing of the probe - which coincided with the anniversary of the birth of Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru - will kindle a dream in children.
In 15 years I want to see an Indian on the moon, said Kalam, who conceived of the so-called moon impact probe, or MIP, and is popularly known in India as missile man. agencies
nitesh
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The Hindu News Update Service
LASER instrument on Chandrayaan-1 successfully turned on
Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI), one of the 11 scientific instruments (payloads) carried by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, has successfully been turned on Sunday.
According to B R Guruprasad, PRO, ISRO, the instrument was switched ON when the spacecraft was passing over western part of the moon’s visible hemisphere. Preliminary assessment of the data from LLRI by ISRO scientists indicates that the instrument’s performance is normal. LLRI sends pulses of infrared laser light towards a strip of lunar surface and detects the reflected portion of that light. With this, the instrument can very accurately measure the height of moon’s surface features. LLRI will be continuously kept ON and takes 10 measurements per second on both day and night sides of the moon. It provides topographical details of both polar and equatorial regions of the moon. Detailed analysis of the data sent by LLRI helps in understanding the internal structure of the moon as well as the way that celestial body evolved.
It may be recalled that earlier, three other payloads of Chandrayaan-1 – Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC), Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) and Moon Impact Probe (MIP) – were successfully turned ON. MIP, carrying Indian tricolour, was released from the spacecraft on November 14, 2008 and 25 minutes later, successfully impacted the lunar surface as intended. TMC took pictures of the Earth and moon when the spacecraft was on its way to moon. After reaching lunar orbit, TMC has been taking breathtaking pictures of the lunar panorama. RADOM was also switched ON in the Earth orbit itself.
The pictures and other scientific data sent by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft from lunar orbit have been received by antennas of Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu. The spacecraft operations are being carried out from the Satellite Control Centre (SCC) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore.
LASER instrument on Chandrayaan-1 successfully turned on
Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI), one of the 11 scientific instruments (payloads) carried by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, has successfully been turned on Sunday.
According to B R Guruprasad, PRO, ISRO, the instrument was switched ON when the spacecraft was passing over western part of the moon’s visible hemisphere. Preliminary assessment of the data from LLRI by ISRO scientists indicates that the instrument’s performance is normal. LLRI sends pulses of infrared laser light towards a strip of lunar surface and detects the reflected portion of that light. With this, the instrument can very accurately measure the height of moon’s surface features. LLRI will be continuously kept ON and takes 10 measurements per second on both day and night sides of the moon. It provides topographical details of both polar and equatorial regions of the moon. Detailed analysis of the data sent by LLRI helps in understanding the internal structure of the moon as well as the way that celestial body evolved.
It may be recalled that earlier, three other payloads of Chandrayaan-1 – Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC), Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) and Moon Impact Probe (MIP) – were successfully turned ON. MIP, carrying Indian tricolour, was released from the spacecraft on November 14, 2008 and 25 minutes later, successfully impacted the lunar surface as intended. TMC took pictures of the Earth and moon when the spacecraft was on its way to moon. After reaching lunar orbit, TMC has been taking breathtaking pictures of the lunar panorama. RADOM was also switched ON in the Earth orbit itself.
The pictures and other scientific data sent by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft from lunar orbit have been received by antennas of Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu. The spacecraft operations are being carried out from the Satellite Control Centre (SCC) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore.
nitesh
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This is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on November 15, 2008. Taken over the polar region of the moon, the picture shows many large and numerous small craters. The bright terrain on the lower left is the rim of 117 km wide Moretus crater.
This is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on November 13, 2008. Taken over the equatorial region of the moon, the picture shows the uneven surface of the moon with numerous craters. On the lower left, part of the Torricelli crater is seen.
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Sam Dhanraj
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^ In nitesh's post above:
Picture 1- This is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on November 15, 2008. Taken over the polar region of the moon, the picture shows many large and numerous small craters. The bright terrain on the lower left is the rim of 117 km wide Moretus crater.
Picture 2- This is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on November 13, 2008. Taken over the equatorial region of the moon, the picture shows the uneven surface of the moon with numerous craters. On the lower left, part of the Torricelli crater is seen.
Description Source: http://isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm
Picture 1- This is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on November 15, 2008. Taken over the polar region of the moon, the picture shows many large and numerous small craters. The bright terrain on the lower left is the rim of 117 km wide Moretus crater.
Picture 2- This is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on November 13, 2008. Taken over the equatorial region of the moon, the picture shows the uneven surface of the moon with numerous craters. On the lower left, part of the Torricelli crater is seen.
Description Source: http://isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm
su-47
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Neo, this is a feeling that has to be experienced. As Flintlock said, words cannot describe it. Seeing that rocket blast off, and knowing that flag of my people is landing on the moon, as a symbol that we ,as a people and as a country, have progressed so much, makes me surge with patriotism and pride. It feels like the dawn of a new era for India. I feel so proud to say, "I'm Indian".
I sincerely do hope that one day Pakistan, and every other country in the world, launches a moon mission, or something similar, because i believe that every patriot in this world deserves to feel as happy and proud about their country as I feel about mine today.
My sincerest thanks to the chaps at ISRO for bringing such a glorious event to India. If I, an NRI, feels such emotions for this event, I can only imagine the joy and pride of the scientists who sacrificed so much for Chandrayaan.
A toast to the scientists at ISRO. You have brought hope and joy to a billion people. Enjoy the moment ladies and gentleman, and savor the success. May God bless you all.
Jai Hind.
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Contrarian
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This is for you Neo, and ofcourse, fellow countrymen.
For those who have not seen the MIP. Here it is with the National Flag symbolically on it ...
For those who have not seen the MIP. Here it is with the National Flag symbolically on it ...
Bushroda
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Did u happen to see the ISRO purchase order receipt or the Russian delivery invoice?
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