Indian Space Capabilities

[CONNAN]

BY EDITOR AT 9 JULY, 2010, 1:56 PM

BY :THE HINDU

The 51-hour countdown for the 17th flight launch of Indian space agency’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C 15 from Sriharikota spaceport is expected to begin on Saturday morning. Preparations were in full swing for the launch of the PSLV-C-15 on July 12. All the parameters for the launch were
doing well and the 51-hour countdown was expected to start at 6 am on Saturday, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISR0) officials said.

“The rocket will put into orbit five satellites – remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2B from India, Alsat from Algeria, two nano satellites from Canada and Switzerland, and a pico (very small) satellite called Studsat built by seven engineering students in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka”, ISRO spokesmen S Satish told PTI.

The PSLV launch was to take place on May 9 last but was postponed because of a drop in the pressure in the vehicle’s second stage.

This would be the first mission by ISRO after the failure of India’s ambitious home-made cryogenic engine powered GSLV-D3 in April last.

He said, “In this flight, PSLV will place the 694 kg Cartosat-2B and four auxiliary payloads in a 630 km Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO)”.

The four-stage vehicle had been fully assembled in its launch pad and the mating with Cartosat-2B and other satellites had been completed.

He said the satellite would help in urban planning and infrastructure development such as laying ring-roads and rerouting of highways.

“Cartosat-2B carries a panchromatic camera similar to that of its predecessors – Cartosat-2 and 2A”, he said adding it was capable of imaging a swath (geographical strip of land) of 9.6 km with a resolution of 0.8 metre.

 

[indiatech]

PSLV C-15 monday launch preparations.

PSLV-C15 moving to the launch pad

PSLV-C15 on launch pad

PSLV C15 and CARTOSAT-2B brochure

http://isro.gov.in/pslv-c15/pdf/CARTOSAT-2B-brochure.pdf

 

[indiatech]

INSAT-4B Spacecraft Affected by Power Problem

Due to a power supply anomaly in one of its two solar panels, there is a partial non-availability of services on India’s INSAT-4B Communication satellite. The INSAT-4B carries a total of 24 communication transponders (12 Ku-Band and 12 C-Band) and has been in operation since March 2007. On the night of July 7, the satellite experienced a power supply glitch which led to switching ‘OFF’ of 50% of the transponder capacity (6 Ku and 6 C-Band transponders). An expert team is studying the possibilities of partial utilisation of some of the transponders that were switched ‘OFF’ and restoring the services at the earliest.

ISRO press release

http://isro.gov.in/news/pdf/INSAT-4B_Glitch.pdf

 

[indiatech]

GSLV-D3 Failure Analysis Report


July 09, 2010

The third developmental flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) conducted on April 15, 2010 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, primarily for the flight testing of indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), could not accomplish the mission objectives. Consequently, ISRO had instituted a two-tier process to carry out an in-depth analysis of the flight performance, identify the causes of failure and recommend corrective measures.

The Failure Analysis Committee comprising multi-disciplinary experts completed the analysis and its findings were further reviewed by a National Group of Eminent Experts. These reviews have brought out that:

Following a smooth countdown, the lift-off took place at 1627 hrs (IST) as planned. All four liquid strap-on stages (L40), solid core stage (S139), liquid second stage (GS2) functioned normally.

The vehicle performance was normal up to the burn-out of GS-2, that is, 293 seconds from lift-off. Altitude, velocity, flight path angle and acceleration profile closely followed the pre-flight predictions. All onboard real time decision-based events were as expected and as per pre-flight simulations.

The navigation, guidance and control systems using indigenous onboard computer Vikram 1601 as well as the advanced telemetry system functioned flawlessly. The composite payload fairing of 4 metre diameter inducted first time in this flight, also performed as expected. Performance of all other systems like engine gimbal control systems and stage auxiliary systems was normal.

The initial conditions required for the start of the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) were attained as expected and the CUS start sequence got initiated as planned at 294.06 seconds from lift-off.

Ignition of the CUS Main Engine and two Steering Engines have been confirmed as normal, as observed from the vehicle acceleration and different parameters of CUS measured during the flight. Vehicle acceleration was comparable with that of earlier GSLV flights up to 2.2 seconds from start of CUS. However, the thrust build up did not progress as expected due to non-availability of liquid hydrogen (LH2) supply to the thrust chamber of the Main Engine.

The above failure is attributed to the anomalous stopping of Fuel Booster Turbo Pump (FBTP). The start-up of FBTP was normal. It reached a maximum speed of 34,800 rpm and continued to function as predicted after the start of CUS. However, the speed of FBTP started dipping after 0.9 seconds and it stopped within the next 0.6 seconds.

Two plausible scenarios have been identified for the failure of FBTP, namely, (a) gripping at one of the seal location and seizure of rotor and (b) rupture of turbine casing caused probably due to excessive pressure rise and thermal stresses. A series of confirmatory ground tests are planned.

After incorporating necessary corrective measures, the flight testing of Indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage on GSLV is targeted within a year.

In the meantime, the next two GSLVs would fly with the available Russian Cryogenic Stages.

 

[ARSENAL6]

I have got a question

Does the Indian space agency allow people to see rocket launches like they do in Nasa ?

 

[indiatech]

I have got a question

Does the Indian space agency allow people to see rocket launches like they do in Nasa ?

Not really. Hopefully the public viewing from nearby will start with the manned mission.Sriharikota is a secured area. But if you live nearby or you know how to climb a coconut tree, you can get some good views.

 

[sudhir007]

from 1.5 Isro news
YouTube - Launch Update!

 

[lhuang]

But if you live nearby or you know how to climb a coconut tree

AhAHHA, COCONUT TREE

That made me laugh so hard.

 

[gowthamraj]

Fingers crossed waiting for moday morning

 

[HitesH]

Cant they just develop a satellite having sole and the only purpose is to track OSAMA down..............lol

 

[Kinetic]

Cant they just develop a satellite having sole and the only purpose is to track OSAMA down..............lol

Why should we do that?!!!! Don't we have better priority than this?

 

[gowthamraj]

One day to go

 

[HitesH]

Why should we do that?!!!! Don't we have better priority than this?

but even protection from terrorism is a high priority job

isnt it????

 

[nForce]

but even protection from terrorism is a high priority job

isnt it????

Right now,the priority of the Govt. of India is to protect its own territorial limits,protect the citizens,and take care of the terrorists inside the country.There is no global agenda as of now.

 

[Kinetic]

All the best to ISRO. Waiting for a good news. Out of 16 PSLV launches 14 was total success while one was partial and another failed. So it must have to be successful but again we have to be careful after GSLV failure and I think they are.

but even protection from terrorism is a high priority job

isnt it????

Every country has its own terrorism problems and we should think about ourselves first. OBL's first priority is USA and USA's first 'priority' may be also OBL. Its not our matter now. We have cooperative agreements with USA on terrorism but that doesn't mean we run for OBL and USA running after Hafiz Saeed and co.