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#120
by
fightingfalcon
on 16 Nov, 2007 08:48
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#121
by
Skyrocket
on 16 Nov, 2007 09:21
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#122
by
s^3
on 17 Nov, 2007 02:34
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India runs a full test of its own Cryo engine for use in GSLV launcher.
From Hindu, a newspaper from India
quote/
Bangalore, Nov. 16
The Indian GSLV satellite launcher is now fully indigenous. The home-made cryogenic upper stage to power it has ‘arrived’, albeit some ten years later than it could have.
ISRO on Thursday evening completed the last crucial ground test for a full-flight duration of 720 seconds at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Mahendragiri. This puts the country in an upper-crust ‘cryo club’ comprising the US, Russia, Europe and Japan.
The cryo upper stage (CUS) has been developed over ten years at a cost of nearly Rs 450 crore. It will go into the GSLV rockets that are meant to lift two-tonne-plus loads to a distance of 36,000 km in space. ISRO said the crucial milestone validates its design robustness and performance adequacy for use in the GSLV.
Ground tests
The latest success was the climax of challenging ground tests done under severe conditions – for 50 seconds in December 2006 and 480 seconds in August 2007, the ISRO Chairman, Mr G. Madhavan Nair, told Business Line. “We are jubilant. We could achieve more (than what some other agencies could). The GSLV is now 100 per cent indigenous and we don’t any more have to use the Russian stages,” he said from Thiruvananthapuram.
With ground tests cleared, the CUS will get real in 2008 when the GSLV-D3 launches the experimental Gsat-4, said Mr P.S. Sastry, Director, ISRO Launch Vehicle Programme Office. It would power the upper stage of all future GSLVs, he said.
VENDOR DEALS
The CUS also increases ISRO’s outsourcing to industry: over 100 private and public sector companies were involved, Mr Nair said. The sophisticated materials came from Mishra Dhatu Nigam; the tank structures from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd; engines from Godrej MTAR; and liquid propellants from Andhra Sugars; and smaller components and services from others such as Keltec and Lakshmi Machine Tools.
Mr Nair said ISRO had signed three-year contracts with its vendors for the next five GSLV launches. A five-year sourcing plan was being prepared. The agency plans to have at least two GSLV and 3-4 PSLV launches a year, he said.
In the next two years, the upper stage could be fine tuned to increase the GSLV’s lifting capability to 2.5 kg.
While cost of building an indigenous GSLV launcher – at Rs 170 crore a piece – was only 70-80 per cent of the international cost, the indigenous CUS would not make much difference to a commercial bill, Mr Nair said.
HARD LESSONS
A cryo stage is far more efficient than liquid or solid propellant stages. The CUS programme took off after the US torpedoed an Indo-Russian cryogenic technology transfer plan in the 1990s.The national space programme cannot import it as the Missile Technology Control Regime prohibits this.
According to ISRO spokesman, Mr S. Satish, the arduous CUS journey involved doing many things from scratch: building a test facility; learning to handle liquid hydrogen, oxygen and materials at low temperatures; developing special aluminium and other alloys that do not get brittle at minus 200 degrees Celsius; fabrication of high-rpm pumps, among others.
Unquote
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s^3
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#123
by
anik
on 27 Nov, 2007 13:59
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#124
by
Satori
on 27 Nov, 2007 21:39
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India's launch schedule:
2008
January
25 - PSLV-C9 - CartoSat-2A; NSL-4 (CanX-2; AAU-Cubsat 2; Cute-1.7+APD II; COMPASS-1; Delfi-C3; SEEDS-2)
April 9 - PSLV-XL - Chandrayaan-1; MIP
April/May - GSLV Mk-1(2) (C-2) - G-Sat 4 (Healthsat)+Tauvex-2
September/October - GSLV Mk-2 (D-3) - Insat 3-D
September - PSLV - AstroSat
October - PSLV - RI-Sat 1
October - PSLV - OceanSat-2; SRE-2
?? 2008 - PSLV-C10 - Polaris (TecSar/TechSAR)
?? 2008 - GSLV - GLONASS-M
Small sats to be launched by Indian launch vehicles:
PW-Sat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for January 2008).
Anusat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for May 2008).
X-Sat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for May 2008)
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#125
by
sammie
on 03 Dec, 2007 20:40
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reportThe launch of Israel's spy satellite by Indian Space Resource Organisation (ISRO) is facing "technical difficulties" and will be scheduled for launch once these are overcome
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#126
by
Satori
on 11 Dec, 2007 11:49
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According to
India to launch GSAT-4 for better connectivity in remote areas
the launch of G-Sat 4 will take place next June.
India's launch schedule:
2008
January 25 - PSLV-C9 - CartoSat-2A; NSL-4 (CanX-2; AAU-Cubsat 2; Cute-1.7+APD II; COMPASS-1; Delfi-C3; SEEDS-2)
April 9 - PSLV-XL - Chandrayaan-1; MIP
June - GSLV Mk-1(2) (C-2) - G-Sat 4 (Healthsat)+Tauvex-2
September/October - GSLV Mk-2 (D-3) - Insat 3-D
September - PSLV - AstroSat
October - PSLV - RI-Sat 1
October - PSLV - OceanSat-2; SRE-2
?? 2008 - PSLV-C10 - Polaris (TecSar/TechSAR)
?? 2008 - GSLV - GLONASS-M
Small sats to be launched by Indian launch vehicles:
PW-Sat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for January 2008).
Anusat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for May 2008).
X-Sat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for May 2008)
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#127
by
isro-watch
on 20 Dec, 2007 13:06
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#128
by
Lampyridae
on 21 Dec, 2007 02:53
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The blurb mentions only a test of an air-breathing engine prototype. This engine sounds a lot like the SABRE engine that Reaction Engines developed in the UK 20 years ago. As the article says, a reusable 1st stage is still 20 years away.
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#129
by
astropl
on 21 Dec, 2007 13:09
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#130
by
Satori
on 21 Dec, 2007 19:57
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astropl - 21/12/2007 8:09 AM
Satori - 11/12/2007 1:49 PM
?? 2008 - PSLV-C10 - Polaris (TecSar/TechSAR)
According to: http://www.livemint.com/2007/12/21084619/ISRO-to-launch-Carto2A-satell.html
launch date of PSLV-C10 with Polaris is January, 2nd.
This is very interesting indeed!!!
My source pointed the fact that the PSLV that will launch Polaris is indeed ready for launch but the Isrealis wanted India to launch another PSLV before the one that carry Polaris. Why? Well, the 2nd stage of the PSLV is also the 2nd stage of the GSLV launcher and it was this stage that underperformed in the last GSLV mission. So Isreal want's India to make another successful PSLV (2nd stage) flight before allowing Polaris to be launched. If the Polaris launch is indeed schedule for January 2, it looks like this scenario has changed...
The OceanSat-2 satellite will be launched by PSLV-C11 or PSLV-C12.
So, trying to (re)define the Indian launch schedule...
January 2 (?) - PSLV-C10,
FLP - Polaris (TecSar/TechSAR)
January 25 - PSLV-C9,
SLP - CartoSat-2A; NSL-4 (CanX-2; AAU-Cubsat 2; Cute-1.7+APD II; COMPASS-1; Delfi-C3; SEEDS-2)
April 9 - PSLV-XL - Chandrayaan-1; MIP
June - GSLV Mk-1(2) (C-2) - G-Sat 4 (Healthsat)+Tauvex-2
September/October - GSLV Mk-2 (D-3) - Insat 3-D
September - PSLV - AstroSat
October - PSLV - RI-Sat 1
October - PSLV
-C11 (12?) - OceanSat-2; SRE-2
?? 2008 - GSLV - GLONASS-M
Small sats to be launched by Indian launch vehicles:
PW-Sat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for January 2008).
Anusat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for May 2008).
X-Sat by PSLV (The Space Calendar is scheduling this launch for May 2008)
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#131
by
s^3
on 22 Dec, 2007 08:31
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Satori - 22/12/2007 2:57 AM
..Well, the 2nd stage of the PSLV is also the 2nd stage of the GSLV launcher and it was this stage that underperformed in the last GSLV mission. So Isreal want's India to make another successful PSLV (2nd stage) flight before allowing Polaris to be launched.
POLARIS is a Low Earth Orbiting Satellite and PSLV has been proven beyond any doubt for LEO. Of course the added factor for Polaris is that of its inclination, but for that matter PSLV has even launched a equatorial satellite. So there is no reason for Israel to worry about PSLV performance for LEO. Of course one does get nervous by the news of an under-performed launch on the eve of the launch of your satellite. But in this case the two launches are totally different categories.
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#132
by
William Graham
on 22 Dec, 2007 09:49
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s^3 - 22/12/2007 9:31 AM
Satori - 22/12/2007 2:57 AM
..Well, the 2nd stage of the PSLV is also the 2nd stage of the GSLV launcher and it was this stage that underperformed in the last GSLV mission. So Isreal want's India to make another successful PSLV (2nd stage) flight before allowing Polaris to be launched.
POLARIS is a Low Earth Orbiting Satellite and PSLV has been proven beyond any doubt for LEO. Of course the added factor for Polaris is that of its inclination, but for that matter PSLV has even launched a equatorial satellite. So there is no reason for Israel to worry about PSLV performance for LEO. Of course one does get nervous by the news of an under-performed launch on the eve of the launch of your satellite. But in this case the two launches are totally different categories.
I think the concern is that the rockets have common parts. It's the same reason that the Atlas V was grounded earlier this year, after a Zenit 3SL failed.
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#133
by
isro-watch
on 22 Dec, 2007 12:43
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PSLV C10 polaris launch on january 2nd looks impossible...as far as my knowledge goes the vehicle was destacked and only first stage is at the pad...stacking within days is remote possibilty....
but at the same time...it may be like TES launch...which went on in a highly clandestine manner with isro maintaing that the satellite is not TES but IRS P6 upto the 11thhour and coast guard providing aerial and naval recognnaisance support...!!!!
anyways i loook forward to a launch very soon...
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#134
by
isro-watch
on 22 Dec, 2007 12:45
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ASTROSAT may move to 2009 as ISRO has still not completed ground installation of some tracking radars
( source: the hindu newspaper)
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#135
by
astropl
on 24 Dec, 2007 07:50
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Skyrocket - 30/9/2007 1:27 PM
PW-Sat is a 1kg cubesat and will be piggyback on an other launch. Therfore it should not be listed as a PSLV launch of its own.
Polish cubesat PW-Sat (with solar sail, not baloon) will launch in December 2008 on Vega.
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#136
by
paygar
on 24 Dec, 2007 23:50
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#137
by
Jirka Dlouhy
on 27 Dec, 2007 14:14
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In the launch schedule for 2008 is the item:GSLV with GLONASS-M. When is planned GLONASS-K? It´l be launched by PSLV?
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#138
by
anik
on 27 Dec, 2007 14:37
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Jirka Dlouhy - 27/12/2007 6:14 PM
When is planned GLONASS-K? It´l be launched by PSLV?
The first two Glonass-K satellites will be launched by Soyuz-2 rocket with Fregat upper stage from Plesetsk cosmodrome in the third quarter of 2010...
The next two Glonass-K satellites will be launched by Soyuz-2 as well...
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#139
by
Satori
on 29 Dec, 2007 18:20
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Is there any timetable for the launch of GLONASS-M by GSLV?
?? 2008 - PSLV-C10 - Polaris (TecSar/TechSAR)