India Space Indian Space Archive

[Raptor]

TERMINAL BALLISTICS RESEARCH LABORATORY TO CONDUCT CRITICAL IMPACT TESTS ON GAGANYAAN’S CREW MODULE

THURSDAY, JUNE 03, 2021 BY INDIAN DEFENCE NEWS​

TBRL to conduct critical impact tests on Gaganyaan’s crew module. Gaganyaan is a manned orbital spacecraft intended that would form the basis of the Indian Human Spaceflight Program


Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) here has joined hands with ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) for conducting hypervelocity impact studies on Gaganyaan’s crew module.

TBRL, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) establishment engaged in ballistic evaluation of missiles, warheads, explosives and other projectiles, will test material specimens against micro-meteoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) found in space.

Gaganyaan is a manned orbital spacecraft intended that would form the basis of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme being undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The spacecraft’s crew module is being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Located at ISRO’s headquarters, HSFC is responsible for implementation of the Gaganyaan project which involves end-to-end mission planning, development of engineering systems for crew survival in space, crew selection and training and associated activities for sustained human space flight missions.

A Memorandum of Understanding for conducting hypervelocity impact studies was signed between TBRL and HSFC recently, under which more than 50 tests are envisaged to be carried out to evaluate critical components of the crew module against MMOD impact, according to DRDO sources.

Hypervelocity impact studies are vital to ensure the safety of crew members during the space mission against the threat posed by the impact of space debris, which have seen an exponential increase around the Earth in the last 60 years.

These orbital debris are moving at such high velocities that even the impact of a flake of paint can cause significant damage to the crew module in the absence of appropriate shielding and protection.

A two-stage light gas gun facility at TBRL, which is the only test facility in India that can achieve a velocity of more than 5,000 metres per second, will be utilised to conduct the hypervelocity impact studies.

Some feasibility tests have already been conducted on dummy targets to establish the internal ballistics parameters and high-speed diagnostics

Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory To Conduct Critical Impact Tests On Gaganyaan’s Crew Module

TBRL to conduct critical impact tests on Gaganyaan’s crew module. Gaganyaan is a manned orbital spacecraft intended that would form the basi...

www.indiandefensenews.in

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1400370896603287556

 

[Nilgiri]

The Indian Space Research Organisation is revolutionising space travel in the twenty-first century. After so long in the shadow of NASA, ISRO is today emerging as one of the most important and successful space agencies on the planet. In this video, we look at 4 key reasons why India is ahead of the game!

0:00 Start
0:34 History of ISRO
1:00 Gaganyaan Mission
2:02 Indian Space Station
3:38 Aditya L-1 Mission
5:36 In-SPACE
7:20 Conclusions

 

[Raptor]

With more Private companies coming,i hope India would rule the space industry

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1404097593349611525

Note: In CE-20 no more vernier thrusters are used, rather the rocket nozzle is gimballed to provide the requisite delta-T corrections.

 

[Nilgiri]

India ramps up military satellite plans | Shephard

Satellites offer numerous ISR advantages, ones that the Indian military needs more than ever.

www.shephardmedia.com

Satellites offer numerous ISR advantages, ones that the Indian military needs more than ever.

As the need for maritime domain awareness grows, and as border tensions with China and Pakistan increase, vulnerabilities in Indian space security have caused Delhi to look to build up its minuscule number of military satellites.

Presently, India has around 15 military-application satellites, with the latest GSAT-7A dedicated to the air force but shared by the army.

In 2022, the $225 million GSAT-7R — an Indian Navy (IN) communications satellite — will replace GSAT-7 Rukmini launched eight years ago. It is the last of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s seven fourth-generation satellites with a 2,000nmi coverage range over the Indian Ocean.

An official told Shephard that GSAT-7R would have better transponders, use the Ka-band 'and may go for the V band'.

Ex-IN spokesman DK Sharma said that GSAT-7R 'is very important. There are thousands of Chinese vessels that need to be surveyed, and we do not want a Philippines-type incident'. He was referring to Chinese encroachments in the Philippine EEZ at Whitsun Reef in March.

GISAT-1, India’s first Earth observation satellite in geostationary orbit, will benefit the military by facilitating near real-time observation of the Indian subcontinent under cloud-free conditions at frequent intervals. The launch, delayed by over one year, is expected in 2021.

Military space missions require both defensive and offensive capabilities. For example, the Defence Research and Development Organisation is working on laser-based directed-energy weapons (DEW) for tactical air defence, anti-ballistic missile defence and anti-satellite (ASAT) applications. An official said offensive DEW capabilities require priority.

S Chandrashekhar of the National Institute of Advanced Studies Bengaluru said: 'Identifying areas to develop and strengthen technological capabilities to establish effective deterrence is the logical next step.'

Meanwhile, Anil Kumar Singh, country manager at DataPath India, told Shephard: ‘India needs early-warning satellites to monitor intercontinental ballistic missile launches [ICBM] and even tactical airspace as an important military asset, and ground-/space-based lasers to disable enemy satellites or destroy/degrade attacking ICBMs as part of an ASAT [anti-satellite] capability.’

The Defence Space Agency recently invited proposals for space situational awareness solutions that can 'detect, identify and track enemy assets while also warning about any impending attacks'. The technology required must predict threats from ASAT weapons, space debris, DEW and RF interference.

DataPath supplies military-grade ground-portable antennas to the air force via Bharat Electronics. Chopra said 500-600 antennas were in the procurement pipeline, with 1.2m Ku band the most popular.

He remarked: 'Some are looking at the Ka-band that gives better bandwidth and speed… but procurement processes need to be speeded up.'

 

[Raptor]

Private company Pixel was supposed to launch it's satellites this year,what happened?

 

[Nilgiri]

Private company Pixel was supposed to launch it's satellites this year,what happened?

It was supposed to be launched with the amazonia mission (C-51), but it didn't go ahead as pixxel detected some software glitches with their product, and opted to delay for now:

Satellite by Indian start-up will not be launched aboard PSLV-C51 mission

For Pixxel, this satellite – called Anand -- was a technology demonstration for a constellation of 30 Earth Observation Satellites that would provide global coverage every 24 hours

www.hindustantimes.com

 

[Raptor]

Skyroot Aerospace completes Proof Pressure Test (PPT) of Kalam-100 – Indian Defence Research Wing

idrw.org

Private companies doing their job

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1407552871978000389

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1408101511356321799

 

[Raptor]

India To Allow Private Firms To Build And Operate Launch Sites

Private sector to be allowed to build rockets, provide launch services says ISRO Chief K Sivan. ISRO to send robot ‘Vyomamitra’ in unmanned ...

www.indiandefensenews.in

 

[Nilgiri]

Good article (which I have inserted into first post of this thread as well) by @Gessler :

A Brief History of Indian Orbital Rockets

NOTE: In this compilation I'm only going to mention orbital-rated launch vehicles, as such any sub-orbital launchers/sounding rockets will not be mentioned. I'm going to divide this into two parts. The first part will cover the history up till this point, the second part will talk about where...

defencehub.live

 

[Nilgiri]

Part two:

The Future of Indian Orbital Rockets

As a continuation/Part-2 of "A Brief History of Indian Orbital Rockets" (https://defencehub.live/threads/a-brief-history-of-indian-orbital-rockets.8461/), this part covers those programs that are still to come. NOTE: As with the preceding article, I will only be mentioning those programs that...

defencehub.live

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1413854153550352389

 

[Nilgiri]

Space diplomacy: India building ground station for Asean countries in Vietnam | India News - Times of India

India News: NEW DELHI: As part of Space co-operation between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), India has started work on establishing.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Space diplomacy: India building ground station for Asean countries in Vietnam

NEW DELHI: As part of Space co-operation between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), India has started work on establishing a ground station, payload data reception, processing and dissemination facility in Vietnam.

It is intended to provide a reliable operational space-based system for remote sensing over the Asean — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — region.

From providing remote sensing data and training to working with countries on small satellites, among other things, Isro has had a long partnership with Asean and this is another step towards furthering India’s space diplomacy.

The TOI had first reported India’s intent to establish a ground station in Vietnam in 2015, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed the matter at the India-Asean meeting at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. And, earlier this year, India told the UN security council that its vision of the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive region is premised upon ASEAN centrality and the common pursuit of prosperity.

The proposed facility, which will be built on a four-hectare land at My Phouc-3 industrial park, Binh Doung province, Vietnam will have an 11m antenna which will be installed by Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac).

Documents reviewed by TOI show that the land for the project has already been acquired by the Vietnamese government while Istrac has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) from bidders for the construction of the facility last week.

The selected companies will be “taking up the work on a design and build mode which includes planning the work by taking the prior approvals from Vietnam authorities and designing, constructing and commissioning the work as per the approved plan at the acquired land as a composite work including civil, PH, electrical and other allied works.”

The estimated cost of the project is 86 billion Vietnamese dollars (EDIT: 4 mln USD) and work is expected to be completed in 18 months of being commissioned. The facility will include an antenna support structure spread across 75-sqm, a facility building spread across 1,235-sqm, among other things.

The facility, once operational, will also be useful for India, which has been working on enhancing its tracking network. Isro already has a network of ground stations within the country and outside: Bengaluru, Lucknow, Mauritius, Sriharikota, Port Blair, Thiruvananthapuram, Brunei, Biak (Indonesia).

Among other projects, the said facility in Vietnam might also help India’s Gaganyaan mission as Isro is looking to have its own coverage for at least 90% of the flight path and depend as little on other tracking stations as possible for the human flight mission.

=================

It got posted here by accident too, more convo happened there:

Space diplomacy: India building ground station for Asean countries in Vietnam

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/space-diplomacy-india-building-ground-station-for-asean-countries-in-vietnam/articleshow/84066043.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst&pcode=461 Space diplomacy: India building ground station for Asean countries in Vietnam...

defencehub.live

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1414820907902668812

 

[Raptor]

Jul 14, 2021

Third Successful Vikas Engine Long Duration Hot Test for Gaganyaan Program​

On July 14, 2021, ISRO has successfully conducted the third long duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human rated GSLV MkIII vehicle, as part of the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Programme.
The engine was fired for a duration of 240 seconds at the engine test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. The performance of the engine met the test objectives and the engine parameters were closely matching with the predictions during the entire duration of the test.

Third Successful Vikas Engine Long Duration Hot Test for Gaganyaan Program - ISRO

On July 14, 2021, ISRO has successfully conducted the third long duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human rated GSLV MkIII vehicle, as part of the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Programme.

www.isro.gov.in

 

[Gessler]

Jul 14, 2021

Third Successful Vikas Engine Long Duration Hot Test for Gaganyaan Program​

On July 14, 2021, ISRO has successfully conducted the third long duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human rated GSLV MkIII vehicle, as part of the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Programme.
The engine was fired for a duration of 240 seconds at the engine test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. The performance of the engine met the test objectives and the engine parameters were closely matching with the predictions during the entire duration of the test.

Third Successful Vikas Engine Long Duration Hot Test for Gaganyaan Program - ISRO

On July 14, 2021, ISRO has successfully conducted the third long duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas Engine for the core L110 liquid stage of the human rated GSLV MkIII vehicle, as part of the engine qualification requirements for the Gaganyaan Programme.

www.isro.gov.in

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1415380164679282692

 

[Gessler]

SpaceX to partner with Indian companies to manufacture Starlink communication gear in India​

In what could prove to be a big win for the government's Make in India push, Elon Musk-led SpaceX is planning to join hands with Indian companies to locally manufacture satellite communications equipment, including antenna systems and user terminal devices, reports Economic Times.

The development comes at a time when SpaceX is gearing to roll out its high-speed satellite broadband services in India next year. The company's director (market access with the Starlink program) Matt Botwin said, "SpaceX is excited to find ways to work together with the Indian industry for manufacturing products for its Starlink devices."

Botwin emphasised that SpaceX always looks for opportunities to maximise the efficiency of its (global) supply chain, and "is now looking forward to working with its partners in India to recognise those opportunities".

This gains significance as Botwin made the statement during his first official interaction with Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash.

Botwin also said that SpaceX has been working with the Indian industrial sector for a long time, buying steel and steel-tubing for many of its rockets.​

Elon Musk Led SpaceX To Partner With Indian Firms To Manufacture Satellite Communications Equipment In India

SpaceX is gearing to roll out its high-speed satellite broadband services in India next year.

news.yahoo.com

SpaceX to partner local firms to make satcom gear in India

“SpaceX is excited to find ways to work together with the Indian industry for manufacturing products for its Starlink devices,” Matt Botwin, director (market access with the Starlink program), said on Monday during SpaceXs first official interaction with Department of Telecommunications (DoT)...

economictimes.indiatimes.com