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Dr M Annadurai, Project director, Chandrayaan 1: ‘Chandrayaan 2 logical extension of what we did in first mission’
Written by Johnson T A | Updated: June 29, 2019 6:59:43 am
Dr M Annadurai was closely linked to the mission as director of the U R Rao Satellite Center in Bengaluru until his retirement last year. He spoke to The Indian Express on the similarities and differences between ISRO’s first and second missions:
Dr M Annadurai, project director, Chandrayaan 1
Dr M Annadurai served as project director for ISRO’s first mission to the moon Chandrayaan 1 and also worked on the Chandrayaan 2 project, scheduled to be launched on July 15 for ISRO’s first soft landing on the moon. He was closely linked to the mission as director of the U R Rao Satellite Center in Bengaluru until his retirement last year. He spoke to Johnson T A on the similarities and differences between ISRO’s first and second moon missions:
You were project director for the Chandrayaan 1 mission undertaken in 2008 and the first project director for the Chandrayaan 2 mission. How different are the two projects?
Overall, the project is more or less the same — it is a logical extension of whatever we have done with Chandrayaan 1. The only thing is that in Chandrayaan 1 we had the 35 kg moon impact probe which we released after getting to the moon. It crashed on a targeted spot. Now we are going to have a controlled soft landing. Previously, it was like passive throwing of the moon impact probe from the orbiter. The orbiter in Chandrayaan 2 is the same as the Chandrayaan 1 — that is why we were ready with the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter some three or four years ago. Unfortunately, the Russians dropped out (of making a lander and rover). That was the orbiter that was eventually used as the Mars orbiter in the Mars mission (2013-14). That is the secret behind how we were able to do the Mangalyaan project in 13 months. The lander is totally new.
The Chandrayaan 1 launch was on the lightweight PSLV but the Chandrayaan 2 is on the powerful GSLV Mk III. What difference does this make to the project?
The GSLV will put a heavier payload further into space. This is how it was originally planned as well. We now have the Mk III instead of the Mk II. Once you put it in an orbit, it will be more or less what was done with the Chandrayaan 1 mission. We were the first people in the world to use a launcher like the PSLV and do a mission like Chandrayaan 1. We launched on October 22, 2008 and we reached only on November 8. We took so many days because we gradually increased the orbit (firing on board engines) to finally reach the orbit of the moon. A similar thing is happening here but we will land softly on the moon instead of throwing an impacter. The lander has its own intelligence and will land on its own.
In Chandrayaan 1, there were issues with lunar heat radiation which caused damages to the orbiter leading to a premature end to the project. Have those issues been addressed in the Chandrayaan 2 programme?
Although the heat radiation was identified initially as the cause of the shortening of the Chandrayaan 1 mission, we found an inherent issue with one of the imported dc/dc converters used in the spacecraft itself. We used some 757 of them in Chandrayaan 1. That was used worldwide but unfortunately the batch we used developed problems. Heat was generated internally as a consequence of the faulty converters and along with the heat environment, a hot spot was created. This is the major reason it failed. Initially, when the project was on, we thought external heat caused the problem but we later found that it was the internal heat. We made a correction in Mangalyaan orbiter. We removed the imported dc/dc converters and made our own dc/dc converters which will not have this problem. The Mangalyaan has gone on for five years now. These indigenous products will help the system. Over and above that, whatever inputs we got from Chandrayaan 1 are going into Chandrayaan 2. This is especially for the orbiter which will be used for more than a couple of months. The lander we are landing for the first time. The life of the rover is only one lunar day (14 earth days) but we have made some things that can help it survive longer. It is called a sleep and wake up solar-powered circuit which will help it revive after a long night once the sun comes out and it will be used to heat the system. If it works, we may get a bonus of couple more lunar days. In the case of the orbiter, we are talking of a life of six months to a year. I am hopeful it will live for a long time given the Mangalyaan experience which is living beyond its expected life span.
What is the communication network between the rover, the lander, orbiter and earth?
The rover can communicate only to the lander (for power optimisation) but the lander and orbiter can communicate with each other and earth. Lander is more like a relay. Prime part is to the ground. If for some reason we are not able to land at the spot we have chosen and if that spot is not visible from earth, then we have to rely on the rover to lander to orbiter to earth chain which is a back-up chain. In case we land as planned, then we will have direct contact with the lander.
The Chandrayaan 2 project now has a woman project director. How significant is it?
It is not something new. You know there is T K Anuradha (who has headed some of ISRO’s communication satellite programmes). There was Vallarmathi for the RISAT project. We have other women as well. Nowadays equal opportunity is given to all.
How would you describe the Chandrayaan 2 project director Dr Muthayya Vanitha?
For some time, she worked with me. When I was moved up, she was brought in as an associate project director and was working with the then project director Nagesh. Around a year-and-a-half ago, she was made project director. This is her first project. She is a systems engineer and as project director, she needs to know about all the systems. She picked up her knowledge in the period she was the associate director and was then made the project director. She has done well as project director.
Dr M Annadurai, Project director, Chandrayaan 1: ‘Chandrayaan 2 logical extension of what we did in first mission’
Written by Johnson T A | Updated: June 29, 2019 6:59:43 am
Dr M Annadurai was closely linked to the mission as director of the U R Rao Satellite Center in Bengaluru until his retirement last year. He spoke to The Indian Express on the similarities and differences between ISRO’s first and second missions:
Dr M Annadurai, project director, Chandrayaan 1
Dr M Annadurai served as project director for ISRO’s first mission to the moon Chandrayaan 1 and also worked on the Chandrayaan 2 project, scheduled to be launched on July 15 for ISRO’s first soft landing on the moon. He was closely linked to the mission as director of the U R Rao Satellite Center in Bengaluru until his retirement last year. He spoke to Johnson T A on the similarities and differences between ISRO’s first and second moon missions:
You were project director for the Chandrayaan 1 mission undertaken in 2008 and the first project director for the Chandrayaan 2 mission. How different are the two projects?
Overall, the project is more or less the same — it is a logical extension of whatever we have done with Chandrayaan 1. The only thing is that in Chandrayaan 1 we had the 35 kg moon impact probe which we released after getting to the moon. It crashed on a targeted spot. Now we are going to have a controlled soft landing. Previously, it was like passive throwing of the moon impact probe from the orbiter. The orbiter in Chandrayaan 2 is the same as the Chandrayaan 1 — that is why we were ready with the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter some three or four years ago. Unfortunately, the Russians dropped out (of making a lander and rover). That was the orbiter that was eventually used as the Mars orbiter in the Mars mission (2013-14). That is the secret behind how we were able to do the Mangalyaan project in 13 months. The lander is totally new.
The Chandrayaan 1 launch was on the lightweight PSLV but the Chandrayaan 2 is on the powerful GSLV Mk III. What difference does this make to the project?
The GSLV will put a heavier payload further into space. This is how it was originally planned as well. We now have the Mk III instead of the Mk II. Once you put it in an orbit, it will be more or less what was done with the Chandrayaan 1 mission. We were the first people in the world to use a launcher like the PSLV and do a mission like Chandrayaan 1. We launched on October 22, 2008 and we reached only on November 8. We took so many days because we gradually increased the orbit (firing on board engines) to finally reach the orbit of the moon. A similar thing is happening here but we will land softly on the moon instead of throwing an impacter. The lander has its own intelligence and will land on its own.
In Chandrayaan 1, there were issues with lunar heat radiation which caused damages to the orbiter leading to a premature end to the project. Have those issues been addressed in the Chandrayaan 2 programme?
Although the heat radiation was identified initially as the cause of the shortening of the Chandrayaan 1 mission, we found an inherent issue with one of the imported dc/dc converters used in the spacecraft itself. We used some 757 of them in Chandrayaan 1. That was used worldwide but unfortunately the batch we used developed problems. Heat was generated internally as a consequence of the faulty converters and along with the heat environment, a hot spot was created. This is the major reason it failed. Initially, when the project was on, we thought external heat caused the problem but we later found that it was the internal heat. We made a correction in Mangalyaan orbiter. We removed the imported dc/dc converters and made our own dc/dc converters which will not have this problem. The Mangalyaan has gone on for five years now. These indigenous products will help the system. Over and above that, whatever inputs we got from Chandrayaan 1 are going into Chandrayaan 2. This is especially for the orbiter which will be used for more than a couple of months. The lander we are landing for the first time. The life of the rover is only one lunar day (14 earth days) but we have made some things that can help it survive longer. It is called a sleep and wake up solar-powered circuit which will help it revive after a long night once the sun comes out and it will be used to heat the system. If it works, we may get a bonus of couple more lunar days. In the case of the orbiter, we are talking of a life of six months to a year. I am hopeful it will live for a long time given the Mangalyaan experience which is living beyond its expected life span.
What is the communication network between the rover, the lander, orbiter and earth?
The rover can communicate only to the lander (for power optimisation) but the lander and orbiter can communicate with each other and earth. Lander is more like a relay. Prime part is to the ground. If for some reason we are not able to land at the spot we have chosen and if that spot is not visible from earth, then we have to rely on the rover to lander to orbiter to earth chain which is a back-up chain. In case we land as planned, then we will have direct contact with the lander.
The Chandrayaan 2 project now has a woman project director. How significant is it?
It is not something new. You know there is T K Anuradha (who has headed some of ISRO’s communication satellite programmes). There was Vallarmathi for the RISAT project. We have other women as well. Nowadays equal opportunity is given to all.
How would you describe the Chandrayaan 2 project director Dr Muthayya Vanitha?
For some time, she worked with me. When I was moved up, she was brought in as an associate project director and was working with the then project director Nagesh. Around a year-and-a-half ago, she was made project director. This is her first project. She is a systems engineer and as project director, she needs to know about all the systems. She picked up her knowledge in the period she was the associate director and was then made the project director. She has done well as project director.
Dr M Annadurai, Project director, Chandrayaan 1: ‘Chandrayaan 2 logical extension of what we did in first mission’
As the race for Moon heats up, Chandrayaan-2 could give ISRO an edge, and spoils
Private efforts to get to the surface of the moon have gained tremendous attention and investment over the last decade.
by Narayan Prasad, Updated: 28 June, 2019 2:44 pm IST
ISRO personnel work on the orbiter vehicle of Chandrayaan-2, India's first moon lander and rover mission planned and developed by ISRO at ISRO Satellite Integration and test establishment (ISITE), in Bengaluru. | PTI Photo
Bengaluru: The race to space is heating up around the world, but differently from how it played out five decades ago. Instead of trying to achieve goals for national pride and prestige, the current competition, driven by commercial companies, seeks to monetise space-based services, access to space and space-based resources.
In this space, private efforts to get to the surface of the Moon and providing access to the Earth’s satellite have gained tremendous attention and investment over the last decade.
The origins of this race can be traced to the Google Lunar XPrize, which was launched in 2007 and offered a $20 million prize to any team from around the world that landed a rover on the Moon without significant government support.
Even though none of the teams competing in the competition, including India’s Team Indus, was able to achieve the target, all continued to pursue the goal.
Earlier this year, one of the competitors, a team from Israel called SpaceIL, attempted to land their rover on the lunar surface, but the effort failed to complete its target on account of a component failure. Even so, it became the first private entity to enter the lunar orbit, and was recognised by XPRIZE for the feat.
Other teams from Japan and Germany have secured funding and are moving forward with their attempts.
Meanwhile, NASA is supporting several US-based teams by teaming up with them for the delivery of space and technology payloads to the moon under a programme called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).
Price-to-payload
A good place to start comparing India’s ability to enter the commercial lunar race is by analysing the price-to-payload performance that each of the private lunar rovers is planning to deliver.
US-based companies such as Astrobotic, OrbitBeyond (which is planning to use the design of the Team Indus lander) and Intuitive Machines intend to carry 90 kg, 40 kg and 100 kg, respectively, to the surface of the Moon.
Last month, NASA awarded OrbitBeyond $97 million (Rs 679 crore) for carrying four payloads on a lander that intends to touchdown on Mare Imbrium (a mare is a plain formed by volcanic eruptions), while Astrobotic got $79.5 million (Rs 556 crore) for 14 payloads to the crater Lacus Mortis, and Intuitive Machines $77 million (Rs 539 crore) for four payloads to Oceanus Procellarum or Mare Serenitatis.
Other lunar rovers such as iSpace from Japan and PT Scientists from Germany plan to carry payloads of up to 30 kg and 5 kg, respectively.
Astrobotic, whose lander is similar in size to ISRO’s Vikram lander, has published a clear pricing structure, projecting a cost of $300,000/kg (Rs 2.1 crore) for payloads on their orbiter, $1.2 million/kg (Rs 8.4 crore) for payloads on their lander, and $4.5 million/kg (Rs 31.5 crore) for payloads on their rover.
A comparison of the capacity that these companies are trying to establish with ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 points to some early evidence that India’s space agency may be able to offer a better price-performance.
Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to take off on 15 July and land near the Moon’s South Pole, an uncharted territory, in what has been described as ISRO’s most complex mission ever.
India’s lunar orbiter (carrying eight payloads), lunar lander Vikram (carrying four payloads) and the rover Pragyaan (carrying two payloads) weigh 2,379 kg, 1,371 kg and 27 kg, respectively. The mission cost for Chadrayaan-2 is estimated to be $86 million (Rs 603 crore), apart from the launch cost of $54 million (Rs 375 crore).
If successful, India’s Chandrayaan-2 will establish India’s capability to safely land on the moon and operate a rover on the lunar surface for the first time.
The investment thesis behind commercial lunar exploration companies suggests that there is global interest in sending various kind of payloads to the moon, and that these operators are fighting to secure a pie of this market for themselves.
If the thesis is sound, then there will be a flow of payloads to the lunar orbit and surface, and this puts India in a potential position to exploit the price-performance ISRO can deliver in this market and offer to fly some payloads to the moon’s orbit and its surface in future missions.
The PSLV example
To provide a sense of how this can work, one could look at the way India entered the global commercial launch industry. ISRO exploited the additional capacity on its trusted workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), by offering the additional mass available to global satellite companies. This proved to be a great business, thanks to a combination of the PSLV’s high reliability and competitive launch costs. In 2015-16, for example, ISRO earned Rs 420.9 crore from launching satellites for other countries.
The success of Chandrayaan-2 will prove India’s ability to carry payloads to the surface of the moon. If India plans to continue the exploration of the moon after Chandrayaan-2, some additional capacity on the lunar orbiter and rover can be allocated to commercial payloads. This can help subsidise some of the costs incurred for future missions and potentially provision greater number or frequency of lunar missions undertaken by India.
As PSLV gained popularity in the commercial industry, launch lobbyists made a case for a ban against the use of the Indian launch vehicle because ISRO is a government agency and there were fears that its participation could “distort the conditions of competition” in the launch-services market.
There is no doubt that such challenges may occur if India chooses to compete in the lunar-launch market through ISRO-built capabilities. However, if there are positive externalities for the country and the business case has a sound economic return, the policymakers in the country should take a stand that markets need to decide the uptake to such an offering (as they did with the PSLV).
If a lunar economy truly exists, India’s entry into this niche will indeed be a very interesting one to watch out for.
The writer is a space industry expert and founder of NewSpace India, a networking community for space-related developments in India.
As the race for Moon heats up, Chandrayaan-2 could give ISRO an edge, and spoils
Private efforts to get to the surface of the moon have gained tremendous attention and investment over the last decade.
by Narayan Prasad, Updated: 28 June, 2019 2:44 pm IST
ISRO personnel work on the orbiter vehicle of Chandrayaan-2, India's first moon lander and rover mission planned and developed by ISRO at ISRO Satellite Integration and test establishment (ISITE), in Bengaluru. | PTI Photo
Bengaluru: The race to space is heating up around the world, but differently from how it played out five decades ago. Instead of trying to achieve goals for national pride and prestige, the current competition, driven by commercial companies, seeks to monetise space-based services, access to space and space-based resources.
In this space, private efforts to get to the surface of the Moon and providing access to the Earth’s satellite have gained tremendous attention and investment over the last decade.
The origins of this race can be traced to the Google Lunar XPrize, which was launched in 2007 and offered a $20 million prize to any team from around the world that landed a rover on the Moon without significant government support.
Even though none of the teams competing in the competition, including India’s Team Indus, was able to achieve the target, all continued to pursue the goal.
Earlier this year, one of the competitors, a team from Israel called SpaceIL, attempted to land their rover on the lunar surface, but the effort failed to complete its target on account of a component failure. Even so, it became the first private entity to enter the lunar orbit, and was recognised by XPRIZE for the feat.
Other teams from Japan and Germany have secured funding and are moving forward with their attempts.
Meanwhile, NASA is supporting several US-based teams by teaming up with them for the delivery of space and technology payloads to the moon under a programme called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).
Price-to-payload
A good place to start comparing India’s ability to enter the commercial lunar race is by analysing the price-to-payload performance that each of the private lunar rovers is planning to deliver.
US-based companies such as Astrobotic, OrbitBeyond (which is planning to use the design of the Team Indus lander) and Intuitive Machines intend to carry 90 kg, 40 kg and 100 kg, respectively, to the surface of the Moon.
Last month, NASA awarded OrbitBeyond $97 million (Rs 679 crore) for carrying four payloads on a lander that intends to touchdown on Mare Imbrium (a mare is a plain formed by volcanic eruptions), while Astrobotic got $79.5 million (Rs 556 crore) for 14 payloads to the crater Lacus Mortis, and Intuitive Machines $77 million (Rs 539 crore) for four payloads to Oceanus Procellarum or Mare Serenitatis.
Other lunar rovers such as iSpace from Japan and PT Scientists from Germany plan to carry payloads of up to 30 kg and 5 kg, respectively.
Astrobotic, whose lander is similar in size to ISRO’s Vikram lander, has published a clear pricing structure, projecting a cost of $300,000/kg (Rs 2.1 crore) for payloads on their orbiter, $1.2 million/kg (Rs 8.4 crore) for payloads on their lander, and $4.5 million/kg (Rs 31.5 crore) for payloads on their rover.
A comparison of the capacity that these companies are trying to establish with ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 points to some early evidence that India’s space agency may be able to offer a better price-performance.
Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to take off on 15 July and land near the Moon’s South Pole, an uncharted territory, in what has been described as ISRO’s most complex mission ever.
India’s lunar orbiter (carrying eight payloads), lunar lander Vikram (carrying four payloads) and the rover Pragyaan (carrying two payloads) weigh 2,379 kg, 1,371 kg and 27 kg, respectively. The mission cost for Chadrayaan-2 is estimated to be $86 million (Rs 603 crore), apart from the launch cost of $54 million (Rs 375 crore).
If successful, India’s Chandrayaan-2 will establish India’s capability to safely land on the moon and operate a rover on the lunar surface for the first time.
The investment thesis behind commercial lunar exploration companies suggests that there is global interest in sending various kind of payloads to the moon, and that these operators are fighting to secure a pie of this market for themselves.
If the thesis is sound, then there will be a flow of payloads to the lunar orbit and surface, and this puts India in a potential position to exploit the price-performance ISRO can deliver in this market and offer to fly some payloads to the moon’s orbit and its surface in future missions.
The PSLV example
To provide a sense of how this can work, one could look at the way India entered the global commercial launch industry. ISRO exploited the additional capacity on its trusted workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), by offering the additional mass available to global satellite companies. This proved to be a great business, thanks to a combination of the PSLV’s high reliability and competitive launch costs. In 2015-16, for example, ISRO earned Rs 420.9 crore from launching satellites for other countries.
The success of Chandrayaan-2 will prove India’s ability to carry payloads to the surface of the moon. If India plans to continue the exploration of the moon after Chandrayaan-2, some additional capacity on the lunar orbiter and rover can be allocated to commercial payloads. This can help subsidise some of the costs incurred for future missions and potentially provision greater number or frequency of lunar missions undertaken by India.
As PSLV gained popularity in the commercial industry, launch lobbyists made a case for a ban against the use of the Indian launch vehicle because ISRO is a government agency and there were fears that its participation could “distort the conditions of competition” in the launch-services market.
There is no doubt that such challenges may occur if India chooses to compete in the lunar-launch market through ISRO-built capabilities. However, if there are positive externalities for the country and the business case has a sound economic return, the policymakers in the country should take a stand that markets need to decide the uptake to such an offering (as they did with the PSLV).
If a lunar economy truly exists, India’s entry into this niche will indeed be a very interesting one to watch out for.
The writer is a space industry expert and founder of NewSpace India, a networking community for space-related developments in India.
As the race for Moon heats up, Chandrayaan-2 could give ISRO an edge, and spoils
Design Framework Of A Configurable Electrical Power System For Lunar Rover.
Design Framework Of A Configurable Electrical Power System For Lunar Rover : 4th International Conference on Power, Control & Embedded Systems (ICPCES) 2017 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Design Framework Of A Configurable Electrical Power System For Lunar Rover : 4th International Conference on Power, Control & Embedded Systems (ICPCES) 2017 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Glavkosmos signed a contract for space training of Indian astronauts
01.07.2019
On June 27, 2019, First deputy Director General of Glavkosmos (part of Roscosmos State Corporation) Natalia Lokteva and Director of Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)Dr. S.Unnikrishnan Nair signed a contract for selection support, medical examination and space training of Indian astronauts.
Glavkosmos will render to HSFC services on consulting support of selection of candidates for the Indian astronauts, providing medical examination of the candidates for access to space flight related training program and providing space flight related training for the Indian astronauts selected on the basis of the medical examination.
The work will be provided with support of the Federal State Budget Organization «U.A. Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center» and Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Human Space Flight Centre is a part of Indian Space Research Organization established to develop life support systems, crew training and planning for future missions under the Gaganyaan project.
Glavkosmos is a subsidiary of Roscosmos State Space Corporation. The main mission of the company is promotion of the achievements of the Russian space industry to the world market and managing complex international projects. For more than thirty-year history of the company over 120 international contracts have been successfully fulfilled, including orbiting of more than 90 satellites as secondary payload.
Glavkosmos signed a contract for space training of Indian astronauts – Glavkosmos - Let's Go to Space
01.07.2019
On June 27, 2019, First deputy Director General of Glavkosmos (part of Roscosmos State Corporation) Natalia Lokteva and Director of Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)Dr. S.Unnikrishnan Nair signed a contract for selection support, medical examination and space training of Indian astronauts.
Glavkosmos will render to HSFC services on consulting support of selection of candidates for the Indian astronauts, providing medical examination of the candidates for access to space flight related training program and providing space flight related training for the Indian astronauts selected on the basis of the medical examination.
The work will be provided with support of the Federal State Budget Organization «U.A. Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center» and Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Human Space Flight Centre is a part of Indian Space Research Organization established to develop life support systems, crew training and planning for future missions under the Gaganyaan project.
Glavkosmos is a subsidiary of Roscosmos State Space Corporation. The main mission of the company is promotion of the achievements of the Russian space industry to the world market and managing complex international projects. For more than thirty-year history of the company over 120 international contracts have been successfully fulfilled, including orbiting of more than 90 satellites as secondary payload.
Glavkosmos signed a contract for space training of Indian astronauts – Glavkosmos - Let's Go to Space
From Q & A session of the Rajya Sabha :
Question :
SHRI REWATI RAMAN SINGH:Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:
(a) the present status of Gaganyaan project previously carried out by Government
(b)whether it is a fact that India is taking help from Russia and France for this project; and
(c)if so, the details thereof?
Answer :
(a)Gaganyaan project is approved by Government of India and is operating under a newly formed Centre, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC). Gaganyaan Project team is identified and appropriate management system is in place. The design activities are progressing for the targeted manned flight in December 2021.
(b)Yes, Sir. In order to meet the stringent schedule, help is being sought from Russia and France for human centric systems, where ISRO would gain experience.
(c)The specific areas for collaboration have been identified wherein Russia and France could help in meeting the Gaganyaan schedule. Discussions are in advanced stage with Russia in the areas of environmental control and life support system and part of the crew selection & training. With France, discussions are proceeding with respect to training of Flight surgeons and long term activities on bio-astronautics, combined development and experiments in space medicine area.
https://164.100.158.235/question/annex/249/Au738.pdf
Question :
SHRI REWATI RAMAN SINGH:Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:
(a) the present status of Gaganyaan project previously carried out by Government
(b)whether it is a fact that India is taking help from Russia and France for this project; and
(c)if so, the details thereof?
Answer :
(a)Gaganyaan project is approved by Government of India and is operating under a newly formed Centre, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC). Gaganyaan Project team is identified and appropriate management system is in place. The design activities are progressing for the targeted manned flight in December 2021.
(b)Yes, Sir. In order to meet the stringent schedule, help is being sought from Russia and France for human centric systems, where ISRO would gain experience.
(c)The specific areas for collaboration have been identified wherein Russia and France could help in meeting the Gaganyaan schedule. Discussions are in advanced stage with Russia in the areas of environmental control and life support system and part of the crew selection & training. With France, discussions are proceeding with respect to training of Flight surgeons and long term activities on bio-astronautics, combined development and experiments in space medicine area.
https://164.100.158.235/question/annex/249/Au738.pdf
@Fafnir this might interest you. Konsberg is a Norwegian company isn't it ? Well they are drafted to support one of our major space project, which is a JV between NASA and ISRO.Its called the NISAR Mission, stated to be launched in the year 2021.
NASA selects KSAT Punta Arenas station for KA-band support - KSAT - Kongsberg Satellite Services
More about the satellite : NISAR (satellite) - Wikipedia
Figure 1. Artist’s concept of NISAR spacecraft in flight configuration. Spacecraft velocity vector will be aligned with the long axis of the solar arrays. The L-band and S-band radar electronics are mounted on the octagonal structure pointing to the right. The orbit is planned as an exact 12-day repeat, sun-synchronous, dawn-dusk, polar orbit at around 740 km altitude. The observation plan calls for complete coverage of Earth’s land and ice covered surfaces on both ascending and descending portions of the orbit over each 12-day cycle
Figure 2. NISAR spacecraft in deployed configuration, with annotation of key instrument elements. Spacecraft bus is provided by ISRO. There are 24 L-band transmit receive modules (12 per polarization) and 48 S-band modules.
Figure 3. NISAR spacecraft in deployed configuration, with annotation of key instrument elements. Spacecraft bus is provided by ISRO. There are 24 L-band transmit receive modules (12 per polarization) and 48 Sband modules.
Figure 4. and 5. Mechanical structure of the satellite with reflector stowed and deployed.
Figure 6. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) with the instrument structure.
Figure 7. and 8. ISRO's I-3K satellite bus(GSAT-8) being integrated with electronics and solar panel at the ISRO's Satellite Application Centre(ISAC) facility.
Figure 9. Infographic showing work share.
Figure 10. Better quality image.
NASA selects KSAT Punta Arenas station for KA-band support - KSAT - Kongsberg Satellite Services
More about the satellite : NISAR (satellite) - Wikipedia
Figure 1. Artist’s concept of NISAR spacecraft in flight configuration. Spacecraft velocity vector will be aligned with the long axis of the solar arrays. The L-band and S-band radar electronics are mounted on the octagonal structure pointing to the right. The orbit is planned as an exact 12-day repeat, sun-synchronous, dawn-dusk, polar orbit at around 740 km altitude. The observation plan calls for complete coverage of Earth’s land and ice covered surfaces on both ascending and descending portions of the orbit over each 12-day cycle
Figure 2. NISAR spacecraft in deployed configuration, with annotation of key instrument elements. Spacecraft bus is provided by ISRO. There are 24 L-band transmit receive modules (12 per polarization) and 48 S-band modules.
Figure 3. NISAR spacecraft in deployed configuration, with annotation of key instrument elements. Spacecraft bus is provided by ISRO. There are 24 L-band transmit receive modules (12 per polarization) and 48 Sband modules.
Figure 4. and 5. Mechanical structure of the satellite with reflector stowed and deployed.
Figure 6. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) with the instrument structure.
Figure 7. and 8. ISRO's I-3K satellite bus(GSAT-8) being integrated with electronics and solar panel at the ISRO's Satellite Application Centre(ISAC) facility.
Figure 9. Infographic showing work share.
Figure 10. Better quality image.
Well I've tried to reduce the size of the images, but it didn't work. So here it is. Do take you time to look at the pics also do compare it to pics released during Chandrayaan 1. The difference in effort taken to engage the space enthusiast is evident.
Chandrayaan2 Gallery - ISRO
Chandrayaan2 Gallery - ISRO
I reduced the size of these pics to upload them here. The originals are of course on the ISRO website(link posted on #516). We don't usually get pictures of such quality from ISRO, now that they uploaded it I can't ignore this.
@Fafnir these are the pics I was talking about. You can compare these with the original. Since this is my first time editing photos, any suggestions would be welcome.
@Fafnir these are the pics I was talking about. You can compare these with the original. Since this is my first time editing photos, any suggestions would be welcome.
continued from above.................
Sure is Norwegian. Up until a few months ago I worked for them in their subsurface warfare division
. It's largely why I know so much about underseas operations. I wrote control software and developed AIs for Kongsberg and customer's AUV programs... among other things. No country builds them better. We supply Japan, the Americans and most European countries. Even Russia has a few of our AUVs in their arsenal.
I do other things now. No comment.
KSAT is the primary supplier of ground support for the ESA and NASA in the North Atlantic, and for South America and NASA in the South Atlantic and Pacific using ground stations in Chile and on Norway's Svalbard Island and Troll Station, in Queen Maud's Land, Antarctica (claimed by Norway).
Troll Station is the one without snow
. Leave it to Norway to the be the one place with more snow and ice then Antarctica.
KSAT and Kongsberg also provides the ESA and NASA with electro-optical equipment, which is featured on over 100 satellites currently in orbit, including a host of Earth observation craft and surveillance satellites. Other customers include France's Snecma, Boeing Satellite Systems and EADS (Airbus). You'd never know it or guess it by the looks of the country, but Norway is one of the top suppliers of satellite systems and support in the world servicing most Western nations and collaborative programs with Japan, India and other friendly countries, even Russia. From communications to space monitoring and delivery systems, we can do it all.
KSAT and ISRO have been working together for about 20 years now including on PLSV rocket launches, including the launch that placed 109 satellites in orbit in 2017 and now NISAR, among countless others.
Who knew Vikings would graduate from sea to space
?
Semi-cryogenic Integrated Engine Test(SIET) Facility :
Stated to be completed by the 3rd quarter of 2019.
It is an extension of the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The test stand would look similar to this :
Pic : 640 seconds duration hot test (E2HT-03) of CE-20 Engine on 19 February 2016 at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC)
Stated to be completed by the 3rd quarter of 2019.
It is an extension of the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The test stand would look similar to this :
Pic : 640 seconds duration hot test (E2HT-03) of CE-20 Engine on 19 February 2016 at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC)