India's Space Sector updates II

[harsh1802]

Yup. I'm rooting for Space X as well. I like Musk's vision and passion.

[MeMumbaikar]

good article Hobbs.



btw off topic but what do you guys make of space mining? James Cameron and (the guy from google)

[hobbes100]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

Yup. I'm rooting for Space X as well. I like Musk's vision and passion.

Apparently Musk was the inspiration behind Tony Stark's character from Iron Man movies (or the latest Avengers if you have seen)

btw off topic but what do you guys make of space mining? James Cameron and (the guy from google)

I've read about it, but am a little skeptical of the idea - at least for next 10-20 years. However, even if their particular mission is not very successful, the technologies developed along the way would certainly be helpful.

[sanman]

No, Tony Stark's character dates back to the 1960s, since that's when Iron Man comics started. Also, he's supposed to resemble Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison and not Musk. Although Musk did lend the use of his SpaceX factory in New Jersey as a set in the Iron Man 2 movie, as well making a cameo in the early part of the film (he asks Tony Stark to invest in his electric airplane idea)

Yes, I stayed up last night to watch the SpaceX launch live. After firing up the 9 Merlin-1C engines, the flight computers aborted the launch at T-minus-0.5 seconds after noticing that the chamber pressure in engine #5 (the central engine) was trending upward, because it would have eventually crossed the safety limits.

See, PSLV wouldn't have this problem because it's solid fuel, which doesn't have such problems. I can't wait until ISRO masters staged combustion, instead of being stuck with the current expander cycle. I also think that a privatized PSLV launch operator could compete with SpaceX on launch costs - at least until SpaceX gets its FalconHeavy going, or its reusable Falcon9.

[hobbes100]

Originally Posted by sanman

No, Tony Stark's character dates back to the 1960s, since that's when Iron Man comics started. Also, he's supposed to resemble Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison and not Musk. Although Musk did lend the use of his SpaceX factory in New Jersey as a set in the Iron Man 2 movie, as well making a cameo in the early part of the film (he asks Tony Stark to invest in his electric airplane idea)

Well, yeah, the original comic book character predates both Ellison and Musk. But there are news stories attributing (movie character) Stark's resemblance to both. From personality point of view, Ellison might be a better fit Although from content of research / technologies, Musk might be closer.

[Gudavalli]

Scientists excited about India’s own GPS

In the first step towards ending India’s dependence on the US-controlled Global Positioning System (GPS), the first of seven satellites that will form the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, or IRNSS, is expected to be launched by December 2012, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists have said.

The IRNSS will be composed of seven geostationary satellites to watch over the country from 36,000 km above the earth’s surface—two satellites each would be positioned in the north and south, with three in the middle, according to Pradeep V Khekale, a senior scientist with ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad. Khekale is the programme manager for GAGAN, or GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation, a system that improves GPS accuracy for users in India, and is involved in developing the applications for IRNSS.

Currently, only the United States and Russia have functional independent satellite-based navigation systems, although China has recently launched two satellites for its own system. “The first satellite launch is expected within a year, and all seven satellites for IRNSS are expected to be launched within three years,” said Chirag Dewan, a senior scientist at SAC.

The payloads for the IRNSS would weigh approximately 2,000 kilograms, and would need Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles, or GSLVs, to launch them. Khekale added that the two-frequency INRSS would be more accurate than the single frequency GPS.

“IRNSS is generating a lot of interest, excitement and focus at the SAC now, especially after the successful launch of the RISAT-1 just a few weeks ago,” said Shailendra Singh, a Radio Frequency engineer at SAC who was part of the RISAT mission, the payload for which was developed here.

[hobbes100]

Successful launch for SpaceX Falcon 9 today!

Crucial parts of the mission still days away - docking with space station, transferring supplies and then eventually coming back down to earth. Good luck to SpaceX!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...393492618.html

Posting it on India thread since this is a big step for space exploration everywhere.

Private Spacecraft Lifts Off Toward Space Station

The first private spacecraft aiming to dock with the international space station blasted off from Florida and reached orbit early Tuesday with split-second precision, but the biggest tests for the mission are still days ahead.

The predawn skies around Cape Canaveral filled with the bright glow and deep rumble of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s Falcon 9 rocket lifting off the pad, carrying an unmanned Dragon spacecraft on a highly anticipated test flight scheduled to last about two weeks. Within three minutes, the Falcon 9 reached a velocity of 10 times the speed of sound, with the first stage dropping off and the second stage continuing to speed toward orbit.

The unmanned capsule reached orbit at around 17,000 miles per hour, roughly 10 minutes after launch. Preliminary data indicated that all major propulsion, navigation and communications systems worked properly.

The launch came after a faulty engine valve on Saturday forced a last-second abort of the mission. SpaceX, as the company is known, worked over the weekend to replace the defective part and test the rocket's systems.

In order to place the Dragon capsule in the correct orbit to be able to link up with the speeding space station orbiting more than 200 miles above the earth, SpaceX launched precisely at a predetermined moment.

If sensors and computer-controlled propulsion systems aboard Dragon pass various in-orbit tests, the capsule is intended to link up with the space station in about 3½ days.

The launch capped a picture-perfect countdown, with commands to ignite the rocket's nine first-stage engines issued at 3:44 a.m. Florida time. At that point, the Falcon 9 was mechanically held down on the launch pad for nearly a second, until computers determined that all propulsion and other systems were operating normally.

Tuesday's mission was the second test launch of the bell-shaped unmanned capsule, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration intends to use in the future to transport cargo to the space station.

Marking the historic moment, NASA's mission commentator George Diller ticked off the final seconds of the countdown, noting that the launch of the commercially built rocket reflects NASA's shift to "the private sector to resupply the international space station."

The rocket's cluster of nine engines apparently performed without a major hitch, putting out roughly one million pounds of thrust and placing the capsule into position to reach orbit. Roughly 10 minutes after launch, Elon Musk, the company's founder and chief executive, tweeted: "Falcon flew perfectly." Mr. Musk, who also is the closely held Southern California company's chief technical officer, said: "Dragon in orbit, (communications) locked and solar arrays active!! Feels like a giant weight just came off my back."

Establishing communications with Dragon and successfully deploying its solar panels, intended to provide electric power, were among the technical issues company engineers worried about most before liftoff.

Plans for the test flight include a flyby and docking with the station, but SpaceX officials and industry experts have stressed the difficult challenges of meeting all those goals. Even if the mission manages to accomplish only half its aims, "it's still one for the books," Jeff Greason, chief executive of space-transportation start-up XCOR Aerospace, told reporters last week.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told reporters the successful launch puts the U.S. "back on the brink of a new future" in space exploration. Saying that it validates the Obama administration's push to outsource some core NASA functions to private industry, Mr. Bolden reiterated that the agency intends to pursue more-ambitious manned exploration efforts such as reaching an asteroid, which "private industry cannot do or should not do."

After years of bickering with congressional critics about commercial-space initiatives, NASA officials reveled in the afterglow of the launch. Mr. Bolden, who has weathered his share of controversies leading the agency, told a press briefing that the launch represented a "great day for the world," because there were "people who thought (the U.S.) had gone away" as the leader in pushing the frontiers of space.

The agency has said private industry can develop unmanned cargo vehicles—followed by space taxis to take astronauts into orbit—faster and at less cost than traditional NASA programs.

Minutes after the capsule reached orbit and SpaceX officials said it seemed to be in good shape, the White House put out a statement congratulating the company and what it called "the potential of a new era in American spaceflight."

John Holdren, President Barack Obama's chief science adviser, said the mission represents an "expanded role for the private sector" in servicing the space station. The long-term goal, he said, is to "free up more of NASA's resources to do what NASA does best— tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human space flight beyond low-earth orbit."

Congratulatory messages reverberated throughout NASA, and SpaceX officials cheered loudly as they watched videos of the liftoff at the company's mission-control facility in Hawthorne, Calif. But government and industry experts stressed that the rest of the mission would entail tougher challenges for SpaceX's design and resilience.

William Gerstenmaier, NASA's top manned-space official, told reporters it was an "absolutely amazing countdown and launch," adding "there is none better than this team" at managing such complex liftoffs. But he cautioned "there is still a lot to go" to reach the mission's additional goals.

Mr. Musk, appearing on a videoconference, told reporters that Tuesday's launch should dispel the doubts of critics about the long-term prospects of commercial-space ventures. Calling Tuesday's developments akin to winning a Super Bowl, Mr. Musk said the test flight could be classified as a success, he said, "no matter what happens with the rest of the mission."

Everything "is looking really good" for the rest of the flight, according to Mr. Musk, noting that the launch provided "an extremely intense moment" particularly "when you have given every ounce that you have" to achieve success.

Mr. Musk's team and the Dragon capsule made history in late 2010, when SpaceX became the first company to put an unmanned spacecraft into orbit and then recover it safely. This time, Dragon is carrying about 1,000 pounds of space station provisions. The mission's goal is to dock with the $100-billion orbiting laboratory; deliver food and other supplies; and bring back science experiments.

[hobbes100]

Historic day for private space exploration! SpaceX's Dragon capsule successfully docks with ISS. A good article on WSJ on highs and lows of SpaceX:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...171703270.html

I hope people don't mind me posting these on this forum. ISRO would do well to keep an eye on these developments. SpaceX and other private space ventures will become serious competitors in space launch business - something that ISRO also wants to be a serious player in. As sanman earlier suggested, perhaps the most effective way to compete would be to "spin-off" the launchers and associated technologies to Indian private sector once ISRO masters them and proves their reliability.

Anyway, SpaceX's story is a great one for anyone interested in space exploration and technologies...

Private Space Run Makes History
By ANDY PASZTOR

The aerospace industry reached a milestone Friday, when Space Exploration Technologies Corp. became the first private company to dock a spacecraft with the International Space Station, some 240 miles above Earth.

Astronauts have captured SpaceX's Dragon capsule ahead of an historic docking expected Friday, making it the first commercial vessel to visit the international space station. Andy Pasztor reports on Lunch Break. Photo: AP.

After two days of complex maneuvering, the capsule's propulsion systems and sensors were validated and the spacecraft slowly inched toward the orbiting station until it was close enough to be snared by a robotic arm.

The test flight culminates years of planning to demonstrate Space Exploration's ability to reliably launch cargo missions to supply the orbiting laboratory, a venture supported by a group of 16 nations.

The brainchild of 40-year-old Elon Musk—former Internet whiz kid and co-founder of PayPal Inc.—SpaceX, as it's known, is under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to begin shuttling cargo to the space station.

The launch and haltingly slow maneuvers of the unmanned Dragon capsule, as it berthed with the space station, underscored the discipline, resilience and technical prowess of Mr. Musk's 10-year-old privately held company. The accomplishment also helped buttress plans by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to pay private companies to transport cargo and crew to the orbiting station.

"There is so much that could have gone wrong, and it went right," Mr. Musk told reporters hours after the docking. "I'm hopeful that a lot of people's doubts have been put to rest."

Still, the Southern California company faces huge challenges to turn Friday's feat into a thriving, long-term business—one that could help birth an industry of privately funded space ventures.

The major question is whether Mr. Musk and his management team can transform SpaceX from a boutique development outfit into a low-cost, relatively high-volume production house, say aerospace industry officials and space experts.

"Will they be able to reliably repeat this, and do it at the price they promised?" asked Scott Pace, a former senior NASA official who now teaches at and runs George Washington University's Space Policy Institute.

SpaceX, which plans to launch NASA missions from the government's Cape Canaveral space complex in Florida, intends to set up a private launch facility of its own, most likely along the Gulf Coast. Its order book includes more than $1 billion of future satellite launches for commercial operators, foreign governments and research outfits. And the Air Force recently moved to make it easier for SpaceX to compete for launches of big military and spy satellites.

The company is one of several pursuing NASA funding to develop private manned spacecraft designed to transport astronauts into orbit during the second half of this decade. Competitors include closely held XCOR Aerospace, Sierra Nevada Corp. and a start-up run by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc.

In barely a decade, Mr. Musk has transformed a bare-bones company with makeshift offices and fewer than a dozen employees into an enterprise that runs a state-of-the-art manufacturing complex and employs some 1,700 people around the U.S.

Mr. Musk was born in South Africa and came to the U.S. to study at the University of Pennsylvania. He was co-founder of PayPal, an online payments system that in 2002 he sold for $1.5 billion to eBay Inc. Later, he started Tesla Motors Inc., an electric-car maker in which Toyota Motor Corp. took a stake. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla went public in June 2010.

Mr. Musk used $100 million of his personal fortune to start SpaceX in 2002 but within six years the fledgling enterprise was tottering. The company's first three rocket launches, which Mr. Musk had promoted as less expensive than the competition, all failed in very public ways. At the same time, the government had relegated him to operating from an isolated U.S. missile-test range in the Pacific. Using Kwajalein atoll as a base hugely increased SpaceX's logistics costs and complicated every aspect of launch preparations.

By the fall 2008, Mr. Musk was reeling under additional pressure because his marriage had fallen apart, and he was facing a potentially drawn-out and acrimonious divorce. Tesla Motors, in which Mr. Musk had a controlling stake, was buffeted by financial problems and sucking up more of his time.

By that time, SpaceX was hemorrhaging money and its distraught founder felt increasingly hemmed in. "It was pretty tough slogging" from 2007 to 2009, Mr. Musk recalled in a 2010 interview, calling the period "the worst two years of my life."

Chastened by the hostility and sometimes ridicule of many industry and government officials, Mr. Musk later acknowledged he contemplated abandoning the company.

Meanwhile, the day-to-day difficulties of soothing skeptical customers and creating a space company from scratch didn't abate. In the 2010 interview, he referred to living through some "heart-wrenching episodes."

The fog began to lift in September 2008, when SpaceX's Falcon1 rocket successfully placed a dummy payload into orbit and Mr. Musk was able to snare additional customers. Revenue from SpaceX's work for NASA also began to pick up.

As part of Mr. Musk's strategy, SpaceX moved into uncharted territory by breaking from the industry's traditional reliance on hiring subcontractors to design and manufacture key systems such as engines.

Instead, SpaceX has recruited its own cadre of engineers—some lured away from larger rivals—and concentrated on doing most of the work internally.

Friday's tie-up with the space station, which some of the company's champions weren't sure would be achieved on the first try, shifts the spotlight to SpaceX's next moves.

With the success behind it, SpaceX still needs to demonstrate the long-term strength of its business model, according to Howard McCurdy, a space policy expert and professor of public affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. NASA will realize anticipated cost savings, according to Mr. McCurdy, only "if there is a broader commercial market and SpaceX can spread its production costs" across all those orders.

"If it's producing one [rocket] a year, the model simply won't work," according to Mr. McCurdy.

Mr. Musk also sees the importance of robust production and frequent launches, at least one a month. It's vital for SpaceX's future "to be in a steady cadence of launches," he told reporters Friday.

He joked that initially "we had a tiny little factory" near a suburban strip mall, where space was so scarce that all the stages of a single rocket couldn't fit into the same building.

Now, taking advantage of a sprawling, renovated factory that used to assemble fuselage sections for Boeing 747 jumbo jets, SpaceX must manufacture and test enough hardware to send 12 cargo missions to the space station over the next few years.

The company also has to supply rockets to over a dozen other customers that have hired SpaceX to do satellite launches.

Key will be hiring the right people. Mr. Musk spelled out his view of the optimum workforce on Friday. Noting that the average age of today's SpaceX employees is 30, he told reporters his management goal is melding "the wisdom of age with the vibrancy of youth."

NASA and SpaceX have predicted that relying on private cargo vehicles and space taxis to carry crews will be less expensive than having the space agency use traditional procurement methods to purchase next-generation rockets and spacecraft. If that holds true, it could deflect congressional criticism directed against SpaceX and other commercial ventures seeking NASA business

[sanman]

I have a friend who is a fellow programmer, and who has various relatives who work for ISRO. His uncle was well-known mission director there. He studied engineering with an eye towards joining ISRO just as his other relatives had before him, but he ended up going into IT instead. He tells me that the best Indian graduates either go abroad, or else go to work for the major corporates, and that ISRO usually gets the lower quality grads who don't want to leave home. So that tells me that privatization of the space sector will probably succeed in attracting better quality talent as compared to what ISRO gets now. Also the fact that space is becoming higher profile also helps.

[MeMumbaikar]

Originally Posted by sanman

I have a friend who is a fellow programmer, and who has various relatives who work for ISRO. His uncle was well-known mission director there. He studied engineering with an eye towards joining ISRO just as his other relatives had before him, but he ended up going into IT instead. He tells me that the best Indian graduates either go abroad, or else go to work for the major corporates, and that ISRO usually gets the lower quality grads who don't want to leave home. So that tells me that privatization of the space sector will probably succeed in attracting better quality talent as compared to what ISRO gets now. Also the fact that space is becoming higher profile also helps.

same for many sectors my friend

[dumbassmus]

Originally Posted by sanman

I have a friend who is a fellow programmer, and who has various relatives who work for ISRO. His uncle was well-known mission director there. He studied engineering with an eye towards joining ISRO just as his other relatives had before him, but he ended up going into IT instead. He tells me that the best Indian graduates either go abroad, or else go to work for the major corporates, and that ISRO usually gets the lower quality grads who don't want to leave home. So that tells me that privatization of the space sector will probably succeed in attracting better quality talent as compared to what ISRO gets now. Also the fact that space is becoming higher profile also helps.

That's why they created IIST...

[Stryker]

I have heard of India's plans to launch a probe to MARS. Is this true ? Does anybody has more info on this ?

[Gudavalli]

Nasa-university space fest to host ISRO models

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will display all its working models at the six-day 'Space Festival 2012' of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to be held in association with the Bharathiar University (BU) in Coimbatore between July 9 and 14.

While Isro's display will highlight the achievements of India in space science, Nasa will host 21 select events at the festival, including demonstration of various rocket models, tabletop rovers etc.

"We are arranging a separate display of Isro's working models at the programme, which will have even the latest Brahmos' model and its variants.

This will help the visitors to have a glimpse of India's achievements in Space science," said vice-chancellor of BU, Prof C. Swaminathan.

The festival is jointly organised by the Nasa, BU, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Isro and Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology (TNSCST).
Schools can register on www.spacefestivalbu.org

[UDHL]

Originally Posted by Stryker

I have heard of India's plans to launch a probe to MARS. Is this true ? Does anybody has more info on this ?

its true...google it

[UDHL]

or you can read here:

http://news.yahoo.com/india-plans-ma...181200793.html

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...s-toward-mars/

[murlee]

[Stryker]

Thanks UDHL...

I don't see any plan in the next 5 years to acquire or test human space flight capability. I thought India would want to have its own manned missions to space.

[harsh1802]

Nice launch by the Chinese today. Good for them! Congratulations!

[harsh1802]

India Bolsters National Space Program Using NVIDIA GPU-Accelerated Supercomputer

GPU-Accelerated Space Program and India's $1 Billion Investment Underscore Nation's Commitment to Widespread Petascale-Class Supercomputing

HAMBURG, GERMANY--(Marketwire - Jun 19, 2012) - ISC'12 -- NVIDIA today announced that the SAGA system, India's most powerful supercomputer(1) and the holder of the 85 position on the Top500 list released yesterday, is leveraging NVIDIA® GPUs to dramatically improve the design and analysis of the delivery vehicles critical to the nation's space program.

Developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), one of the six largest space research agencies in the world, the SAGA supercomputer is used to tackle complex aeronautical problems. Harnessing the power of 640 NVIDIA Tesla® GPUs and providing up to 394 teraflops of peak performance, SAGA enables ISRO to accelerate and improve the design and analysis of new and existing satellite launch vehicles by enabling more complex and accurate design simulations.

"GPUs enabled us to reduce the time to create, simulate and verify a new launch vehicle design from weeks to days, while improving the overall quality and durability of the design dramatically," said sources at ISRO. "This level of supercomputing power has made a huge difference in our space program, by enabling us to continually refine and improve our prediction capabilities."

ISRO leverages the SAGA system and the PARAS-3D application to run compute-intensive, detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations that optimize the launch vehicle design for improved performance under a range of flow conditions. With GPUs, ISRO is able to run more complex simulations 7-8 times faster than with a CPU-based system, reducing the time to create, test and finalize new designs by the same factor. In addition, the higher compute density in a GPU-based system enables better application scalability while requiring a much lower investment in communication infrastructure.

"The Indian government has jumped into the global supercomputing race in a big way, with its recent $1 billion pledge to build a network of next-generation, petascale-class supercomputers throughout the country," said Sumit Gupta, senior director of NVIDIA's Tesla business. "India joins the US, China, Germany, Japan, Russia, and other leading nations who are applying supercomputing resources to solve some of the world's most pressing computational, scientific and engineering problems."

[murlee]

I remember someone talking abt this in this thread.. Great to hear that ISRO is planning for this.

ISRO looks to produce satellites via industry players

As it prepares for Moon and Mars missions, ISRO is planning to hive off production of communication satellites and polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLV) to the industry.

The space agency is keen to focus on unique science projects, develop remote sensing satellites and do more R&D instead of engaging in the repetitive exercise of building communication satellites and launch vehicles.

“We want to explore the possibility of ‘producing’ PSLV and communication satellites through the industry,” Dr K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, told PTI in an interview here.

The ISRO and its commercial arm Antrix Corporation have called for a meeting with the industry in September in Bangalore for a dialogue on the proposal and identify different work models.

“We want to find out what models could work out and evolve a plan. There is lot of repetition in building communication satellites,” he said.

The industry participation in development of communication satellites is up to 80 per cent. If satellites and launch vehicles can be produced by industry players, ISRO scientists will be able to concentrate on research-oriented activities, and have greater involvement of academic institutions.

On plans for the immediate future, Dr Radhakrishnan said ISRO was developing powerful satellites which can have more number of transponders required for a slew of applications ranging from tele-medicine to DTH services.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle3565545.ece