Thiruvananthapuram:Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre|Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station|News & Developments

[ajithv]

IIST Student-designed rocket launched successfully



Thiruvananthapuram, May 13: The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station here has launched ‘Vyom,' the first sounding rocket designed and realised by students.

B Tech students of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (lIST), Thiruvananthapuram, designed the sounding rocket.

EXPERT GUIDANCE

Experts at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here and faculty members of IIST provided guidance and supervision. Infrastructure support was made available.

The main objective of the launch was to flight test the solid motor and the accelerometer payload developed for the project, a spokesman for VSSC said.

The objectives were satisfactorily met in the maiden launch, he said, and the rocket reached the expected altitude.

He added that 26 undergraduate students, including 10 alumni of the 2007 batch who are at present scientists/engineers in ISRO centres, actively contributed.

A steering committee comprising IIST-VSSC mentors reviewed the preliminary design of the rocket.

The respective launch vehicle design review teams of ISRO cleared the design of all subsystems.

PROVEN PROPELLANT

Vyom had an overall length of 2.3 meters, maximum outer diameter of 207 mm and a lift-off mass of 88 kg.

It used solid motor with ISRO's proven hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene propellant, with a new grain configuration conceived by the students.

The payload was a tri-axis accelerometer designed by the students under the guidance of the VSSC's advanced technology vehicle and sounding rockets project.

It works on a low 5-V power supply and a low-cost power switching module and uses S-band antenna transmission system.

WELL-TRAINED

VYOM has helped students to learn many lessons, much beyond what is written in text books on rocket propulsion, aerodynamics and flight dynamics, payloads, manufacturing, integration and launch operations and above all the concepts of systems engineering and the spirit of team work.

They were also exposed to the rigour and the openness of ISRO's design reviews, test and evaluation standards and strict adherence to quality norms followed.

Thus, the spokesman said, students have been well-trained to take up the challenges they are going to take up in different ISRO centres.

[ajithv]

Reusable launch vehicles key to low-cost space access: scientist

Access to space is becoming more strategic than ever and the key to low-cost access is to have reusable launch vehicles, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here P.S. Veeraraghavan has said. He was delivering the first Ramanathan Natarajan Memorial lecture on ‘Autonomous Access to Space—Opportunities and Challenges’ at Technopark here on Wednesday.

“Space missions depend on the economy of a nation. India cannot get unlimited funds for space programmes. If we can develop such reusable launch vehicles, there can be high economic success. Such vehicles can deliver the payload into the space and return, and can prepare for the next launch,” he said.

Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) had been submitted for the government’s approval. If we invested in human resource and if there was more budget allocation for such space programmes, we could achieve higher levels of success, he said. Such missions could also solve the issue of space debris [manmade debris in space such as defunct satellites, explosion fragments and so on].

Already 15,000 such objects had been catalogued by the United States Space Command. India also actively took part in IADC (Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee) activities, said Mr. Veeraraghavan.

After the success of Chandrayaan, the country’s second mission, in association with Russia, to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2, was getting ready for launch the coming year. It would be launched on Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark (GSLV-Mk II). The test phase for GSLV-Mk III was also scheduled for the coming year.

Future programmes

The future space programmes include Astro Sat; a national space observatory; Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS); and Aditya-1, a mini satellite for studying the solar corona. [Solar corona is a type of plasma atmosphere seen in celestial bodies.] ISRO was also waiting for the government’s approval for its ambitious ‘Mission to Mars’ project.

The lecture was organised by Tata Elxsi, a Technopark-based company, as part of its annual technical events held in memory of its visionary mentor Ramanathan Natarajan. Its Trivandrum Research Centre (TRC) on Technopark campus was renamed Ramanathan Natarajan Development Centre (RNDC).

[ajithv]

An introduction to rocket science

If there is one set of numbers that makes you hold your breath, it is 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 - the countdown before a rocket lifts off into the blue beyond.

Space travel has always captured the imagination of humans and rockets made that possible in the latter half of the 20th century. The fascinating history of rockets and space flight is told in layman’s terms in ‘Rockets and Beyond’, written by VSSC scientist V P Balagangadharan.

Published by the Technical Documentation and Archival Division of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the 94-page volume is ideal for school children. ‘Rockets and Beyond’ goes into the nitty-gritties of space travel; how does a rocket engine work, why are rockets built in ‘stages’ and a quick insight into the space race and India’s own space programme.

Check out this fascinating tidbit; ‘’A rocket can fly faster than a bullet. A rocket must travel at a speed of 7.35 km in one second to put a satellite into an orbit at a height of 1,000 km. This is 26,460 km in one hour, five minutes from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Wow! To escape altogether the earth’s gravity, a rocket requires a speed of 11.2 km per second. That is 40,320 km per hour, less than a minute from Trivandrum to Mangalore!’’ says the book.

‘’In comparison,’’ it goes on to inform, ‘’a bullet is very slow! Poor bullet can travel only one kilometre in one second.’’

The book, with the help of numerous photographs and diagrams and in simple language, explains the anatomy of rockets, satellites and space stations, how they are assembled, and the challenges of space travel.

The book also gives a brief history of space technology, and how India entered the race with the first sounding rocket lifting off from Thumba on November 21, 1963.

‘’I wrote the book after VSSC director P S Veeraraghavan insisted I write one for children. We have also sent a copy to the Directorate of Public Instruction Kerala offering to publish it at actual cost for school libraries,’’ Balagangadharan, who joined ISRO in 1972 and is now an advisor to VSSC, said.

Schools interested in getting a copy should contact the Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram.

[25Dude25]

Source: Keralakaumudi

[25Dude25]

Source: Keralakaumudi

[ajithv]

Source: City Kaumudi

[ajithv]

World Space Week quiz

Come October 4 and the World Space Week begins, the date being the one on which Sputnik-1, the first man made satellite, was put in orbit in 1957. Competitions for school students are being organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in connection with the same. These include an essay competition for students of classes VIII to X and a quiz competition, with ‘Space’ as the theme, for students of standard X to XII.

Those interested in participating in the essay competition should submit a hand-written essay not exceeding 2000 words on the theme ‘Space for Human Safety and Security’. The essay can be in English, Hindi or Malayalam and written on one side of an A4 size paper. It must reach the organisers before September 30.

Those interested in the quiz may register either through email or by post and should reach the organisers on or before September 28.

The application, containing details including name of student, class, school name and contact phone number with STD code, should be certified by the head of the institution to which the student belongs. Each school may send only one team comprising two members. Details regarding the date, time and venue of the programme will be communicated later. For further details log on to the ISRO website http://www.vssc.gov.in

[ASGeorge]

School students to launch water rockets

School students dreaming about trekking to the stars will now get a chance to launch a rocket. ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba, is offering selected school students with an opportunity to launch model water rockets as part of the upcoming World Space Week (WSW) celebrations in October.

The event will be held at Central Stadium on October 7 from 9 am to 1.30 pm, VSSC officials said. ‘’The event is being organised to give hands-on experience to school children in the assembly and launch of water rockets. Kits along with instruction manuals will be supplied and the launching of water rockets by school children will be done under the supervision and guidance of VSSC personnel,’’ they said. So what exactly is a water rocket? In a model water rocket, water is thrust backwards using compressed gas to propel the rocket upwards.

The World Space Week, marking the anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, is being celebrated this year from October 4 to 10. The VSSC has announced a number of programmes to mark the celebrations, including interactions between school students and senior space scientists and viewing of a sounding rocket launch. Essay and painting contests and quiz programmes are also planned.

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/t...cle1241077.ece

[ajithv]

Source: Metro Manorama

[ajithv]

Low-cost rocket engine test in March

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The country's first air-breathing propulsion system (ABPS) will be tested in March in Kerala. The air-breathing technology, still in its early stages of development, will engine the ambitious reusable launch vehicle (RLV) programme.

The RLV programme aims at cutting down space budgets by using the same vehicle for subsequent launches. The RLV, sources said, would bring down the launch cost by 1/10 of the existing expenses.

At present, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) incurs between Rs 80 crore and Rs 110 crore for its workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Together with the cost of the satellite, each launch costs the space agency anything above Rs 500 crore. Similarly, the Geo-synchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) costs in the range of Rs 175 crore-230 crore.

"Apart from bringing down the cost, the reusable concept also reduces weight of the rocket. This would help us launch heavier or multiple objects and attract other nations looking for cheaper launch options to India," sources said. At present, India charges about $20,000/kg to $24,000/kg for offering satellite launches. Isro would be able to bring this cost down considerably once the RLV technology is proven.

Being developed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the air-breathing system, as its name denotes, uses atmospheric air as oxidizer. In short, rockets will have to only carry the propellant on board instead of tanking fuel and oxidizer adding to the total weight.

Isro is planning to place the ABPS on a sounding rocket in Rohini series, RH 560, for the test flight. The ABPS will suck atmospheric air into its system during the flight on RH 560. Thus, by the time the RLV leaves earth's atmosphere, its engine (or ABPS) would have filled itself with enough oxygen that would power its flight to the designated orbit. The RLV will then re-enter earth's atmosphere and land either like a conventional aircraft or with the help of a parachute. "After an initial test flight, it will be used in RLV," VSSC director P S Veeraraghavan told TOI.

The development of advanced ABPS is still in nascent stages in many countries including Australia, Japan and China, except the US which had carried out an in-flight experiment of supersonic combustion, said scientists at VSSC. "Our RLV would take another year before it is test flown," said VSSC associate director and head of technology transfer group John P Zachariah.

[ajithv]

Public viewing of launch of sounding rockets



Sounding rockets will be launched specially for the public on October 7 through 9 from Thumba as part of the World Space Week-2012 (WSW-2012) celebrations.

The RH 200 sounding rockets will be used for the purpose, officials of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) said. The rockets will be launched at 3 pm on October 7, 8 and 9. VSSC will be open to the public on all three days.

Special passes for viewing the launches will be available at the Canal Gate near Station Kadavu from 9.30 am to 2 pm. Visitors should carry an ID card and electronic items are not allowed inside. Umbrellas, water and other refreshments are allowed.

Dr V N Rajasekharan Pillai, executive vice-president of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, will launch the WSW-2012 celebrations at 10 am on Thursday.

[ajithv]

Colourful start for Space Week celebrations

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Set on the theme 'Space for Safety and Security', the World Space Week (WSW) celebrations took off on a colourful start under the aegis of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here on Thursday marking the beginning of the week-long celebrations in hundreds of schools across the state.

Inaugurating the celebrations at VSSC here on Thursday, Kerala state council for science, technology and environment ( KSCSTE) executive vice-president Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai said the theme of this year's celebration

is very much relevant in today's world and people should be aware of the benefits of space programmes. "ISRO is doing an excellent service to every Indian by providing communication, television and telephone connectivity; it helps increase agricultural production and provides data for natural resources management. Space has contributed in providing telemedicine, tele-education, satellite navigation, search and rescue, disaster management and monitoring urban sprawl," he said.

VSSC associate director John P Zacharia presided. GSLV-MKIII project director and chairman of the WSW 2012 steering committee S Somanath welcomed the gathering. ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) director G Ravindranath, space scientists P Ratnakara Rao, and J Joseph spoke.

All Kerala interschool quiz, essay competitions and open house at VSSC will be held for three days from October 7. A model rocket launch will be held at Central Stadium and a painting competition for students at Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium will be held on October 7. Students' interaction with space scientists will be held on October 8. As many as 70 scientists from VSSC will address the students at 250 schools across the state during the week. Prizes for winners will be presented at the valedictory function on October 10.

Meanwhile, the WSW celebration on Thursday at Regional science centre, Calicut was inaugurated by project director of polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) P Kunhikrishanan. At Kakkanad Science Park inspector general of police K Padmakumar inaugurated the celebrations. Celebrations are also on at Kannur, Kodumon and Chennithala, where VSSC has permanent exhibitions.

[25Dude25]

Source: Malayalamanorama

[remobecks]

New VSSC Director


S. Ramakrishnan, ‘distinguished scientist’ at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has taken over as Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr. Ramakrishnan, with over four decades of experience in rocketry, took over from P.S. Veeraraghavan after heading the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) for two years.

Mr. Ramakrishnan is an expert in aerospace propulsion, launch vehicle systems, and project management. Before taking leadership of LPSC, he was Director (projects) at VSSC and chairman, flight readiness review panel. He had played a key role in accomplishing the PSLV C-11/Chandrayaan Missions.

Following in the footsteps of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Mr. Ramakrishnan played a key role in realising India’s first satellite launch vehicle SLV-3. . The country had honoured him with a Padma Shri in 2003.

[remobecks]

Three key ISRO centres get new chiefs


The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has appointed three new directors for its various operational centres at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu and spaceport Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
In a statement late Tuesday, the space agency said noted scientist S. Ramakrishnan took over as director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram from P.S. Veeraraghavan, who retired Monday.

Senior scientist M. Chandradathan replaced Ramakrishnan as director of the space agency's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri, and another distinguished scientist, M.Y.S. Prasad replaced Chandradathan as director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.

VSSC is the lead centre for the design and development of rocket technologies for the Indian space programme.

Ramarishnan worked under former president and renowned scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in developing the country's first satellite launch vehicle (SLV-3) and the space agency's workhorse, the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV).

Prior to heading LPSC, Ramakrishnan was project director of the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark III) and chairman of the flight readiness review for the country's maiden unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.

As former SDSC director, Chandradathan contributed to the development of solid boosters for PSLV and GSLV rockets and in setting up new mission control centre and launch control centre and new facilities to meet the future launch vehicle requirements of the premier spaceport.

As a veteran of the space agency's launch vehicle development programme, Prasad was associate director of SDSC prior to his new appointment and director of ISRO's master control facility at Hassan, about 180 km from Bangalore, and supervised the setting of a new master control facility at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

Prasad was also space counsellor in the Indian embassy in Paris (France) and interfaced with international space agencies, including the aerospace industries of European countries for ISRO's programmes.

[anikuttan]

DEL

[ajithv]

Source: City Kaumudi

[ASGeorge]

GSLV flight on indigenous engine in May

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre has set a target of May this year for the indigenous cryogenic engine flight of its geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV).

"We have set our target for the indigenous cryogenic engine flight of GSLV by May this year. With that, preparations are also on full swing for the air breathing propulsion system and reusable launch vehicle technology demonstration tests by the second half of this year," said VSSC director (research and development) John P Zachariah.

Source

[rajesh_raman73]

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/t...cle1483041.ece


VSSC, Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram - largest ISRO lab in India and other ISRO labs in thiruvananthapuram received massive budgetary allocation this time.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba - Rs 732.87 crore
ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Vattiyoorkavu, - Rs 69.01 crore
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Valimala - Rs 150.50 crore
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centres (LPSC) (Trivandrum,Mahendragiri and Bangalore) - Rs 439.09.

A sum total of nearly 1000 crores.

Perhaps, ISRO labs belonging to Thiruvananthapuram got largest central budget allocation, than any other organization in kerala.

[Tri Man]

Originally Posted by rajesh_raman73

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/t...cle1483041.ece


VSSC, Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram - largest ISRO lab in India and other ISRO labs in thiruvananthapuram received massive budgetary allocation this time.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba - Rs 732.87 crore
ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Vattiyoorkavu, - Rs 69.01 crore
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Valimala - Rs 150.50 crore
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centres (LPSC) (Trivandrum,Mahendragiri and Bangalore) - Rs 439.09.

A sum total of nearly 1000 crores.

Perhaps, ISRO labs belonging to Thiruvananthapuram got largest central budget allocation, than any other organization in kerala.

It is for the prestigious Mars Mission scheduled later this year.

Updates on ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission: five instruments to be delivered in March
Several news articles appeared in Indian media today about the upcoming launch of ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission. It's the first time I've seen such detailed information about the spacecraft. There were two distinct articles appearing across numerous media outlets, so it must be a wire story or perhaps even an ISRO press release; I'm not sure how these things work in India. There isn't a release posted on ISRO's website, as far as I can find. Here's a summary of those, one printed in the Deccan Chronicle, Economic Times, Indian Express, and elsewhere, and the other posted at Parda Phash, IBN live, and other places.

The information comes out during the 100th Indian Science Congress, taking place this week in Kolkata.

•Spacecraft facts:
•Its main engine generates 440 Newtons of thrust.
•Launch mass: 1350 kg.
•It bears a single solar panel, 1.4 by 1.8 meters, producing 750W at Mars. [Note: This doesn't jibe with the single image that I have managed to find of the orbiter, posted below; that one appears to have a three-section panel, with each section possibly 1.4 by 1.8 meters. I can't explain the discrepancy.]
•For attitude control it has four reaction wheels, eight 22-Newton thrusters.
•Those are mostly pretty similar to Chandrayaan-1, except for the size of the solar panel. Chandrayaan-1 had a single 2.15-by-1.8-meter panel that generated 750W at the Moon. My guess is that the diagram below is correct and that the Mars spacecraft has a single solar array consisting of three panels 1.4 by 1.8 meters each, which would, together, manage to produce similar power at Mars that the single, larger panel did at the Moon.
•Five instruments have been selected, including:
•A color camera
•A Thermal Infrared Imaging System
•A Lyman-alpha photometer
•An Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer
•A Methane Sensor
•The engineering model is complete, and the flight model should be completed in March.
•ISRO expects instruments to be delivered in March for integration beginning in April.
•Launch to Earth orbit will take place "some time in October."
•The spacecraft will depart Earth orbit on November 26 and arrive at Mars on September 22, 2014.
The mission does not yet have a formal name ("Mangalyaan" is not it -- as far as I can tell, that name was made up by newspapers needing a name and following the "Chandrayaan" convention). For lack of a better one, though, I'll not change it in my previous posts until we find out what the formal name is going to be.

Jitendra Nath Goswami, director of ISRO's Physical Research Laboratory, is quoted as saying: "We are trying hard and by mid-October we are expecting to launch the Mars mission." And: "The mission has a very specific science objective as we want to study the atmosphere of Mars. This mission will explore things which have not been done previously by other countries." And: "The previous missions to Mars have shown that there was water on the planet. We would want to know how and why the planet lost water and carbon dioxide."

Although these goals sound similar to those of NASA's MAVEN, the instrument package is more general than MAVEN's -- color imaging, nighttime thermal infrared, and so on. Only the Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer seems to overlap with MAVEN. In any case, it's my impression that science is only a secondary goal for this mission. The primary goals are engineering ones: simply to succeed at launching a spacecraft on an Earth-to-Mars transfer orbit, successfully navigate it to Mars, successfully enter orbit at Mars, and operate it there at all would be major achievements for India, regardless of any scientific data return.

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...rs-update.html