ISRO General News & Updates

[abhinaba]

ISRO is conducting high-altitude tests with its own cryogenic engine that is expected to power the heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mk III (GSLV Mk III).

The GSLV Mk III has a capacity to carry around four tonnes of load.

The rocket is scheduled to be flown in January 2017.

The GSLV Mk III rocket is expected to save precious foreign exchange for India as it pays to launch heavier satellites through foreign space agencies.

In an interaction, ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said the agency is looking forward to develop four-tonne communication satellites that will give the same output as a six-tonner.

Source: ISRO's world record bid: Launching 83 satellites on single rocket - The Economic Times

 

[abhinaba]

According to Hindu report South Asian satellite will be launched on the GSLV Mark-III !!!!!

I think reporter misquoted ISRO chairman's speech.

Source : SAARC satellite to be launched in March: ISRO : The Hindu - Mobile edition

 

[Saj 007]

ISRO Starts Conducting Tests for Chandrayaan 2 Landing Mission...

ISRO has started conducting tests for its ambitious Chandrayaan-2 mission at its facility in Challakere in Karnataka, where simulated lunar craters have been created for landing mission, ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said on Friday.
According to Kumar, several craters, resembling the terrain of the Moon, have been created on the ground at the facility to test instruments and sensors on the lander of Chandrayaan-2.

"We are doing some tests with regard to the Moon landing mission of Chandrayaan-2. For that, an aircraft carrying some of the instruments is being flown over this simulated area at our facility in Challakere," Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of a function held at Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad.
"We have created some craters there. These tests are part of our 'hazard avoidance and landing' exercise. The lander is supposed to come down and land (on the Moon). We have to make sure that it lands at a place which does not have too much of slope. Otherwise, one of the legs of the lander would stuck in a crater," Kumar said.
As per ISRO website, Chandrayaan-2, India's second mission to the Moon, is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission. It consists of an orbiter, lander and rover configuration. The orbiter with scientific payloads will orbit around the Moon.
The lander will soft-land on the Moon at a specified site and deploy the rover. The scientific payloads onboard the orbiter, lander and rover are expected to perform mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface.
In the recent past, Kumar had indicated that Chandrayaan-2 would be launched tentatively between 2017 and 2018.
"There will be instruments on the lander. To make sure that these instruments work when it lands on the Moon, we are doing some simulations and that is one of the activities going on at Challakere" Kumar, who also serves as the Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, said.
"Tests are also going on to check the engines which provide required thrust to the lander in order to bring down it's velocity to compensate the lunar gravity during the landing," Kumar added.
He was here to attend a function for giving away 'Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Research Awards-2015' and 'PRL Award-2015'.

ISRO Starts Conducting Tests for Chandrayaan 2 Landing Mission | NDTV Gadgets360.com

 

[abhinaba]

PSLV-C36/Resourcesat-2A mission postponed upto 7th December
Source: ISRO to launch pslv-c36 on december - Telugu Samayam

 

[abhinaba]

GSLV engine tested at Mahendragiri - TAMIL NADU - The Hindu​

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the test of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III’s indigenous cryogenic CE-20 engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri in the district on Saturday. The CE-20 was ignited and tested for 25 seconds from 7.20 p.m. in the presence of A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO, to study the performance of the engine that will play a pivotal role in the rocket weighing about 4 tonne. “The engine, which will get ignited at high altitude in vacuum during actual flight, performed exceptionally well to meet all predetermined goals,” said sources in the ISRO Propulsion Complex. — Special Correspondent​

 

[abhinaba]

1st post updated

 

[abhinaba]

Now, ISRO is readying for the maiden orbital flight of GSLV MK III D1 on January 20, 2017.

 

[abhinaba]

ISRO signs first contract to build two satellites​

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed the first contract for an industry- built spacecraft with a consortium of six companies based in Bengaluru. The contract includes the assembly, integration and testing (AIT) of two spare navigation satellites in 18 months. It was signed on Friday between M. Annadurai, director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), and the consortium lead, Alpha Design Technologies P Ltd.
ISAC assembles the country's satellites for communication, remote sensing and navigation. After two years, the consortium will make about half a dozen spacecraft of 300-500-kg category a year with an assured buyback from ISRO and possibly for export, Col. H.S.Shankar (retd), CMD of Alpha Design, told The Hindu. While the ISRO has purchased sub-systems from its suppliers, this is the first time that it will be outsourcing entire satellites to industry, Col. Shankar said. Alpha is a defence manufacturing contractor while the others are small and medium-sized companies which already supply components to ISRO's programmes. In the coming days, ISAC will train about 70 skilled personnel from the six companies at its facilities in building the first satellite, which is to be completed in about nine months. "The second spacecraft will be made entirely by us but at ISRO's readily available facilities. From the second year onwards, the consortium must provide four to five [small- to medium-sized] satellites each year," Col. Shankar said. ISAC said, "In order to meet the growing demands of satellites realisation, ISAC has been looking [for] active participation of industry in assembly, integration and testing of standard ISRO satellites. As part of this initiative, a contract was awarded to a consortium of six companies led by Alpha Design Technologies Private Ltd." Dr. Annadurai had said in September that two spare navigation satellites would be the first lot to be outsourced. The seven-satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is already in orbit, awaiting formal operations. ISRO Chairman A.S.Kiran Kumar has frequently spoken about backlog of satellite production in the midst of galloping demands; the need is to double the number if ISRO must meet the requirements of all its users in communication, remote-sensing and the new navigation satellites. The space agency had hosted a few vendor meetings to find partners to build its satellites. Col. Shankar said over the next two years, the consortium planned to invest Rs. 150 crore to set up new, dedicated facilities near ISRO's Spacecraft Integration Test Establishment (ISITE) here in Marathhalli. Alpha alone would put in Rs. 20 crore in the next 18 months.

 

[rahul1117kumar]

ISRO and Alpha partner to make navigation satellites

Leading defence electronics and aerospace firm Alpha Design Technologies Ltd. announced on Monday signing a contract to make navigation satellites for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ”The contract envisages assembling, integrating, testing and supplying two satellites for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to ISRO,” Alpha Chairman Colonel (Retd) H.S. Shankar told IANS .

The state-run space agency has placed a constellation of seven navigation satellites in the earth’s lower orbit with the first (IRNSS-1A) in July 2013 and the seventh (IRNSS-1G) in April this year to provide accurate position information service to users across the country and the region, extending up to a 1,500 km area. The navigation system is used for terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, integration with mobile phones, mapping and geodetic data capture, visual and voice navigation for drivers and others.

The IRNSS is similar to the global positioning system (GPS) of the US, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe, Beidou of China and Quasi Zenith of Japan. ”We will fabricate the two satellites with the help of ISRO at its satellite facility in the city, as they are a part of the constellation as spare spacecraft and bid for more satellites through a global tender that the space agency will float soon,” said Shankar.

As one of the suppliers of electronics components for the ground support systems of ISRO, the city-based company is foraying into making satellites for navigational, remote-sensing and other space-based applications of ISRO and others. ”We will set up a dedicated facility in ISRO’s campus at a cost of Rs 150 crore over the next 18 months to manufacture, assemble, integrate and test satellites for Indian and international customers,” asserted Shankar.

The company plans to hire about 400 engineers, scientists and technicians for its satellite making facility over the next two years. ”We are confident of securing orders to make satellites for ISRO through the competitive bidding based on our expertise, talent and cost advantage,” he added.

The space agency will launch the Alpha made satellites on its rockets from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai. ”We are initially selecting 70 engineers, diploma holders and ITI qualified for training at ISRO’s satellite centre in assembly, integrating and testing the spacecraft,” added Shankar.

ISRO and Alpha partner to make navigation satellites

 

[abhinaba]

PSLV-C37 is now scheduled for launch on January 27​

The next PSLV-C37, that will put into orbit a record number of 83 satellites, is being scheduled for launch on January 27, said PSLV Project Director B. Jayakumar. Sharing the dais with Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director K Sivan, who was in the city to receive the 100th nozzle for a PSLV rocket from city-based Resins and Allied Productions (RAP), Mr. Jayakumar said that six PSLVs had been launched in 2016.
Mr. Sivan said that ISRO was planning to launch 12 to 18 PSLVs in a year. He said the 100th nozzle, that was custom-made by Vijayawada- based RAP, would be used in the historic PSLV that would launch 83 satellites. He said RAP would have to increase its production to meet the rising demand of the ISRO. Mr. Sivan said it was firms such as RAP that had built a great reputation for ISRO projects like PSLV. Several foreign companies were opting for PSLV for its reliability and precision. VSSC Deputy Director R Rajarajan said that usually ISRO developed a product and transferred the know-how to a private firm to create the part. But RAP had the distinction of developing nozzles and creating them flawlessly. It was able to double its production from 24 a year to 48 by innovative methods. RAP Managing director Krishna Prasad said that his company would go in for expansion soon. Founding Chairman of RAP R Chandra Mohan felicitated the ISRO scientists. Mr Sivan and a team of engineers from VSSC spent some time studying the process being use by RAP to produce nozzles, motor casings and other products custom-made for several rocket and missiles produced by ISRO and DRDO. Solid Motors Production Group Director V. Eswaran and VSSC scientist Shaji Thomas spoke.