Indian Space Research Organisation

INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (ISRO)

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• The Indian Space Research Organisation is the space agency of the Government of Indiaheadquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration”.
• Formed in 1969, ISRO superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)established in 1962 by the efforts of independent India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai.
• It is managed by the Department of Space, which reports to the Prime Minister of the Republic of India.

Space Centers in India

Construction and launch facilities

Space research facilities in India

Tracking and control facilities

Test facilities

Human resource development

LAUNCHERS:

• Launchers or Launch Vehicles are used to carry spacecraft to space. India has two operational launchers.
• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and
• Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
• In order to achieve high accuracy in placing satellites into their orbits, a combination of accuracy, efficiency, power and immaculate planning are required.
• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, located in Thiruvananthapuram, is responsible for the design and development of launch vehicles.
• Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre and ISRO Propulsion Complex, located at Valiamala and Mahendragiri respectively, develop the liquid and cryogenic stages for these launch vehicles.
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, is the space port of India and is responsible for integration of launchers. It houses two operational launch pads from where all GSLV and PSLV flights take place.
• GSLV - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
• PSLV - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

1.SLV

• Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) was India's first experimental satellite launch vehicle.
• It was an all solid, four stage vehicle weighing 17 tonnes with a height of 22m and capable of placing 40 kg class payloads in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• The successful culmination of the SLV-3 project showed the way to advanced launch vehicle projects such as the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

2.ASLV

• The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) Programme was designed to augment the payload capacity to 150 kg, thrice that of SLV-3, for Low Earth Orbits (LEO).
• With a lift off weight of 40 tonnes, the 24 m tall ASLV was configured as a five stage, all-solid propellant vehicle, with a mission of orbiting 150 kg class satellites into 400 km circular orbits.
• ASLV proved to be a low cost intermediate vehicle to demonstrate and validate critical technologies, that would be needed for the future launch vehicles like strap-on technology, inertial navigation, bulbous heat shield, vertical integration and closed loop guidance.

3.POLAR SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE

• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India.
• It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.
• After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017.
• During 1994-2017 period, the vehicle has launched 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad.
• Besides, the vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later traveled to Moon and Mars respectively

Payload to SSPO: 1,750 kg

• PSLV earned its title 'the Workhorse of ISRO' through consistently delivering various satellites to Low Earth Orbits, particularly the IRS series of satellites.
• It can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits of 600 km altitude.

Payload to Sub GTO: 1,425 kg

• Due to its unmatched reliability, PSLV has also been used to launch various satellites into Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits, like satellites from the IRNSS constellation.

4.GEOSYNCHRONOUS SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE(GSLV)

• Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) is the largest launch vehicle developed by India, which is currently in operation.
• This fourth generation launch vehicle is a three stage vehicle with four liquid strap-ons.
• The indigenously developed cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), which is flight proven, forms the third stage of GSLV Mk II.
• From January 2014, the vehicle has achieved four consecutive successes.

Payload to GTO: 2,500 kg

• GSLV's primary payloads are INSAT class of communication satellites that operate from Geostationary orbits and hence are placed in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits by GSLV.

Payload to LEO: 5,000 kg

• Further, GSLV's capability of placing up to 5 tonnes in Low Earth Orbits broadens the scope of payloads from heavy satellites to multiple smaller satellites.

5.SOUNDING ROCKETS

• Sounding rockets are one or two stage solid propellant rockets used for probing the upper atmospheric regions and for space research.
• They also serve as easily affordable platforms to test or prove prototypes of new components or subsystems intended for use in launch vehicles and satellites.
• With the establishment of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in 1963 at Thumba, a location close to the magnetic equator, there was a quantum jump in the scope for aeronomy and atmospheric sciences in India.
• Sounding rockets made it possible to probe the atmosphere in situ using rocket-borne instrumentation.
• The first rockets were two-stage rockets imported from Russia (M-100) and France (Centaure). While the M-100 could carry a payload of 70 kg to an altitude of 85 km, the Centaure was capable of reaching 150 km with a payload of approximately 30 kg.
• All sounding rocket activities were consolidated under the Rohini Sounding Rocket (RSR)

6.GSLV Mk III

• GSLV-Mk III is capable launching 4 ton class of satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer orbit (GTO).
• It is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25).
• GSLV-Mk III-D1 is the first developmental flight, carrying 3136 kg GSAT-19 satellite to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
• GSLV Mk III-D1 launched GSAT-19 on Monday, June 05, 2017 from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota.

7.RLV-TD

• Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is one of the most technologically challenging endeavors of ISRO towards developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low cost access to space.
• The configuration of RLV-TD is similar to that of an aircraft and combines the complexity of both launch vehicles and aircraft.
• The winged RLV-TD has been configured to act as a flying test bed to evaluate various technologies, namely, hypersonic flight, autonomous landing and powered cruise flight.
• In future, this vehicle will be scaled up to become the first stage of India’s reusable two stage orbital launch vehicle.

8.SCRAMJET ENGINE

• A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine

• A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor.
• Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites.
• A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust.
• Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6. However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds.
• A scramjet engine efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or Scramjet.

Advantages of Scramjet

• The system uses natural oxygen present in the atmosphere to burn the fuel stored in the rocket.
• It reduces the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel, bringing down launch costs.
• This system would help in reducing the lift-off mass of the vehicle as there will be no need of carrying liquefied oxygen on board the vehicle.
• In turn help in increasing the energy efficiency of the rocket and also make it cost-effective.
• scramjet does not have rotating parts so the chances of failure are also measurably reduced.
• currently, ISRO uses rocket launch vehicles like the PSLV to deliver satellites into orbit. But PSLVs are expendable i e. it can only be used once.
• The new propulsion system would complement ISRO's aim to develop a reusable launch vehicle that would have longer flight duration.

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