Tag: ISRO

  • Interview with LPSC Director

    When Arun Raj shared the link of his interview with the LPSC Director (along with Shorts on Gaganyaan and NGLV), I shared the video link with Gemini and asked it to give me a post I could post here. It did a really poor job. So, I decided to listen to it and translate and put this post together.

    The interview is with Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC) Director, N Jayan. He was formerly Project Director, Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) at VSSC.

    The theme of World Space Week (October 4 – 10) this year is Rocket Revolution. Jayan says this is a timely and critical theme for ISRO this year.

    NGLV

    ISRO has been working on improving the present rockets. Work has been progressing on improving the cryogenic stage and inducting the semi-cryogenic engine into LVM3 to make it capable of lofting payloads of 5 tons into orbit.

    But, we need a rocket revolution. We can no longer just keep making improvements in the current rockets to meet the new requirements. Requirements for satellites and spacecrafts have changed. We now need Heavy Lift Vehicles. We need rockets capable of lofting 30 tons to Low Earth Orbit.

    NGLV will be 100 m high, which is more than twice the height of the rockets we have so far, and more powerful. All design and configuration work is completed. It has three stages.

    We have generally used solid, earth-storable, cryogenic fuels but this is a new fuel that we will be using. You have seen many other heavy lift vehicles from other countries with reusability, specially in the last 10 years using fuels like liquid oxygen and liquid methane engines.

    NGLV will have 10 such engines (Liquid Oxygen + Liquid Methane). 7 in the first stage. 3 in the second stage. Cryogenic stage C20 will be on the third stage.

    Design work is completed. Work on the engines is progressing in LPSC. Vehicle structural design, tests, hardware drawings and manufacturing-related work is progressing in various ISRO centers. The development of a launch pad for NGLV is in progress at Sriharikota.

    This is a low-cost rocket. We are moving away from technology and moving into it as an industry. If we have to compete with other countries, rockets must be low-cost. We must master reusability of rocket stages as this leads to low-cost of the rockets. We must bring reusability to our rockets as soon as possible.

    70% of the cost of the NGLV is in the first stage. If we can recover this stage, we can reuse this stage again and again. We have designed all aspects of this stage with this requirement in mind.

    After NGLV, we are working on the Lunar Module Launch Vehicle (LMLV). We are proposing that as a project. We have only started initial work on this project. We will add two stages as strap-on to the first stage of the NGLV. So, the first stage will have 21 engines. It will be capable of lofting 90 tons into Low Earth Orbit or 30 tons into Trans Lunar Injection orbit.

    Landing a rocket is much more difficult than putting a satellite into orbit. A high velocity rocket returning to Earth has to be killed. It has to withstand friction (and the resulting high temperature) that is experienced when it returns to Earth. We have to develop materials that can withstand it. We then have to bring the rocket in for a controlled landing at a designated site. It is very difficult. It is difficult but it has been done.

    We are incorporating this in the design-phase of the NGLV itself. There are many ways of landing a rocket. One is return to launch site. This is difficult because the rocket has a long distance to return and hence it will require more fuel. Second is barge recovery. We place a barge in the sea at a precise location. It is easier for the rocket because the distance it has to cover can be reduced. The problem with this approach is building the barge, returning the barge with the landed rocket to the coast, and the associated infrastructure development is costly. The third approach is chopstick recovery that you have seen with Starship. This does away the requirement for landing legs.

    We are studying the best way to recover the first stage of the NGLV right now.

    ADMIRE

    We are thinking of using L40 stage to test Vertical Take-off and Vertical Landing. Instead of testing the whole vehicle, we can test a small stage to master the technology. We have to find a way so that the thrust of the vehicle and mass of the vehicle are the same so that the vehicle floats.

    We have started with tests of throttling the Vikas engines. We were able to throttle it down from 62 bars to 25 bars. We were able to reduce the thrust from 100% to 40%. We have planned a series of missions where it is flown to different heights and try to achieve controlled landing. Once we learn the technology, we can adapt it to NGLV, etc. Engine testing-related work is completed. Work is in progress on the landing gear. We will be doing the VTVL experiments soon. The test could be done in a few months. Perhaps within a year. We will be doing hop test soon.

    LVM3

    LVM3’s capability must be improved to beyond 5 tons if we have to launch Chandrayaan 4. We have been planning this for a long time. One, we have to improve C25 stage using the CE20 engine. We are operating the CE20 engine at 19 tons. We are upgrading the C25 stage to a C32 stage. It can carry 32 tons of fuel. We are changing the length and dimensions of the tanks. We have made minor changes in the CE20 engines so that it can operate at 22 tons. This helps increase the mass capacity by 350 kg.

    We are replacing the earth-storable L110 stage with Liquid Oxygen (Cryogenic) and Kerosene (Earth-storable, hence semi-cryogenic) combination Semi-Cryogenic stage that can operate at a thrust of 200 tons. We have developed Vikas at 80 tons. This is a direct jump to a 200 tons engine.

    We recently completed the Power Head Test. Leaving aside the combustion chamber, we have tested the rest of the assembly. This system has to deliver the fuels at the correct flow rate and desired quantity into this combustion chamber. We tested that the quantity and flow rates were correct with the Power Head Test. We have tested this till 200 tons thrust.

    Work is in progress on the combustion chamber which should be ready in 1-2 months. Once the combustion chamber is attached to the power head, it becomes the full engine. In a few months after that, we should be able to test the full engine. We have plans for that. We plan to complete the full development of the engine and test the stage in 1.5 years.

    Chandrayaan 4 is planned for 2028. We want to test this engine in a flight before that.

    Reasons behind the Delay of Semi-Cryogenic Engine

    We had started work on the SCE in 2010. At that time, the cryogenic engine on the GSLV-D3 failed. Once that failed, the focus shifted to make the cryogenic engine project successful. We had worked on both cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines.

    It was 2014 by the time GSLV succeeded. At the same time, development of LVM3 and CE20 engine became the focus. The development of SCE was thus not a primary focus area. Once LVM3 was successful, the full focus shifted to SCE development.

    The biggest challenge here was the material technology. We were handling materials ISRO had not handled before. We were building an Oxidiser Rich Pre Burner. In cryogenic engine, it is usally fuel-rich and so materials are easier to handle. A hot gas that is rich in oxidiser destroys most of the material. The material is not able to withstand this environment.

    India did not have technology in handling the material needed to withstand this oxidiser rich environment. We did not have experience in welding, brazing, etc. We faced a lot of issue with fabrication of the material. The material we fabricated would not withstand the pressure test and hence we lost a lot of material and hardware. We developed many specimens and studied them. We learned to work with this material called high-nickel alloy. We have solved all of these issues now.

    Gaganyaan

    Gaganyaan G-1 will fly a month after the flight of the NVS-03, expected in the end of October. Rocket stages are at Sriharikota. Stacking is in progress. Reviews are in progress. Orbital Module is undergoing some final tests in Bangalore. Orbital Module will be moved to Sriharikota thereafter.

    LPSC is working on the Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). It has to give astronauts a comfortable living conditions. Temperature, Radiation protection, Humidity Control, maintaining the levels of oxygen, handling water and food supply, and waste mangement.

    ECLSS on G1 will be experimental and for gathering data. Some part of the ECLSS is in the Crew Module and some in the Service Module. This integration and testing is completed.

    Work is progressing on G2 as well at LPSC. The fully functional ECLSS will be flown on G2. Testing of the systems is in progress at LPSC. By the time of G2 launch, ECLSS system will be ready incorporating changes according to our experience in G1.

    Electric propulsion

    Electric propulsion is 5 times more efficient than chemical propulsion. If we consider 5 ton satellite with chemical propulsion satellite, we can realise the same satellite with a mass of about 3 to 3.5 tons for the same purpose.

    Satellite propulsion is used for orbit raising and station keeping. This saves on mass of the fuel in the satellite. This reduces the cost of launch to almost half.

    We are using a technology where gases like Xenon and Argon are ionized and accelerated by an electric field. We are in very advanced stage with electric propulsion at ISRO. We have developed engines with multiple thrust levels – like 75 mN, 18 mN and the most important is the 300 mN stationary plasma thruster.

    The 300 mN thruster development and qualification is completed. It will fly on the TDS-01 satellite on the PSLV-C63 mission. The thruster and satellite are tested and are ready in Bengaluru. The thruster will be used for all operations of the TDS-01 satellite.

    We are building thrusters for micro-satellites and high power thrusters for larger satellites. We have started work on the high power thruster project. We have developed 1 N thruster for bigger satellites.

    Once successful on TDS-01, we are planning another TDS-02 mission with an improved version of the 300 mN thruster. Once successful on these two missions, electric propulsion will slowly be implemented in all of our satellites. These can be developed in 6 months to a year.

    Launch Frequency

    For increasing the launch frequency, we must increase the number of industries we welcome into the sector in a profitable way. We must be able to reduce the cost of future rockets like NGLV. We must be able to invite international customers. We must develop our industry towards that end. We are discussing with industry.

    We must be able to build 100 engines in a year as against 5-6 engines in a year. Just like building Maruti cars in a production line. Only large industries will be able to build a production line. We have spoken to industry about this during the NGLV Industry Meet. They are enthusiastic and ready to develop the infrastructure for the same.

    We need to be able to test multiple engines at the same time. This could mean 5-6 bays in which 4-5 engines are tested at the same time in each bay. Design of building such a facility at Mahendragiri are in progress. 1-2 engines can be tested in a week.

    We are looking at integrating the manufacturing process under a single roof. Currently, the parts are being made elsewhere and there is delay in transportation. If the full manufacturing process comes under one roof, an industry produces a finished engine comes out just like a car or a bus.

    Building propellant tanks in Sriharikota, integrated with engines, and launched in Sriharikota is also being considered. We are working on implementing such a model to improve the launch frequency. Something like an assembly line system. We have to also reduce transportation time.

    New Technology

    Technology is limited only by your imagination. Our youth can think in new ways. There will be failures. But, one spark can lead to new innovations. Space is moving from being a technology to an economic industry. If Indian human resource is utilized to develop new technologies and a space ecosystem is built, then it has the potential will transform India just like IT revolution did. This is what we are doing with Indian startups, hand-holding, etc.

    NGLV is 80-90% built using additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing has a big role to play in mass production of engines. NGLV has been designed with this in mind.

    AI centers are opened in many ISRO centers. It is used from defect detection, design, and testing (testing data is fed to AI to reduce failures).

    The biggest challenge in rocket propulsion technology is building a rocket with materials that are not exotic. This is important for it to be mass-produced.

    Air-breathing propulsion like Scramjet engine is another challenge.

    Our final dream is a single stage to orbit. A rocket goes into orbit and returns just like an aeroplane. Development of propulsion systems that are hybrid air-breathing and rocket based combustion combined cycles. We have started work on this. Youngsters in our units are looking for such challenging tasks.

    Satellite electric propulsion efficiency can be improved by 20 times. Theoretically, it can be 25-30 times.

    We are planing a green propellant on-board a POEM payload.

    We are working on nuclear electric propulsion system.

    Chandrayaan 4 will use higher thrust chemical propulsion engines. Engines have been defined, thruster development is almost in its final stage. For Chandrayaan 5, will use higher thrust engine than Chandrayaan 4. We are using 3.1 kN engine instead of 500 N engines. We have built a prototype hardware for the same and tested them. There is very little technical uncertainity as these are mainly upgrades.

    — End of Interview —

    Feel free to leave any corrections in the comments. Will be happy to incorporate them here.

  • ISRO’s Multiple Power Centers

    ISRO announced and successfully launched the GSLV-F17 mission after my last blog post. I am not claiming my blog post had any role in the launch or the success thereafter. Only, that the launch happened.

    It seems that there were efforts on to undermine ISRO by not letting it launch missions that were ready and already at Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC, Sriharikota).

    It seems that the questions raised by Madhavan Nair (in Malayalam, in English) and (perhaps) in parallel by Unions within ISRO (another story) about the privatisation of the full range of ISRO launch vehicles (PSLV and LVM3).

    This is in response to a speech given by the Chairman of IN-SPACe, Pawan Goenka –

    You will note the rocket behind him that is branded as IN-SPACe in the video. Usually rockets carry only two names – ISRO and India. The news story written by India Today actually makes it sound worse when they paraphrase him.

    This led to this clarification from him on X:

    However, going against the spirit of this separation of powers, IN-SPACe has been “productionalising” LVM3 and handing over operations of Kulasekarapattinam space port.

    This makes it look like there are multiple power centers (Pawan Goenka and Dr. V Narayanan) within the Department of Space.

    Even the release of this clarification by the Chairman, IN-SPACe makes it look like the Secretary of Department of Space cannot speak for himself or that Goenka has a bigger say in how things are run.

    While I was writing this, another un-signed clarification came from ISRO. Again, its not clear from whom within ISRO is this statement from. Is it from the Public Relations Officer, the ISRO Chairman, the Secretary, Department of Space, the Chairman, IN-SPACe?

    India’s private sector has its own growth trajectory to follow. While there have been successes – these are too small and will not help in missions of national importance. ISRO must be allowed to pursue those missions at the minimum until the private sector can develop its own prowess.

    I feel that the private sector is at least a decade away from developing that prowess. At the very least, wait till they can deliver three missions demonstrating this prowess.

    For this, the institutions within the Department of Space must work. The direction for this must come from the top – the Indian Parliament. We have a love for working in legal grey areas but we do not have any way to protect the ecosystem when the system implodes.

  • What ails the Space Sector today?

    Arun Raj K M whose articles and videos I have linked to here, earlier, has written an article that is a follow-up to the interview he did with former ISRO Chairman, Madhavan Nair. Google Translate gives a decent English translation of the article.

    The lack of clarity between the three important pillars of the Department of Space – the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO – the science and technology lab), the New Space India Ltd. (NSIL – the commercial arm), and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe, the regulator of the non-governmental entities).

    Internally, there may be clarity about each entity’s role. But, externally, the signals are mixed.

    ISRO had two back to back failures of the workhorse PSLV. This led to a lot of internal boards being created to investigate the failures. Even the National Security Advisor got involved. ISRO seems to be ready with satellites and launch vehicles. But, it does not seem to have got the nod to launch.

    In the past, an internal Launch Authorisation Board after consulting with the Space Commission would give these nods. IN-SPACe is not believed to have a say in giving nods for ISRO launches. But, there is no clarity if they are now involved. When the article says that the government has not given a nod, we have no idea about which arm of the government is giving the nod.

    The less said about NSIL, the better. An announcement calling for the post of a head for NSIL was floated in August 2025. It still does not have a head for the past 5 months.

    IN-SPACe has a really clear mandate, posted on their own website. But, it’s chief has recently being doing the work that NSIL should be doing. They made a call for productionalize LVM3 and for handing over operations of Kulashekarapatinam to the private sector. This has given rise to speculation that there is a power struggle between Pawan Goenka and Dr. V Narayanan.

    There was no mention of Narayanan in the programme published for National Space Day celebrations.

    Missions of national importance are falling behind – remote sensing satellites, communication satellites, navigation satellites, scientific missions, and building national capability in launch vehicles and satellite technologies.

    Despite recent demonstrations by Skyroot and upcoming technical demonstration missions from space start-ups, I don’t think they are in a position to replace the whole gamut of missions that ISRO used to run and operate.

    In my estimation, they may be a decade away from that capability. They may be two decades away from the capability to replace the services that ISRO offers to the nation today.

    I also agree with what Madhavan Nair said in the interview. We need a clear division of labour within the Department of Space. The Space Activities Bill could bring that if drafted well. We need the Space Commission to be the top space body in the country until the Space Activities Bill can be drafted and passed in Parliament.

  • Madhavan Nair on what ails ISRO

    Former ISRO Chairman, Madhavan Nair on what ails ISRO in this Malayalam interview.

    This is an important reality check. We don’t have enough people speaking up like this in current leadership.

  • The PSLV-C62 Mission

    I wanted to write about this on my space newsletter but that seems to be in limbo. Hence, I am writing here.

    The launch took place on 12 January 2026 at 10:17 AM IST carrying Anvesha/EOS-N1 and multiple rideshare satellites from private space startups, academia, and international customers. The vehicle failed to reach orbit and ended in the Southern Indian Ocean.

    I did not watch the mission because I was at work. I assumed that the last failure that the PSLV faced was a minor hiccup. I assumed that the PSLV would be back to putting satellites into orbit. But, after the failure, speculation was rife on social media and in the print media with everything from sabotage to calls for sacking the ISRO Chairman.

    The above reply by @SolidBoosters2 suggesting that our intelligence agencies must be closed if this was sabotage is the best answer the people suggesting sabotage. I think the current ISRO Chairman should stay and lead the transition from solid fuel to liquid fuel launch vehicles which we are doing from PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3 to NGLV, given his experience with LPSC.

    Things started going awry to the end of the third stage flight of the PSLV-C62. People spotted the tumbling PSLV on screens in mission control before the webcast went offline. One of the next PSLV flight would have been that of the industry built PSLV.

    From some of the evidence I saw, I think the the failure seems to be originating in the attitude control system.

    One of the payloads on the PSLV was the Kestrel Initial Technology Demonstration (KID), which transmitted data for 190 seconds after separating from the PSLV at speeds over Mach 20, withstanding 28g loads and temperatures of 300 to 350 degrees Celsius. The KID maintained its payload at 85 degrees Celsius and its instruments measured accelerations of up to 30g, likely enduring up to 35g. Despite being a failed mission, they achieved 4 out of 5 technological milestones, which was a positive outcome.

    There were also a lot of questions about insurance taken by the startups in the private sector. There were calls for NSIL to pay the companies for the loss of payload. I think it was the companies responsibility to get insurance to protect against the financial loss. There are concerns that payload below certain payload weights are difficult to insure.

    The Failure Analysis Committee’s report on the failure of the PSLV-C61 are yet to be disclosed. It is expected that a similar fate awaits the FAC report for the PSLV-C62 as well. There are rumours that ISRO had changed the nozzle throat material from graphite to a 4D carbon-carbon. There are rumours that there were 7 Mission Readiness Reviews (MRRs) and even a test of the third stage of the PSLV which had also failed in the PSLV-C61 mission.

    I wish they follow the example laid down by Japan in terms of transparency. I didn’t have a useful, shareable link for the JAXA story. @SolidBoosters2 mentioned above does a good job with the story.

    I hope the issues with the PSLV can be fixed and it can return to flying missions again for ISRO very soon.

  • Week 43/2025

    I used to write my Weekly Notes in a structured way, tracking my reading and writing progress. This time, I want to write it in a more free-form style, similar to how I did for Week 42.

    My parents visited and took the kids to Mumbai during the Diwali holidays. It was our first time home alone. You might expect us to get a lot done without the kids, but we mostly just relaxed and did nothing special.

    We watched three movies – Coolie (Tamil), Ronth (Malayalam), and Greater Kalesh (Hindi) on OTT. I started reading Kurashi at Home by Marie Kondo (which I could not find in her publications list on Wikipedia) and Make Epic Money by Ankur Warikoo. I listened to The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel and I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi. I did not finish any of the books I started and left them all unfinished. I am spending my time recovering from surgery watching Countdown and Lazarus.

    I am disappointed with my recent book choices. I didn’t read Between Worlds, which I wanted to. I read more on my mobile than anywhere else. Between Worlds is just sitting on my shelf after I read the first two chapters.

    I have been following several accounts on X that focus on manufacturing in India. While there are traditional manufacturing companies, these new-age creators showcase impressive manufacturing processes through engaging videos. We imagined these processes in our heads. I will share a few videos in another blog post.

    It was interesting to see how India’s manufacturing limits its space program and how ISRO built up its capabilities, helping the program grow. This serves as a useful model for other sectors in India. For instance, the Semi Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Chandigarh could apply this approach to build the capability of the Indian semiconductor industry, leveraging SCL’s experience being an ISRO Center.

  • Bigger diameter for LMLV

    I had shared Anshuman’s post on X here in an earlier post.

    I saw a reply from Indranil Roy about why the increase in diameter from 5 m to 6.5 m is a big deal. This is because we were not able to manufacture rocket casings of the diameter in India.

    Here’s his thread on X:

    I looked up who was making rocket casings in India and found out that Walchandnagar Industries makes them. They have the capability to make 5 m diameter rocket casings according to their website.

    But, their brochure which seems to be more updated shows this capability to machine with wider diameters. So, the news about the 6.5 m diameter is a bigger deal than just an improvement in diameter. It is a deep improvement in capacity.

    Gareeb Scientist had interviewed former ISRO Chairman, Dr. S Somanath, where he also spoke about this limitation. You can find it around the 6 min 30 sec to the 7 min mark.

    There was also an episode of the NewSpace India podcast with Walchandnagar’s Chirag Doshi with insights on working with ISRO as an industrial partner right from the sounding rocket days.

  • Interview with M Mohanan of LPSC

    There was this interview with M Mohanan, Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC). As with all ISRO interviews, I don’t take their timelines very seriously but they usually point to the proper direction in terms of technology advancement.

    The interview in Malayalam was done by Asianet’s Arun Raj on the sidelines of National Space Day, held to commemorate the landing of Chandrayaan 3 near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023. A series of programmes were held discussing the future of the various ISRO missions that I am still going through.

    There seem to be many people who were asking for a translation of this interview on X and Reddit. Hence, decided to do it here.

    I think ISRO is in an important transition from solid to liquid propellants for their launch vehicles. In this back drop, I think this is an important interview to track.

    • Interview with M Mohanan, who took over as Director, LPSC from V Narayanan, who became ISRO Chairman.
    • LPSC’s role in Chandrayaan 3 included the development of the landing motors that helped it to land successfully.
    • What after Chandrayaan 3? Chandrayaan Follow-on programme.
      • The ultimate mission is landing an Indian on the Moon by 2040, as per the Prime Minister’s vision. Work on this is in progress.
      • Chandrayaan 4 – sample return mission – landing a rover on the Moon – rover will excavate or drill a sample (rock or soil) from the lunar surface, take it back to lander, put it in a module which will take it to the orbiter and then return it to Earth.
      • Chandrayaan 5 – similar to Chandrayaan 4 but will be done in collaboration with JAXA (the Japanese space agency). Launch will be done by JAXA. New satellite propulsion systems are necessary because of the increased mass of the payload. The payload mass for this mission is approximately 6,500 kg. Indian payload masses have been close to 3,000 – 4,000 kg. We are developing the thrusters which are now in the qualification phase.
    • Semi-cryogenic engine:
      • We have developed two cryogenic engines successfully – GSLV CUS – 8 ton and LVM3 – 20 ton. SCE capability is comparitively very high. Semicryogenic engine propellant loading is 200 tons and the engine develops a thrust of 100 ton. We are developing a heavy launcher for this purpose in the future.
      • SCE is going to use liquid oxygen and pure kerosene (that we call ISROsene.
      • Engine manufacturing is complex: The temperature regimes and material used for this engine is very different. We have faced issue with qualification and manufacturing with the material used for the engine. We have overcome those issues and have started testing with the Power Head Test Article (PHTA, called the “brain” of the engine). We have successfully completed 4 tests. We are now moving to testing the engine as a whole.
      • We are first going to build the thrust chamber by the end of this year. We are going to build the stage by the end of next year. We are then going to test it in the LVM3. We will replace the L110 engine on the LVM3 with a 1-to-1 replacement. But, the engine will have comparitively higher thrust, that will let us carry a heavier payload to orbit – from the current 4 tons to 5.5 tons. That is our first aim, that we are trying to achieve by end of 2026 or early 2027.
      • Bharatiya Antariksh Station – We are planning to launch this on the LVM3 starting from 2028 and complete the commissioning of 5 modules by 2035. He seemed to imply that we will only be using LVM3 for this.
      • When we need to carry 20 ton payload to orbit or send humans to the Moon and bring them back, we need heavier launch vehicle with the capability to carry 100-120 ton to LEO. Hence, we are building NGLV as well as another launch vehicle in a modular format so that we can add an extra stage if necessary.
      • We are currently planning to use a 7 to 9 engine configuration in the first stage of the NGLV(Not sure if he meant this about the SCE or the LOX Methane engine).
      • We have got approval to develop a single 110 ton LOX Methane engine. We have started testing it since last week. Another test was held on the day of the interview. We will complete the development by the middle of next year at an engine level. Stage building will start as part of the NGLV project and is yet to begin.
      • Electric Propulsion – We are getting a PSLV built by outsourcing it to an industry consortium. The first launch mission is called PSLV-N1. PSLV-N1 will carry Technology Development Satellite (TDS-01). Ordinarily a satellite is put into a 150 x 36,000 orbit. But, this satellite will be placed in a 240 x 18,000 km orbit. The orbit raising of this satellite for circularisation of the orbit of 36,000 km will be done by electric propulsion. This has many advantages. A small thrust can be applied over a longer duration. Also, ordinarily 70-80% of the satellite mass is usually the propellant (fuel and oxidiser). With the use of electric propulsion, we can reduce the mass of the propulsion system from 3200 kg in a 4 ton satellite to a total of 100-150 kg. This includes a battery, an electric propulsion thrusters, and avionics. We have developed, qualifed, and delivered the thrusters successfully. The avionics have been qualified and will be sent for flight testing by the end of this month.
      • PSLV-N1 is scheduled for the end of this year. This mission carries a 300 mN thruster with a 4 kW power. Once this test is successful, we will increase the capacity to a 1 N thrust and 20 kW power system for an all electric propelled satellite. This requires a different battery and new technologies that will need to be developed. This will depend on the success of this mission.
      • Question on Gaganyaan since Mohanan had earlier worked with HSFC. Gaganyaan delays have been because of various reasons. Configuration and readiness of the G1 mission is completed. We plan to have 3 uncrewed missions before the crewed mission. We plan to do the first uncrewed mission, G1, by the end of this year.
      • The HLVM3 stages for the G1 mission are already in Sriharikota. The Crew Module that will help humans stay comfortably in orbit for several days and which can dock with ISS in the future is under preparation. ECLSS sytem is already done. Continued in the point below this.
      • We need to simulate the conditions of the parachute that will be used to return the crew module safely that begins 7 to 8 km over the surface of water.
        • Integrated Air Drop Test with a helicopter – For the first test we will use a helicopter with a simulated crew module and recover from the sea. This will be done this month.
        • Integrated Air Drop Test with a Test Vehicle – We will use a Test Vehicle carry an Orbital Module to a height of 15-17 km. We will drop it and control its descent with a parachute. This will be done in the next 2-3 months.
        • After we do these two tests, we will get a complete idea of landing mission sequence, parachute performance, and mission computer operation. G1 mission will be done following this.
      • Crew Module is getting assembled in URSC, Bangalore. LPSC is working on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) of the Crew Module which will carry the crew. ECLSS will maintain a temperature of 22 degrees C and a RH of 50%, control oxygen, carbon dioxide, oxygen percentage etc. The Cabin Pressure Control System and the Thermal and Humidity Control system is delivered and its integration is in progress. The thrusters of the propulsion system on the crew module and the service module have been tested under various conditions. It’s integration is also complete.
      • Crew Module and Service Module together is Orbital Module. After the integration at UPSC it will be moved to Sriharikota and the mission will be ready to launch.
      • No place for risk. Ordinarily, we focus on quality. A loss of quality is a loss of mission. But, in this case, there is a requirement for a layer of safety over and above just the quality requirements. This has more stringent certification requirements. There is a separate board for clearance of these missions just like for aeroplanes. We are discussing and holding meetings for safety approvals for the G1 just as if it was a crewed mission to prepare for the crewed mission.
      • Instead of TV-D2 for landing tests, we are doing it as a separate project that we call Vertical Take-off and Landing Experiment. The configuration will be similar to the Test Vehicle. The important part of this vehicle will be a throttalable version of the Vikas engine. This version can reduce the thrust of the Vikas engine to 30% of its power by throttling using valves and electronics. We have completed the test of the throttalable engine. We have to build the stage with landing legs and grids (to increase the drag)so that the stage can land. We will begin work on this next year and the landing test can be done within the next 2 years. We have to work out how high it needs to go for the test. The test with this vehicle will demonstrate the technologies needed for reusability of the first stage of the NGLV.

  • If ISRO is Batman…

    Chethan Kumar wrote a blog post for the Times of India titled, Trading frugal cape for tech-filled batcave, Isro must be Batman!

    In his post, he suggests that ISRO needs to become Batman, because:

    Because unlike most superheroes, Batman possesses no innate powers or alien technology. His strength comes from intellect, strategy, and a secret lair filled with gear he developed himself. He transformed through gadgets, resilience, and vision.

    He suggests ISRO needs a batcave and calls the private industry as Robin. So, I wanted to try and extend the comparisons.

    I think the Indian Government (Central or State) can be Alfred. The Wikipedia page on Alfred says:

    Alfred is depicted as Batman’s meticulous, disciplined, loyal and tireless confidante, butler, legal guardian, best friend, aide-de-camp, …

    I think the Government must play the role of a confidante, best friend, and legal guardian to both Batman and Robin. Robin may need more help in this regard now. Batman has matured a bit in this role now.

    I think NewSpace India Ltd would be the Wayne Corporation. NSIL should ideally play the role of funding for ISRO and private companies. It should ideally play the role of keeping the flywheel of the Indian space programme going. I felt that NSIL was a more natural place to host the INR 1,000 crore Venture Capital Fund than IN-SPACe.

  • Space Resources

    I was going through some very old emails from the days of SEDS India and Moon Society, India. This is around 2010. There was a student at the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (with the email id – martdeep@ismu.ac.in that keeps bouncing then and now) who wanted to become a member. We wanted to take his help to understand the data from Chandrayaan-I’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3). There is not much of an email trail but there is a mobile number.

    ISM, Dhanbad

    This reminded me of ISM itself. The Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad is an interesting place which could be the center of focus soon. ISM Dhanbad has been converted into an IIT, but I hope it maintains some of its character as a mine school. This school will very soon be a very important school for space companies and India’s space programme.

    The principles of extraction may or may not differ much from Earth to other celestial bodies. So far we have only picked up rocks that were already on the surface of a celestial body. We have dug some holes on some celestial objects as well, but that was mostly to collect samples.

    Evidence

    I asked on Twitter/X if anyone at ISM, Dhanbad is working on extracting resources from celestial objects. I have not received a reply.

    India Today had reported in 2021 that they had plans to start courses on asteroid mining. There is no update about the same. They do now have a center for seabed mining but no center for asteroid mining.

    In Edition 81 of The Takshashila Institution’s High Tech Geopolitics newsletter, Ashwin Prasad, Space Power Analyst, talks about the consensus emerging between the United States and China about resource utilization on the Moon.

    In a recent episode of SparX podcast by Mukesh Bansal, Pixxel’s Awais Ahmed speaks about how we will begin by extracting water, before moving on to other things.

    Why will this be important?

    The consensus emerging between US and China shows how important extraction of space resources is going to be. India is one of the few countries that now has the capability to land on the Moon. But, we also need to build the capability for extracting resources, studying mineral resources, and using those resources on the Moon and back on Earth. ISM, Dhanbad could be the place where we start to learn how to do this and build companies which do this.