the aeronautical society of india hyderabad · mr v. thulasidas, the chairman & managing...
TRANSCRIPT
The Aeronautical Society of IndiaHyderabad
Vol-4, No-1 June 2007
NewsletterFor Circulation to Members only
Special Issue on Hypersonic Air & Space Transportation Systems
Cover Photo : Hypersonsonic Test Vehicle (HTV), India
ChairmanDr V.K. SaraswatCC R&D (MSS) & Prog. Director, ‘AD’Programme ‘AD’PO. KanchanbaghHyderabad-500 058Ph : 040-24182889
Hon. SecretaryShri Vijay Kumar17, Godavri gardensYapral Post Secunderabad – 500 087Phone : 040-27871385
Editorial TeamDr R.K. SharmaVice Chairman, AeSIDPD, Proj. ASTRADRDL, PO. KanchanbaghHyderabad-500 058Phone 040-24341207Fax 040-24341207e-mail : [email protected]
Wg Cdr U Raja BabuVice Chairman, AeSI DPD, Proj ‘AD’Programme ‘AD’, DRDL CampusPO. KanchanbaghHyderabad-500 058Phone 040-24182620Fax 040-24340523e-mail : [email protected]
Website: www.aesi-hyd.come-mail: [email protected]
CONTENTSv From the Desk of Chairmanv From the Desk of Chief Editorv Activities of the Societyv News
v Interceptor Missile Tested Successfully
v AGNI-III Tested Sucessfully
v Dhanush Test Fired Suceessfuly
v Indigenous Air-to-Air missile ASTRA test fi red
v BrahMos test-fi red successfully
v NAG Tested Successfully
v Army tests surface-to-surface Prithvi-1 missile
v President Kalam stresses need for missile defense system
v Government looking at changes in developinng ...
v Space Capsule Successfully Recovered
v PSLV-C7 Suceessfully off into space
v INSAT-4B Launched Successfully
v ISRO Planning Space university
v PSLV Successfully Launches Italian Satellite
v Indian on Moon by 2020: ISRO
v Aerospace SEZ in Hyderabad and Bangalore proposed
v IAF Plans Aerospace Museum in Capital
v Smoke drill Indroduced for all Pilots Periodically
v Merger of Air India, Indian Airlines on track
v Sunita Williams to return on June 21
v Space Shuttle Atlantis heads for space station
v Conferences/Seminarsv Forthcoming events
v Special Articlesv A Journey from Vedic India’s ‘Vimana’ to Modern India’s ...v The Chandrayan-1 Missionv The Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE)v Hypersonic Technology Demonstratorv RLV-TD by ISRO
v Hypersonic Space Planes - Worldwide
From the Desk of Chairman
I am delighted that the Editorial team is bringing out another Special issue of AeSI Newsletter dedicated to hypersonic air and space transportation systems. This Newsletter is being released on the important occasion of an International Conference on High Speed Transatmospheric Air & Space Transportation” organized jointly by AeSI and ASI at Hyderabad on 29th and 30th June 2007.
I am very happy that the Aeronautical and Astronautical Societies of India have joined hands towards organizing a major event, of global signifi cance, in the area of Hypersonics, that is, high speed fl ight in the transatmosphere. This is an area of science and technology that is at the forefront of social and economic development even in advanced nations, and is a technological and economic domain yet to be explored fully by mankind. We need to consolidate the knowledge domain, capabilities and infrastructure in aeronautics and space institutions in India into a cohesive whole, for synergizing various S & T disciplines. I am sure this Conference would bring together all the potential users, developers, scientists, academicians and industry in shaping the future of advanced aerospace systems and missions for the benefi t of mankind.
The Hyderabad Branch of AeSI continues to be active here. We had organized Aerospace Luminary Lectures by two distinguished speakers Dr. Edgard, from Germany and Prof. N. Balakrishan, Deputy Director from IISc, Bangalore.
Since the release of last newsletter, the aerospace community has witnessed several successful fl ights of various tactical and strategic missile systems and space launch vehicles. For the fi rst time a new generation missile defence system, intermediate range missile AGNI-3 and Satellite Recovery Experiment by ISRO have been tested successfully and the country has joined the select few countries in the world to have developed such technologies. In addition to these accomplishments, we had also successfully test fl own Dhanush, Brahmos, Astra, Nag, PSLV C-7 & PSLV C-8 and INSAT 4-B.
Before I end this Newsletter, I request all members to contribute liberally and enhance the richness of content and scope of information in our Newsletter.
Dr. V.K. SaraswatChairman
Aeronautical Society of India, Hyderabad
From the Desk of Chief Editor
It is my great pleasure to share a sense of joy that this is the fourth successful year of publication of our Newsletter. This was made possible because of the wholehearted moral and material support of all the Members. This is a special issue dedicated to hypersonic air and space transportation systems and technologies. Prior to this you may recall, was also a special issue, which was dedicated to UAVs. We promise many more such special issues will follow in the days ahead
However for this we need support from all the members. Please contribute your knowledge and experiences liberally on aerospace subjects. Use us as your resource and tool to share your experiences with other members for mutual benefi t: be it on technological issues, new ideas, AeSI activities, institutes, industries, airlines and so on.
We plan to expand our newsletter and would like to introduce two new columns on Aerospace Quiz and Readers Corner. Members are requested to regularly contribute to these new columns!
I am sure the Newsletter is helping, and will expand its utility, to Members, keeping them updated with the latest happenings in aerospace in India and abroad; and also about the activities of the Society. Correspondents from different Aerospace Organizations are welcome to join the Newsletter so as to give wide publicity to aerospace activities.
Our website www.aesi-hyd.com is very active and I request all members to visit the site periodically and update with the news and activities of the Society. Suggestions and comments towards improvement of the website are most welcome.
Any member who has missed the earlier issues of Newsletter can have a soft copy in PDF format on request.
With Best Wishes
Dr RK SharmaChief Editor
AeSI Newsletter, Hyderabad Branch
A technical meet was organized by AeSI, Hyderabad branch on 29th Oct 2006 at Hotel Minerva. Two technical presentations were made by Dr. Edgard, Germany and Prof. N. Balakrishan, Deputy Director, IISc, Bangalore. Technical session was chaired by Dr. Kota Harinarayana. Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Chairman, AeSI, Hyderabad addressed the gathering on this occasion.
Dr ING. Edgard, Co-founder, iMATAS, Germany delivered a lecture on “Universal UAVs for advanced commercial and defence applications”. He briefed the members about the UAV and its need in various areas in commercial and defence sectors. In his presentation, he discussed about iMAR and its capabilities and emphasized on advanced HOVTOL UAVs for defence and commercial application.
Prof. N. Balakrishan, Deputy Director, IISc delivered a lecture on IT & Information Security. He shared his views about the growth of IT sector and the concern on information security. The lectures were highly appreciated by the members
Aerospace Luminary Lecture Series
Dignitaries at the dais during the Inaugural function Welcome address by Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Distinguished Scientist, CC R&D (MSS) & Chairman, AeSI, Hyderabad
Dr. ING. Edgard, Co-founder, iMATAS, Germany delivering the lecture on UAVs
Prof. N. Balakrishan, Deputy Director, IISc delivering the lecture on IT and Information Security
Activities of AeSI
Activities of AeSI
Annual General Body Meeting of AeSIThe Annual General Body meeting was held on 18 Feb 2007 at Kochi. On this occasion a Seminar was
held on “ Aviation Infrastructure in India”. The programme was inaugurated by Shri R.L. Bhatia, Governor of Kerala. Dr G. Madhavan Nair, former President and Mr V. Thulasidas, the Chairman & Managing Director and the newly elected President of AeSI addressed the gathering. Dr Madhavan Nair said that an Aeronautical Commission would be set up by the center to monitor the development of the aviation industry in the country. Dr K Ramachandra, former Director, GTRE delivered Professor Satish Dhawan memorial lecture. Shri ML Sidana, Director, ADRDE delivered Dr Biren Roy memorial lecture. Ms Jharna Majumdar, Sc’G’, ADE delivered Kalpana Chawla memorial lecture. Dr R Balasubramaniam, Editor, AeSI has proposed e-Newsletter. The fi rst issue was released by Dr Madhavan Nair. All branches were requested to give their activities for inclusion in the e-Newsletter. The best branch trophy was awarded to Goa branch. Shri Thulasidas stressed the importance of civil aviation in the country and expressed the concern on acute shortage of pilots to meet the ever growing challenge of aviation industry in the country.
Mr D Rajendra Prasad, Tech Asst ’A’ and Mr E. SriMannarayana, Tech Asst. ‘A’ of DOE, DRDL, Hyderabad received Production Technology Award on this occasion.
Changes at the Top
Mr V. Thulasidas, the Chairman & Managing Director of Air India has taken over as the new President of the Aeronautical Society of India during the AGM held at Kochi on 18 Feb 2007.
Mr Thulasidas was born on March 25, 1948 in Alleppey District of Kerala and completed his education in his home State. He took his M.A. Degree in English language and Literature from the University Institute of English in Thiruvananthapuram in 1970. He taught briefl y in a college in Kerala and also enrolled himself for Ph.D. in the University of Kerala. Before completing his Ph.D., he was selected for the IAS which he joined in 1972. Mr Thulasidas was allotted to Manipur-Tripura cadre. He has worked in various capacities in Tripura, in Government of India and in Government of Kerala for sometime.
News
Indigenous Missile Defence
System Unveiled
India made history on 27 November 2006 when a new generation missile defence system was unveiled and the country joined the select few countries in the world to have developed technologies for missile defence. The test was a great success and laid a solid foundation for the indigenous missile defence system for the nation. All the objectives of the maiden mission have been met. The mission was in the complete confi guration of weapon system. All the elements were interconnected through redundant communication links.
India acquired the capability of air defence against ballistic missiles when it launched two missiles, with one intercepting the other, from two ranges off the Orissa coast. While the target missile took off from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea, near Balasore, the interceptor took off a few seconds later from the Wheeler Island, about 70 km away. It intercepted the target mid-fl ight and destroyed it over the Bay of Bengal.
M. Natarajan, Scientifi c Adviser to the Defence Minister, told : “With this, India has acquired the capability of air defence against the incoming ballistic missile threat. It is a signifi cant milestone in the missile defence of the country.”
He described the success of the mission as a “glow made when a thousand lamps are merged into one. That is what I feel.” “There was a lot of not only hardware but also software custom-built for this mission. They have been validated, and that is our greatest satisfaction. The credit should go to the whole team,” Mr. Natarajan said.
The tests were conducted under the leadership
of Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Programme Director for the
mission and Chief Controller R&D (MSS), DRDO.
Jubiliant Scientists after the successful mission
Target Missile
Intercepter Missile
News
AGNI-III Tested Successfully
India on 12 April 2007 test-fi red its intermediate range ballistic missile Agni-III from the Interim Test Range (ITR) at the Wheeler’s Island in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast. The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile, blasted off at 10.52 am (IST) from a fi xed platform with the help of an auto launcher from ITR, Balasore.
The sleek missile vertically roared into the clear sky leaving behind a thick column of white and yellow smoke, eyewitness accounts said. The successful fl ight met all the mission objectives.
The test was conducted under the guidance of Shri Avinash Chander, Programme Director and Dr V.G. Sekaran, Project Director.
Dhanush Test Fired Successfuly
Dhanush, the ship-based surface-to-surface bal-listic missile was successfully test-fi red off the coast of Paradip in the Bay of Bengal. The missile, a na-val variant of Prithvi, was mounted on a naval ship that was anchored off the coast of Paradip and fi red around 2.35 p.m. It met all the mission objectives and the ground-based radars along the coast tracked the range of the missile. Dhanush can hit sea and shore-based targets. This was the fourth test and three earlier fl ight trials were conducted during the development phase.
Indigenous Air-to-Air missile ASTRA test fi red
India on 25 Mar 2007 test-fi red its indigenously developed air-to-air Astra missile from a test range located off the Bay of Bengal at Chandipur near Bala-sore. According to sources, the missile, considered a new system for the Indian defence programme, was test fi red at about 11.55 Hrs from ITR. More rounds of the missile were tested on subsequent days.
The goal of this test-fi ring was to provide the In-dian Air Force with an indigenously designed beyond visual range air-to-air missile to equip various fi ghter aircrafts of Indian Air Force.
A team of scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Hyder-abad and ITR led by Dr Sa Gollakota, Project Direc-tor was busy for the last few days at the range, mak-ing preparations for the launch
News
BrahMos test-fi red successfully
Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, was successfully test-fi red on April 22, 2007 from a mobile launcher from
the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea, about 10 km from Balasore, in Orissa.
The14th test fl ight of BrahMos was in the Army confi guration. A highlight was a manoeuvre by the missile in its terminal stage. The manoeuvring was important from the operational point of view because the missile would deviate from its path and strike the enemy tangentially, informed defence sources said.
In the test-fi ring in February, BrahMos performed a “S” manoeuvre in the initial stage of the fl ight.
Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Offi cer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace Limited, said from Chandipur-on-sea that it was “a perfect fl ight and that it was a 100 per cent success.” It had a perfect textbook trajectory.
Dr. Pillai said: “Today, BrahMos is supreme with its operational capability and high manoeuvring trajectory. It is the only supersonic cruise missile in the world, which can surprise the enemy with its speed, power and precision. It has no equivalent.”
NAG Tested SuccessfullyThe third generation anti-tank missile ‘NAG’
was successfully test fi red on 17th April 2007. The development of the ‘NAG’ Land System has been completed with the fi nal development fl ight test conducted in the operational confi guration.
The missile which was fi red in “Direct Attack’ mode from the Preproduction of the Missile Carrier Vehicle, NAMICA, also featured a Tandem Heat Warhead.
The missile scored direct hit on a tank resulting in a ‘M-Kill’. NAG Land System is being handed over to the Army for User Trials scheduled June, 2007.
The test was conducted under the guidance of Shri S.S. Mishra, Project Director.
Army tests surface-to-surface Prithvi-1 missile
India on May 9, 2007 tested its surface to surface range Prithvi-1 missile from a defence base in Orissa. The missile was launched from the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, about 230 km from the state capital, at 10.04 a.m.
Prithvi is one of the fi ve missiles under various stages of development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The missile has two liquid propellant motors side-by-side, providing aerodynamic control as well as thrust vectoring.
News
President Kalam stresses need for missile defense
systemWith developed countries unlikely to give up their
nuclear arsenals, missile defence and space-based systems will have to be developed to guard against nuclear attacks, President A P J Abdul Kalam said on 24 Feb 2007.
Visualizing a stage where combat will become increasingly hi-tech, he asked the armed forces to use virtual reality to train for a range of attacks, including strikes involving nuclear, chemical and electronic weapons. “Despite the noise made against nuclear proliferation, the developed countries are not likely to reach the state of zero nuclear weapon under the NPT,” Kalam told a gathering of military offi cials from India and foreign countries like the US at the Defence Service Staff College here.
“In the next two decades, anti-ballistic missile defence systems are going to a major force, after which space systems and strategic military satellites will come in a big way, to guard against nuclear weapons attack,” he said. Advocating the use of “virtual reality-based simulated warfronts” to train military offi cers for combat in all terrains and extreme conditions, he said, “Walk through during a space attack, chemical attack, nuclear attack and electronic encounters need to be visualised and proper counter-measure needs to be practiced.”
Government looking at changes in developinng
advanced defence products
The Government is looking at “substantial changes” in the existing model of developing advanced defence products, Defence & Research Development
Organisation (DRDO) chief Shri M. Natarajan said on 14 Nov 2006.
“We have therefore proposed greater involvement of stakeholders by sharing project expenditure and management. DRDO is not a manufacturer. Its primary job is to create capacity. The industry is also realizing that this would be possible if there is some mechanism of assured minimum quantity and there is some partnership with foreign entities,” he told a seminar on defence fi nance and economics here.
Interaction with foreign weapons and sensor builders “clearly” indicated an opportunity for building products for the Indian and overseas markets. The Indian defence sector was good in repeat manufacturing and tooling but research was necessary for advanced products. The industry, however, was preoccupied and had little time for in-house R&D. Test and evaluation facilities were totally absent in many areas, leading to snags in the complete range of the development cycle.
Space Capsule Successfully RecoveredThe Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1)
launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on January 10, 2007 was successfully recovered on January 22, 2007 after being maneuvered to reenter the earth’s atmosphere and descend over Bay of Bengal about 140 km East of Sriharikota.
The successful launch, in-orbit operation of the on board experiments and reentry and recovery of SRE-1 has demonstrated India’s capability in important technologies like aero-thermo structures, deceleration and fl otation systems, navigation, guidance and control. SRE-1 is an important beginning for providing a low cost platform for micro-gravity experiments in space science and technology and return specimen from space. Until now, only the United States, Russia and China had similar expertise in reentry technology
News
PSLV-C7 Successfully off into space
The polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7), carrying four satellites, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on January 10, 2007, Wednesday. The 44.5 metre tall 295 tonne PSLV-C7 lifted off from the launch pad at 9.24am.
It was a perfect launch with all parameters working perfectly and scientists at the control room of the launch pad were a joyous lot. This is an achievement for the Indian Space Research Organisation as the GSLV-FO2 launch failed on July 10 last year.
The PSLV-C7 carried the 680 kg Indian remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2, the 550 kg Space Capsule Recovery Equipment (SRE-1), Indonesia’s LAPAN-TUBSAT and Argentina’s six kg nanosatellite and PEHUENSAT-1.
The 680 kg main payload, CARTOSAT-2, mounted over Dual Launch Adopter (DLA), was the fi rst satellite to be injected into orbit at 981.3 sec after lift-off at an altitude of 639 km. About 45 sec later, DLA with the 6 kg PEHUENSAT-1 mounted on it, was separated. 120 sec later, the 550 kg Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) mounted inside DLA was separated and fi nally, 190 sec later, the 56 kg LAPAN-TUBSAT, mounted on the equipment bay of
PSLV fourth stage was separated.
INSAT-4B Launched Successfully
ISRO’s latest satellite, INSAT-4B, was successfully launched on March 12, 2007 by the European Ariane-5 ECA launch vehicle of Arianespace from Kourou, French Guyana.. The 3,025 kg INSAT-4B is the second satellite in the INSAT-4 series. An identical satellite, INSAT-4A, was launched by Ariane-5 on December 22, 2005.
With 12 high power Ku-band transponders and 12 C-band transponders, INSAT-4B will further augment the INSAT capacity for Direct-To-Home (DTH) television services and other communication and TV services.
About 30 minutes after lift-off, INSAT-4B was placed in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) in 3-axis stabilised mode. INSAT-4B is now orbiting the earth with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 243 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,876 km and an inclination of 4.52 deg with respect to the equator. The orbital period is about 10 hours 34 minutes.
ISRO Planning Space university
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to set up a space training centre or a university in Kerala to meet the shortage of space scientists.
Speaking to reporters on Jan 15, 2007, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the organisation indeed was planning such an institute. According to media reports, the proposed institute is expected to come up on the outskirts of the state capital on a 100-acre plot. It would be modeled on the lines of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
One reason why ISRO is planning such an institution is that its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre here faces a crisis due to large-scale retirement of staff members. It was in the 1970s that large-scale
News
recruitment was done. With most of the staff having either retired or on the verge of retirement, there is a crunch of experienced personnel. Another reason for the crunch in qualifi ed personnel is that the newly recruited engineers are picked up after a year or two by private companies.
The salaries offered in the private sector for engineers who have some experience are very high.
PSLV Successfully Launches Italian Satellite
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C8, was successfully launched on April 23, 2007. The 352 kg Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, was put into
a 550 km circular orbit, inclined at an angle of 2.5 deg to the equator. AGILE is an X-ray and Gamma ray astronomical satellite of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Rome. The design, development and fabrication activities of the satellite were led by Carlo Gavazzi Space, Milan, Italy.
PSLV-C8 mission was unique in many respects. In this mission, PSLV was fl own, for the fi rst time, without the six strap-on motors of the fi rst stage. Also, for the fi rst time, PSLV launched a satellite into an equatorial circular orbit of 550 km. PSLV-C8 was the fi rst major commercial launch the contract for which was won against stiff international competition.
Along with the Italian satellite, AGILE, an Advanced Avionics Module (AAM), weighing 185 kg, to test advanced launch vehicle avionics systems like mission
computers, navigation and telemetry systems, was also fl own on PSLV-C8. All the operational fl ights of PSLV so far have been successful and thus PSLV has emerged as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO.
PSLV has emerged as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO with ten consecutively successful fl ights so far. Since its fi rst successful launch in 1994, PSLV has launched eight Indian remote sensing satellites, an amateur radio satellite, HAMSAT, a recoverable space capsule, SRE-1, and six small satellites for foreign customers into 550-800 km high polar Sun Synchronous Orbits (SSO). Besides, it has launched India’s exclusive meteorological satellite, Kalpana-1, into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). PSLV will also be used to launch India’s fi rst spacecraft
mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1, during 2008.
Indian on Moon by 2020: ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation got a shot in the arm with nearly 80 scientists drawn from various fi elds, backing its ambitious plan to send an Indian to the moon. The ISRO has mooted two plans: Send an Indian into space around 2014 and then have a walk on the moon about six years later. The scientists—including former ISRO chief Prof U.R. Rao and other senior scientists like Prof. Yash Pal, Prof. R Narasimha — discussed the Indian Manned Space Mission in detail at the ISRO headquarters at the Antariksh Bhavan in Bangalore on November 07, 2006.
Aerospace SEZ in Hyderabad and
Bangalore proposedA Rs. 250-crore Aerospace SEZ with focus
on maintenance, repair and overhauling (MRO) is proposed to be set up near the Hyderabad International Airport. Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation will be the nodal agency
News
in promoting the SEZ on a 500-acre site at Nadargul and Adibatla. The State Government has already made an application for the SEZ to the Centre, said B. P. Acharya, vice-chairman and managing director, APIIC. He said that many big players in the aerospace fi eld were interested in the proposed SEZ on which Kota Harinarayana, former Director, Light Combat Aircraft project, is advising the Government.
Developing the aerospace industry is the next target of the Karnataka Government that has proposed a special economic zone (SEZ) for the industry. This along with the likely establishment of a facility by the European Aeronautics Defence and Space Company (EADS) and the entry of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) into the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) segment is likely to make Bangalore an aeronautic hotspot, just like it is an IT hotspot at present.
IAF Plans Aerospace Museum in Capital
India will soon have a sprawling new Aerospace museum close to the international airport here focused mostly on country’s rich history in aviation. Former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi laid the foundation stone on November 30, 2006 at the proposed site for the new museum, which would be built in the lines of aerospace museums around the world.
The Air Force says the new Aerospace museum is “meant not only to preserve the glorious tradition of the Indian Air Force but also to create awareness in general public about India’s rich Aerospace heritage.” The IAF believes that the museum would soon turn out to be a major tourist attraction and a landmark in New Delhi.
Spread over 43 acres the new Aerospace museum would have extensive indoor and outdoor displays, including huge aircraft parked and hung in fl ying altitude with mural depicting the era and atmosphere of its time of operation. A dedicated children’s area
would be part of the museum where children could enter cockpits of display aircraft and familiarize themselves with the controls.
Smoke drill Indroduced for all Pilots PeriodicallyThe practical passenger evacuation drill for the
pilots in smoky conditions in the aircrfat cabin is introduced. Every pilot has to undergo this drill every year.A smoke generaor produces smoke in the cabin mock up and the pilot under training has to locate the exit in smoky conditions and come out following the evacuation procedures. Typically, all the passenges and crew are to be evacuated in emergency within 90 seconds with at least 50% of the total exits in the aircrfat serviciable. This periodic training is very useful and enhaces aviation safety.
Merger of Air India, Indian Airlines on trackThe merger of Air India with Indian Airlines is on
track and it is possible to have single entity operations by April 1 next year, the Chairman and Managing Director, Air India, Mr V. Thulasidas told.
Offi cials, however, felt that there were some key areas including human resources, operations and infrastructure that needed to be looked into in greater detail before the merger could be fi nalised. Besides, a decision would also need to be taken on the future of subsidiaries that both the airlines have formed.
“The merged entity will need to have some subsidiaries although whether there is a need to have all the existing subsidiaries is still being debated. For example, we should be able to do with one low-cost airline subsidiary rather than have two such entities,” offi cials indicated.
space shuttle Atlantis to assemble the framework for the science laboratories of tomorrow,” said NASA spokesman George Diller as the orbiter raced to space.
A couple of chunks of foam did come off Atlantis during launch, but Wayne Hale, shuttle program manager, said in a post-launch news conference that it was after the critical period when serious damage can occur. “We did see some things come off late, as we have come to expect from all our tanks,” he said.
Sets a new record for the longest uninterrupted space fl ight by a woman.
A couple of chunks of foam did come off Atlantis during launch,
Sunita Williams to return on June 22
Indian American astronaut, Sunita “Suni” Williams, the fi rst woman to be in space for six months, the longest period spent by a woman there, is all set to return home on June 22, as shuttle Atlantis blasted off on 8 June 2007 to the International Space Station.
Sunita has been busy providing support aboard International Space Station (ISS) to two Russian cosmonauts, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, who successfully completed yet another spacewalk.
In addition, Sunita is making arrangements to welcome the Atlantis crew of seven astronauts, who are trained to deliver a USD 367 million solar power module to the space station and install the new hardware and make other upgrades with three spacewalks.
Astronaut Clayton “Clay” Anderson will remain aboard the space station until late October. He will replace Indian American Sunita “Suni”, who has been living and working aboard the space station since December.
Space Shuttle Atlantisheads for space stationSpace shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy
Space Center on 8 Jun 2007 on an 11-day mission to the international space station. “And liftoff of
Anderson will replace Sunita Williams on the international space station and Williams will return. Three spacewalks are planned, with room for an additional walk if spacewalkers run into diffi culties. STS-117 is the 118th space shuttle fl ight, the 21st fl ight to the station, the 28th fl ight for Atlantis and the fi rst of four fl ights planned for 2007.
NASA plans at least 13 more missions to the space station before retiring the shuttle fl eet in 2010. A mission in September 2008 is planned to repair the aging Hubble Space Telescope.
News
be “Aerospace Technologies-Challenges and
Opportunities”. The technical sessions were
under six broad categories namely Aerospace
Vehicles, Aerospace systems, Enabling technologies,
Operations, Testing and Maintenance, Manufacturing
Technologies and Technology Partnerships. This
concept provided for extensive interaction and fl ow
of information across communities of scientists,
designers, manufacturers, users, operators and
academia forging a strong alliance for furtherance of
the cause of aerospace.
Several eminent personalities from India and
abroad presented invited papers on various topics. Shri
P Venugopalan, Director, DRDL delivered an invited
talk on “Hypersonic Technology Programme”.
National conference on Smart Structures and MEMS
Systems for Aerospace Applications
First national conference on “Smart Structures
and MEMS Systems for Aerospace Applications” was
held on December 1 – 2, 2006 at Research Center
Imarat, Hyderabad. This conference was organized
by Institute of Smart Structures & Systems (ISSS)
India. The focus was on the R&D activities and
newer trends in Micro systems. Major themes of the
conference were : Innovative design & Modeling
techniques, Novel process techniques for improved
effi ciency, MEMS devices, Trends in MEMS based
RF Systems, Characterization and Analysis of
MEMS, Fabrication strategies.
Prof P. Rama Rao, former Secretary of DST
and Chairman of BRNS, Distinguished Prof, ISRO
inaugurated the Conference and delivered the
inaugural address. Prof. S Mohan, President of ISSS,
briefed about ISSS’s activities. Shri KVSS Prasada Rao,
Chairman, NTRO was the Guest of Honour. Dr V.K.
Saraswat, CC R&D(MSS), DRDO and Dr V.K. Aatre,
former SA to RM delivered the keynote addresses.
Aero India Seminar 2007The Department of Defense Production, Ministry
of Defense, Government of India has hosted the
Sixth Biennial Aerospace Exposition Aero India 2007
at the Yelahanka Air Force Base, Bangalore from the
7th to 11th Feb. 2007. As a prelude to this event,
Defence Research and Development Organization
conducted an International Seminar in association
with the Aeronautical Society of India from 5th to 8th
Feb. 2007.
The main theme of this seminar in 2007 will
Conferences/Seminars
The Editorial team would like to thank
Mr DK Yadav, Mr Avnish Kumar, Scientists, DRDL and Mr Sumit
Sharma, Prog. ‘AD’ for their help towards preparation
of this Newsletter.
Forthcoming Events
International conference on “High Speed
Transatmospheric Air & Space
Transportation”The Aeronautical and Astronautical societies of
India are recognized professional bodies devoted to the
promotion of aerospace activities in India. Both AeSI
& ASI are jointly organizing the fi rst Aeronautics and
Space conference on “High Speed Transatmospheric
Air & Space Transportation” on 29-30 June 07 at
Hyderabad. The objectives of the conference are to
share and consolidate knowledge and experience in
conceptualization, design, development and testing
of advanced aerospace systems and technologies;
release high quality technical documentation for
future reference; and identify thrust areas of future
research.
For more details visit : http://www.aesi-hyd.com
Symposium on Applied Aerodynamics and Design
of Aerospace Vehicles SAROD – 2007
SAROD-2007 will be held in the capital city of
Kerala state, Thiruvananthapuram, during 22nd and
23rd November, 2007. The symposium is being jointly
organized by ISRO, ADA & DRDL. The symposium
is aimed at bringing together people working in
different aspects of applied aerodynamics and design
of aerospace vehicles, from both within and outside
India, to share their insights. The last date for the
submission of extended abstract is 30th April 2007.
For More details visit : http://www.sarodonline.org
Seventh Asian CFD conference at IISc
Seventh Asian CFD conference will be held on
November 26 – 30, 2007 at the Indian Institute of
Science, IISc, Bangalore followed by SAROD-2007.
The Asian Computational Fluid Dynamics (ACFD) is
held once every two years. The conference is being
jointly organized by National Aerospace Laboratory,
Bangalore, CFD Division of Aeronautical Society of
India, IISc, Bangalore, CADAC, Pune and IIT, Mumbai.
The major objective of ACFD is to provide a common
forum for exchange of new ideas and experiences
amongst the scientist and engineers from Asia as well
as other parts of the globe, working on algorithms and
applications of CFD. The last date for the submission
of extended abstract is 31st May 2007.
For More details visit : http://www.acfd7.cdac.in
New Editorial Committee for JAST
New Editorial committee of the Journal of Aerospace
Sciences and Technologies published by the
Aeronautical Society of India has been announced.
Dr RK Sharma, Sc’G’, DRDL and Vice-Chairman,
AeSI, Hyderabad has been included as a member in
the Editorial Committee. Dr . R. Balasubramaniam
is the Editor of the journal. Dr.S.Kishore Kumar,
GTRE and Dr P. Raghotham Rao, CEMILAC are the
Associate Editors.
Forthcoming Events
Special Article
A Journey from Vedic India’s ‘Vimana’ To Modern India’s Hyperplane
R.GopalaswamiFormer Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Dynamics Ltd., Hyderabad
of using rockets alone for space travel has been clearly understood. Rockets are cumbersome vehicles, vertically stacked, extremely heavy due to the large amount of oxygen (over 70% of its mass at launch) to be carried onboard. Diffi cult and complex to handle, prepare and launch, consume too much of fuel, uncomfortable to passengers due to high acceleration levels, still relatively unsafe, and expendable after one launch.
On the other hand, aircraft technologies are much safes and affordable. Even gigantic transport aircraft like the Boeing 747 have magnifi cent safety records, and are routinely and extensively used by commercial operators. They are comfortable, highly fuel effi cient, and can fl y non-stop across oceans and continents.
Hence it has been mankind’s dream to make access and travel space as safe and affordable as commercial air transportation systems. In other words, for nearly 40 years now the search is to design and build a safe, affordable, reusable space plane by a new form of aerospace vehicle that behaves like an aircraft when in the atmosphere, and a rocket in space!
Spaceplanes: A Synergy of Rocket and Aircraft
TechnologiesSpaceplanes of Ancient India. Flight in the earth’s
atmosphere and to space is thought to have originated in the 20th Century. However, that may not be the case. In the Vedic literature of India, recording events that occurred 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, there are many descriptions of fl ying machines that are generally called Vimanas. The Mahabharata speaks of “Two storied celestial chariots with many windows” “They roar off into the sky until they appear like comets.” The Mahabharata
From 20th Century Rockets, Missiles and Aircrafts to Spaceplanes of the 21st Century
The world has entered the dawn of the 21st Century. Science and technology have enabled man create enter a new form of civilization, more prosperous and comfortable that was known for thousands of years. But while there is unprecedented prosperity in many nations, yet the physical, emotional and intellectual energies of man have not been able to resolve his psychological problems; and great sorrow and suffering continues world over.
A major accomplishment in the early part of the 20th Century was the invention of the rocket in the US (Goddard) and then USSR (Korolev); and winged fl ight by a heavier-than-air aircraft (Wright brothers). The oxygen-carrying rocket enabled man travel in space where there is no atmospheric oxygen available for combustion of fuel in the propulsion system. The aircraft took advantage of the atmosphere both for propulsive force as well as providing a lift force to keep the aircraft airborne. By the end of the 20th Century, man had mastered travel in both the earth’s atmosphere, and in space. Travel across continents became safe and routine for hundreds of passengers at a time; and man traveled, landed on and returned safely from expeditions to the moon.
Even within 60 years after independence from nearly 1000 years of crushing alien invasion, conquest and rule, India has come forth with remarkable achievements in science and technology. Among the most advanced are the accomplishments in aeronautical and space science and technology that are rapidly closing the gap between India and those who had a lead in these technologies for over one century. Still, there are many in India who doubt whether we will ever master these technologies and put it to good uses for enhancing security and prosperity not only for India, but all humanity.
However, even in the Western countries, the limitation
Special Article
and various Sanskrit books describe at length these chariots, “Powered by winged lighting...it was a ship that soared into the air, fl ying to the solar and stellar regions.”
Different Representations of Vedic “Vimanas”
(Ref.http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Vimanas.htm)
Recently, an Italian scientist Dr. Roberto Pinotti at a
World Space Conference (Reference
http:/ /www.hinduwisdom.info/Vimanas.htm)
reported that India may have had a superior civilization
and the fl ying devices called ‘Vimanas’ described in ancient
Indian texts may underline their possible connections
to today’s aerospace technology. He held a view that
‘Shakuna Vimana’ described in the text ‘might be
defi ned as a cross between a plane and a rocket of
our times and its design might remind one of today’s
Space Shuttle.’ Quoting from ‘Vymanika Shastra’ he
said the ancient fl ying devices of India were made from special heat absorbing metals named ‘Somaka, Soundalike and Mourthwika.’
Thus, it might appear that mankind’s dream of traveling to space; to visit planets and explore the solar system is as old as mankind itself. Why is there no physical evidence of these ‘advanced’ vehicles, if they were built thousands of years ago?
Vimanas for Space Transportation It was the use of Vimanas as space transportation
systems that might have the clue as to why there is no
physical evidence of these ancient aerospace vehicles.
The Atlanteans, known as “Asvins” in the Indian
writings, were apparently even more advanced
technologically than the Indians. They possessed Vailixi,
similar to Vimanas, that were generally “cigar shaped”
and had the capability of maneuvering underwater as well
as in the atmosphere or even outer space. Other fl ight
vehicles were saucer shaped, and could apparently travel
submerged. It is recorded that between 12000 to 15,000
years ago, nations deploying Vimanas in space with lethal
weapons were locked in a global war that destroyed
almost all of human life and property on planet earth.
Clinching archeological evidence to this effect has also
been found. Thus, the weaponization of space should not
be allowed to happen again.
Spaceplanes of the Modern WorldAs of 2001, conceptual design of as many as 22
reusable launch vehicle (RLV) concepts were in progress in the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan and India. Eight designs were for “Heavy Lift RLVs” having a capability to deliver large payloads of 10 to 25 tonnes into space. The remaining 14 systems were designed for smaller payloads, less than 5 tonnes in low earth orbit.
There were two basic approaches. Half of the design approaches was based using 20th century rocket propulsion systems. These were two-stage-to-orbit vehicles (TSTO), but once again, very heavy and cumbersome as the early space rockets, reaching orbit in two stages, but with one or both stages returning to earth for reuse. But, these designs have not succeeded, as the costs of building large vehicles were still very high.
Eleven RLV design concepts were based on a combination of airbreathing and rocket engines. They fl y to orbit directly like an aircraft (in a single stage), hence named single-stage-to-orbit vehicles, (SSTO). None of these is yet fl ying, but small scale “Technology Demonstrators” like the US X-43 has demonstrated air breathing engines and fl ight to Mach 10 very recently.
Design Requirements for SSTO Spaceplanes The basic design requirements for a fully reusable hydrogen fueled spaceplane, ascending to orbit from a runway take-off and reentering for a powered landing like any commercial transport aircraft, are as follows:
The hydrogen fuel weight should exceed 56% of the spaceplane’s take-off weight.
The time-averaged specifi c impulse over the fl ight path from earth-to-orbit should be more than 1200 secs (i.e. 1200 Kgs of propulsive thrust for ever one kg per second of hydrogen fuel fl ow)
The spaceplane’s thrust-to-drag ratio has to be more than 3.5.
The airbreathing engines have to be lightweight, with a thrust-to-weight ratio exceeding 14.
The fi rst condition ensures that adequate chemical energy is available in the spaceplane that gets converted to kinetic energy to propel the aircraft-like spaceplane to a height of at least 100 kms and a speed of 8 kms per second. The second and third ensure that the engines operate with an average overall propulsive effi ciency of over 40%. The last condition ensures that the payload-to-takeoff weight ratio is maximized.
Promising Contemporary Spaceplane Design Concepts
Out of about 22 design concepts that have been studied, small scale ground and fl ight tests carried out, three spaceplane design concepts are discussed here as these have the highest promise for successful development
The UK “Skylon” (late 1980’s)The “Skylon” is a heavy lift aerospacevehicle that
has a length of 82 meters, a diameter of 6.25 meters and hence a high slenderness ratio of 13.1. It weighs 275 tonnes at take-off, out of which about 11 tonnes or 4% of its take-off weight is useful payload. It carries 218 tonnes of propellant (oxidizer and fuel) at take-off.(151 tonnes oxidizer (liquid oxygen) and 67 tonnes of fuel (liquid hydrogen)
Strictly speaking, “Skylon” is a “rocketplane” or a “winged rocket” and cannot be termed as a “spaceplane”. This is because “Skylon” has nearly 79% total propellant fraction at take-off. Hence, at take-off, the vehicle weight consists of about 55% oxidizer (liquid oxygen) and 24% fuel (liquid hydrogen), which is almost identical to that of a conventional space rocket (60% oxidizer, 21% hydrogen fuel). However, there are two distinct
Special Article
differences that make this a promising candidate for a spaceplane:
A novel air-breathing liquid rocket engine rocket (also known as a LACE or Liquid Air Collection Engine) the “Sabre” engine operating at an air-to-fuel ratio of 23:1 up to Mach 5. Thereafter, up to orbital speed of Mach 26, the same engine operates as a pure lox-hydrogen liquid rocket engine with on-board liquid oxygen at a mixture ratio of 6:1. In this way, the oxygen needed to propel the vehicle up to Mach 5 is not carried on board at take-off, thus avoiding carriage of about an additional 218 tonnes of liquid oxygen at take-off [had the take-off engine been a pure lox-hydrogen rocket engine from take-off to orbit].
A winged-body vehicle confi guration with podded-engines, that enables the vehicle to glide back and land, like the Space Shuttle. The high thrust-to-drag ratio of such a slender-body rocket confi guration, and low structure weight fraction, compensate for its lower hydrogen-fraction at take-off
It is interesting to note that the “Skylon” is cigar-shaped, like the “Vailixi”.
The US “Falcon” [Late 1990’s, announced August 2003] The USAF has an ongoing programme for a small RLV, the “Falcon”. This spaceplane confi guration is a classical hypersonic lifting body confi guration.
This spaceplane design concept is described as an unmanned hypersonic aircraft “bomber of the future”. The technology of SLV is said to lead to a SSTO spacecraft. After take-off, a supersonic turbojet engine is used to reach speeds of Mach 2 or Mach 3, then the scramjet engines take over. At max hypersonic speed, SLV would deploy, either a separate craft to reach space, in which case it would
be a TSTO vehicle, or switch from its air-breathing scramjet engine to rocket propulsion to be a SSTO vehicle. The payload would be 1,000-kilogram satellite into sun-synchronous orbits.
It is seen that the “Falcon” resembles the ancient Indian “Shakuna” and “Rukma” Vimanas.
X-43 High Speed Airbreathing Engine (Scramjet) Test Vehicle
Of direct application to the “Falcon” spaceplane programme are the recent successful fl ight tests carried out on the X-43 Hyper-X” scramjet test vehicles. The tests have demonstrated the effi cacy
Special Article
of the supersonic combustion ramjet engine in the fl ight regime from Mach 8 to Mach 10 at an altitude of about 30 kms. Successful completion of these tests indicate yet one more critical milestone crossed towards direct ascent to near earth orbit for safe, affordable space fl ight within the next two decades.
The Indian “Hyperplane” or “Avatar” Spaceplane (late 1980’s)
The “Hyperplane” / “Avatar” is designed to carry over 60% of its take-off weight as liquid hydrogen. This is made possible by not carrying any liquid oxygen on board at take-off, but collecting the requisite mass of liquid oxygen in high-speed fl ight. In this way, the spaceplane almost doubles its mass while in hypersonic level fl ight, while self-refueling by air collection with simultaneous oxygen liquefaction and on-board storage. A small-scale Flight Technology Demonstrator for “Hyperplane”/ “Avatar” has also been designed.
The main attribute of the “Hyperplane” design concept is its geometric scalability, enabling the design be built for a vehicle as small as 25-tonnes take-off weight (the weight of an advanced fi ghter aircraft). This is possibly the smallest weight feasible for a reusable SSTO spaceplane, and has a 4% payload ratio, enabling delivery of 1-tonne in parking orbit at Mach 26. Unlike the “Skylon”, the “Avatar” can be scaled up to heavy-lift capabilities.
General Comment The close resemblance between the recent US
“Falcon” and Indian “Hyperplane” spaceplane designs to the “Shakuna” and “Rukma” Vimana’s, and the UK “Skylon” is cigar-shaped, like the Vimana like “Vailixi”. That the “Shakuna”, “Rukma” and “Vaillixi” were designed and built 12,000-15,000 years ago indicates that once again after a gap of millennia, mankind has embarked on development of systems and technologies for safe, affordable fl ight direct to space from a runway take-off.
It is essential that mankind learn from the recorded lessons of the ancient, dangerous past when spaceplane were weaponized and waged from outer space. Mankind must thus ensure, internationally that spaceplanes are not weaponized. These new, revolutionary technologies are to be used for a Second Industrial Revolution for all mankind, and not for domination of the planet by a single nation. Such a Space based industrial Revolution needs to serve space markets in developing countries and south-south cooperation in spaceplane development in partnership with advanced space faring nations would open a new, golden era for all mankind.
No one now in India needs to doubt any longer as to whether we will ever be able master reusable spaceplane technologies and put it to good use for enhancing security and prosperity not only for India, but all humanity. India has done so in the past. As a matter of fact, it is said that Albert Einstein had once remarked
“We owe a lot to Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientifi c discovery could
have been made.”
India’s genius will enable it to do it again, in full consciousness that it has to be a globally cooperative mission serving all mankind.
Acknowledgement
The author is grateful to Dr R.Krishnan, former CC R&D, DRDO for editing the paper and making and it more useful for the scientifi c community”.
Special Article
The Chandrayan-1 mission was announced by the Prime Minister on August 15, 2003 during his Independence Day address to the nation, represents India’s foray into a planetary exploration era in the coming decades. Today, India is confi dent of undertaking a complex space mission because of its indigenously developed launch vehicle and spacecraft capabilities. This mission will provide a unique opportunity for frontier scientifi c research. Chandrayan-1 is expected to be the forerunner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar system.
Chandrayaan-1, scheduled during 2007-2008, is India’s fi rst unmanned scientifi c mission to moon. The main objective is the investigation of the distribution of various minerals and chemical elements and high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of the entire lunar surface. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV, will launch Chandrayaan-1 into a 240 km X 24,000 km earth orbit. Subsequently, the spacecraft’s own propulsion system would be used to place it in a 100 km polar orbit around the moon.
The Indian payloads on board Chandrayaan-1 include: a Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC), a Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI), a High-Energy X-
ray spectrometer (HEX), a Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) and a Moon Impact Probe (MIP).
The two US instruments, Mini SAR and M3, were selected on the basis of merit out of 16 fi rm proposals from all over the world received in response to ISRO’s announcement of opportunity. The main objective of Mini SAR is to detect water in the permanently shadowed areas of lunar polar regions. The objective of M3 is the characterisation and mapping of minerals on the lunar surface.
Earlier, three instruments - Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer (CIXS) from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, developed with contribution from ISRO Satellite Centre; Near Infra-Red Spectrometer (SIR-2) from Max Planck Institute, Germany; and Sub keV Atom Refl ecting Analyser (SARA) from Swedish Institute of Space Physics developed in collaboration with ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre — were selected from the European Space Agency besides a RAdiation DOse Monitor (RADOM) from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The inclusion of US instruments on Chandrayaan-1 has added fi llip to the Indo-US cooperation in the space arena which dates back to the very beginning of the Indian space programme. More recently, the India-US Conference on Space Science, Applications
Special Article
The Chandrayan-1 Mission
and Commerce held at Bangalore during in June 2004 led to the setting up of a Joint Working Group to enhance the cooperation in civil space between India and USA. The Joint Working Group, comprising representatives of government, academic institutions and industries, had its fi rst meeting in Bangalore in June 2005.
Mission Defi nition and Goal Chardrayaan-1 is the fi rst Indian Mission to the Moon devoted to high-resolution remote sensing of the lunar surface features in visible, near infrared, X-ray and low energy gamma ray regions. This will be accomplished using several payloads already selected for the mission. In addition a total of about 10 kg payload weight and 10 W power are earmarked for proposals, which are now solicited. The mission is proposed to be a lunar polar orbiter at an altitude of about 100 km and is planned to be launched by 2007-2008 using indigenous spacecraft and launch vehicle of ISRO. The mission is expected to have an operational life of about 2 years. Mission Objectives • Carry out high resolution mapping of topographic
features in 3D, distribution of various minerals and elemental chemical species including radioactive nuclides covering the entire lunar surface using a set of remote sensing payloads. The new set of data would help in unravelling mysteries about the origin and evolution of solar system in general and that of the moon in particular.
• Realize the mission goal of harnessing the science payloads, lunar craft and the launch vehicle with suitable ground support system including DSN station, integration and testing, launching and achieving lunar orbit of ~100 km, in-orbit operation of experiments, communication/telecommand, telemetry data reception, quick look data and archival for scientifi c utilization by identifi ed group of scientists.
Specifi c areas of study • High resolution mineralogical and chemical imaging
of permanently shadowed north and south polar regions
• Search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the moon, specially at lunar pole
• Identifi cation of chemical end members of lunar high land rocks
• Chemical stratigraphy of lunar crust by remote sensing of central upland of large lunar craters, South Pole Aitken Region (SPAR) etc., where interior material may be expected
• To map the height variation of the lunar surface features along the satellite track
• Observation of X-ray spectrum greater than 10 keV and stereographic coverage of most of the moon’s surface with 5 m resolution, to provide new insights in understanding the moon’s origin and evolution
Proposed Scientifi c Payloads The scientifi c payloads selected so far are: • Terrain Mapping stereo Camera (TMC) in the
panchromatic band having 5m spatial resolution and 40 km swath, to prepare a high resolution atlas of moon
• A Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI) operating in 400-900nm band with a spectral resolution of 15nm and spatial resolution of 80 m with a swath of 40 km, for mineralogical mapping
• A Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI), for determining accurate altitude of the spacecraft above the lunar surface for topographical mapping
• A collimated Low Energy (0.5-10 keV) X-ray spectrometer (LEX) for measuring the fl uorescent X-rays emanating from the lunar surface having ground spatial resolution of about 10 km, for elemental mapping of Si, Al, Mg,Ca, Fe,Ti
• A Solar X-ray Monitor (SXM) in 2-10 keV energy range, for solar X-ray fl ux monitoring
A High Energy (10-200keV) X-ray/g-ray spectrometer (HEX) having a ground spatial resolution of approximately 20 km, for measuring 210Pb, 222Rn degassing, U, Th etc.
Special Article
Source : www.isro.org
The Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on January 10, 2007 was successfully recovered on January 22, 2007 after being maneuvered to reenter the earth’s atmosphere and descend over Bay of Bengal about 140 km East of Sriharikota
Since its launch, SRE-1 was going round the earth in a circular polar orbit at an altitude of 637 km. In preparation for its reentry, SRE-1 was put into an elliptical orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 485 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 639 km by issuing commands from the Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) of ISTRAC at Bangalore on January 19, 2007. The critical de-boost operations were executed from SCC, Bangalore supported by a network of ground stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius, Sriharikota, Biak in Indonesia, Saskatoon in Canada, Svalbard in Norway besides shipborne and airborne terminals.
On January 22, 2007, the re-orientation of SRE-1 capsule for de-boost operations commenced at 08:42 am (IST). The de-boost started at 09:00 am with the fi ring of on-board rocket motors and the operations were completed at 09:10 am. At 09:17 am, SRE-1 capsule was reoriented for its re-entry into the dense atmosphere. The capsule made its re-entry at 09:37 am at an altitude of 100 km with a velocity of 8 km/sec (29,000 km per hour). During its reentry, the capsule was protected from the intense heat by carbon phenolic ablative material and silica tiles on its outer surface
By the time SRE-1 descended to an altitude of 5 km, aerodynamic breaking had considerably reduced its velocity to 101 m/sec (363 km per hour). Pilot and drogue parachute deployments helped in further reducing its velocity to 47 m/sec (about 170 km per hour).
During its stay in orbit for the last 12 days, the two experiments on board SRE-1 were successfully conducted under micro gravity conditions. One of the experiments was related to study of metal melting and crystallisation under micro gravity conditions. This experiment, jointly designed by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, was performed in an Isothermal Heating Furnace. The second experiment, designed by National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, was intended to study the synthesis of nano-crystals under
micro gravity conditions. This experiment can help in designing better biomaterials having closest proximity with natural biological products. The experimental results will be analysed in due course by the principal scientifi c investigators of the two experiments.
The successful launch, in-orbit operation of the on board experiments and reentry and recovery of SRE-1 has demonstrated India’s capability in important technologies like aero-thermo structures, deceleration and fl otation systems, navigation, guidance and control. SRE-1 is an important beginning for providing a low cost platform for micro-gravity experiments in space science
and technology and return specimen from space.
Special Article
The Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE)
Source : www.isro.org
The introduction of jet engines provided a dramatic increase in aircraft speed and totally replaced the piston engine aircrafts. The focus on fl ying faster is ever increasing. It appears that hypersonic transport could become a reality in the 21st century fl ying at around Mach 8-14. The air-breathing hypersonic technologies and the development of hypersonic vehicles have been attracting the attention of Aerospace Community all over the world for applications: in the areas of Space sector for placing the payload in near earth orbit at low cost per unit weight, in Civil sector for reaching destinations which are geographically far off distances in a short time and in the Military Sectors for several applications. In the Military sector, the technologies would enable the development of long range hypersonic cruise missiles, which can affectively be engaged against time critical targets. They can be used for surveillance and reconnaissance over a wide area / long range. They can also be recalled / re-routed while on ‘enroute’. When made ‘re-usable’, the missiles offer enormous cost advantages. The research activities are exponentially growing with time.
Hydrogen fuelled scramjets for space applications and kerosene fuelled scramjets for defence applications have been simultaneously pursued by leading countries. Kerosene fuelled scramjet is more diffi cult to realize due to its ignition delay, high temperature requirement for auto-ignition and comparatively low allowable temperature margin for heat addition. In spite of the above diffi culties, kerosene fuel is ideal for defence applications due to its ease of handling and storability, which are needed for quick reaction and deployment of missiles.
Captive fl ight tests were conducted (from 1991) by Russia, USA and France at Mach 6.5 for proving the performance of their scramjet engines. France-Germany-Russia have collaborated in a supersonic combustor development programme and successfully tested a dual mode scramjet engine with kerosene fuel in the ground facilities. Japan has developed huge hypersonic facilities while pursuing the HOPE-
II hypersonic programme. Australia’s “HyShot” program focuses attention on the development of hydrogen fueled scramjet engines. The fl ight tests of the engine are being carried out in captive mode since 2002. Many countries are funding this program. Scramjet related activities including engine airframe integrated studies are progressing rapidly in the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese academy of sciences and Chinese Aerodynamics Research and Development centre at Miangyang, China. In the year 2004, USA achieved remarkable success in demonstrating two autonomous hypersonic air-breathing fl ights; the fi rst one was at Mach 7 and the other was at Mach 10, using hydrogen fuel under X-43 A program. These are the fi rst autonomous fl ights achieved in the world. Thus, USA is nearer to achieve the goal of realizing operational hypersonic vehicle, which will be followed by other countries that are in the race. The world wide hypersonic programs are given in Fig.1
Various subsystems of hypersonic vehicle are highly interactive. The external aerodynamics, internal aerodynamics, combustion fl ow and the vehicle stability and control are strongly coupled. No experimental and computation facilities in the world can simulate these mutual infl uences arising between the subsystems. It is very essential to address these problems by conducting fl ight tests. Hence, fl ight test is an essential part of the hypersonic technology development. Among the various subsystems, scramjet technology is the most diffi cult one as the fuel injected into the air stream fl owing at a speed of 2 km/s, shall undergo the processes of mixing, ignition, fl ame-holding and able to achieve complete combustion in less than a millisecond duration. As the engine and airframe experience very high temperature, development of high temperature-light weight materials, thermal management and cooling technology for engine and airframe parts is another area of diffi culty. The aerodynamics of complex shape, airframe propulsion integration and the aero-thermal evolution are critical areas to be thoroughly addressed.
Special Article
Hypersonic Technology DemonstratorDr. S. Panneerselvam
Project Director, HSTDV, DRDL, Hyderabad – 500058, India
If reasonably adequate aero-propulsion ground facilities are available, experiments can be carryout at simulated conditions for reducing the risk of failure. In India, presently, the facilities for hypersonic aerodynamics / aero-thermodynamics as well as hypersonic propulsion are highly inadequate.
DEMONSTRATOR MISSION (HSTDV)
DRDO identifi ed the hypersonic technology as one of the key areas to be pursued for futuristic application. It was felt very essential to demonstrate a scramjet engine integrated vehicle performance in autonomous mode, thereby proving not only the engine design and its operation but also the associated technologies including aerodynamic design, aero-thermal design, materials and hot structures. A suitable concept and mission has been evolved to test the hypersonic vehicle at Mach number 6.5 at 32.5 km. Since available materials are used for construction without any active cooling of any part of engine / airframe, the fl ight duration is limited to 20 seconds.
The overall hypersonic demonstrator mission involves launching the hypersonic air-breathing vehicle, called Cruise Vehicle (CV) to the required Mach number of 6.5 at an altitude range of 30-35 km using a booster, called Launch Vehicle (LV). There are different launch options, viz. rocket launch, air launch and ground launch. In the present case, the fi rst option of rocket launch, has been chosen to realize the mission faster. The Cruise Vehicle is mounted over a booster as an upper stage of the Launch Vehicle (Fig. 2). The Cruise Vehicle is protected by suitable aerodynamic fairings. On reaching the required Mach number and altitude, the fairings are opened and discarded by a suitable mechanism and the cruise vehicle is separated from the Launch Vehicle.
A single scramjet engine, burning kerosene fuel, powers the cruise vehicle. Available high temperature materials are used for construction of the vehicle without active cooling. Accordingly, as mentioned earlier, the sustained operation of the cruise vehicle is restricted to 20 seconds. This fl ight duration will be adequate to prove the design and operation of the scramjet and the vehicle sustainability.
Since hypersonics is a new and unexplored area, the expertise available at various IITs, IISc., MIT, Chennai and R & D Labs have been networked and
Special Article
integrated to pursue the technologies. Since the experimental facilities in the country are inadequate, CFD evolution has been used to a larger extent at the design stage of the vehicle in the fi elds of aerodynamic / aero-thermal, propulsion, trajectory, and control and guidance. Since the various sub-systems are highly interactive, it is essential to consider the system as a whole in the design phase itself.
STATUS
The development of Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) which is the fi rst of its kind in the country and second in the world, has been progressing well. Developmental testing and prototype realization are the current phase of activities.
The details on the progress of various subsystems of the vehicle and their status in the development are presented in the paper entitled “Progress on the Design and Development of Hydrocarbon Fueled Scramjet Engine Integrated Vehicle Towards Demonstrating Hypersonic Autonomous Flight” of the International Conference “High Speed Transatmospheric Air & Space Transportation 29-30 June 2007, Hyderabad.
India is one of the few countries having capability to design and build launch vehicles and satellites. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geo-synchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) are operational systems capable of launching 1500kg in low earth sun-synchronous orbit (SSPO) and 2200kg in Geo Transfer Orbit (GTO) respectively. GSLV-MK-III, designed to meet payload
requirement of 4t in GTO, is in the advanced stage of development. Being expendable they are not very cost effective. Depending upon the mission the cost ranges from $10000 to $20000 per kg of payload. To exploit the space extensively, both for commercial and for innovative scientifi c applications, cost of access of space needs to be reduced at least by an order of magnitude with improved reliability and operational fl exibility. Efforts are being made world over to develop Reusable Launch Vehicle systems to meet such requirements.
RLV Technology Challenges : Development of RLV is much more complex and challenging compared to an expendable launch vehicle or a conventional aircraft. Some of the major technology challenges are described below-
Aero thermodynamics :- In view of the limitations of available ground facilities to simulate the entire Mach number range (0-25) and other fl ight environment, faster and more accurate CFD codes are required for aerodynamic characteristics, assessment of re-entry thermal environment and effi cient thermal protection system design/ testing / qualifi cation etc.
Materials :- Development of high strength and low weight materials like Al-Li alloys, metal matrix composites and hot structures / advanced thermal protection materials like carbon-carbon, ceramic matrix composites etc.
Structure :- Airframe, wing and control surfaces structural design for reusability and built in health monitoring system to confi rm design integrity after every launch.
Propulsion :- High performance reusable propellant tanks for carrying cryogenic fl uids with suitable insulations and safety system.
Flight dynamics & control :- Providing required stability and control during varying regimes of fl ight limiting loads and thermal environment. Design of fault tolerant system featuring adaptive guidance and auto pilot system.
RLV Development Strategy :- Three pronged strategy as described below is proposed –
Technologies that can be tested on ground are identifi ed for development in laboratories of ISRO and other institutions in the country .
Technologies required for the second stage of TSTO are to be tested in ballistic / lifting fl ights from orbit similar to Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) which was fl own recently.
Low cost fl ying test bed – RLV-TD for technologies required for fi rst stage of TSTO.
RLV Concepts : A large number of vehicle concepts can be derived considering features like number of stages, partial or full re-usability, vertical or horizontal take-off / landing, tandem or parallel staging, wing body or lifting body etc. During the last few years extensive studies have been carried out in VSSC and based on detailed trade-off assessment, it is found that two stage to orbit confi guration with a semi cryogenic winged booster and a cryogenic ballistic orbiter is the most feasible option considering the near term technologies. The fi rst stage will fl y back to the landing site near the launch pad like a conventional aircraft.
Reusable Launch Vehicle - Development Strategy Special Article
Madan LalProject Director, RLV-TD, Deputy Director, VSSC
X-33, USA X-43,USA
HTV, INDIA AVATAR, INDIA
HYPERSONIC SPACE PLANES - WORLDWIDE
SPIRAL, RUSSIA HOPE - X, JAPAN
ASCENDER, U.K HSTDV, INDIA
SPACESHIPONE, USA
VENTURESTAR, USA STARBOOSTER, USA
HYPERSONIC SPACE PLANES - WORLDWIDE
RLV, INDIA
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
ChairmanDr V K Saraswat,
CC R&D (MSS) & Prog. Dir, AD
Vice - Chairmen
Shri Balram GuptaFormer Regional Director, RCMA (Materials)
Capt S N ReddySecretary, AP Flying Academy
Dr R K SharmaScientist ‘G’, DRDL
Wg Cdr U Raja BabuDy. Project Director, Prog. ‘AD’, RCI
Shri K S Subba RaoDGM, HAL
Hon. Secretary
Shri Vijay Kumar, Indian Airlines Ltd
Hon. TraesurerShri P Ranga Rao, Indian Airlines
Members
Shri S Varaprasada Rao, ASL Shri S M Bhatia, Gould Alloys
Shri G Ramesh, Indian Airlines Shri U S Paul Russel, Indian Airlines Shri Rajeev Gupta, RCMA (Missiles)
Lt Col T Kasi, RCIShri R Siva Kumar , Zetatek Industries
Shri R N Ghai, HAL Shri Madhujit Roy, Indian Airlines
Shri Y V Raju, Indian Airlines
The Aeronautical Society of IndiaHyderabad
Website: www.aesi-hyd.com
E-mail: [email protected]