by Gurbir Singh
With unexpected support from Frank George Wisner (born 1938), the Under Secretary of State, the embargo on the tape recorder for IRS-1C was rescinded, and it was delivered to ISRO in time for launch from Russia in December 1995.[616] The US did not exclusively pick on India to impede its space programme through sanctions. Following its decision to temporarily withdrew from active participation in NATO in 1966, France was subject to US export controls.[617] In part, it was this history of US-France division that motivated France more than any other country in the West to continue to support India during the sanctions period.[618] In the 1960s, US technology transfer to Japan was restricted. Inadvertently, this resulted in Japan benefiting.[619] Since 2011, NASA has been prohibited by the US Congress from engaging in bilateral agreements or cooperating in space with China.[620]
Although the relationship between India and the US improved following a state visit by President George Bush to India in 2006, the sanctions remained in place until President Obama’s visit in 2010. During the two intervening decades, there were several attempts by India to breach the embargo not only in pursuit of its space programme but also its missile agenda. In May 2007, the FBI indicted two Indian scientists behind a Singapore-based third party called Cirrus for attempting to “illegally procure sensitive technology for India's ballistic missile programme” for VSSC and Bharat Dynamics. This technology could be used in missile guidance and firing systems.[621] In 2009, Germany was processing an export request for extruded aluminium plates to India. Knowing that the US had denied India something similar in the past, Germany asked the US through a secret cable if that denial had been under MTCR and if Germany should also refuse. The US confirmed that its denial of the extruded aluminium plates had not been under the scope of the MTCR and that Germany could fulfil the export order, US recommended that Germany should not. The US's response goes on to unambiguously articulate its reasons for evoking MTCR in the first place. It indicates that India's military programme was not the sole target of the sanction, stating “the U.S. does not support India's missile or space launch vehicle programme.”[622]
In one remarkable instance, a US companies Mayers and Thiokol violated US's own restrictions and provided India with chemical mixer units that the Ukrainian government had stopped a Ukrainian company, Yuzhnoye, from supplying to India under the MTCR restrictions.[623] Despite this, the Ukrainian government sought clarification from the US regarding another request from India for blueprints for a semi-cryogenic (LOX and kerosene) rocket engine. Yuzhnoye had sought and received assurances that India would not use it for purposes other than peaceful uses for space. The Ukrainian government informed the US that if this contract were denied, India would most likely acquire an equivalent design from Russia anyway. The US did not prevent this deal from progressing, and ISRO is currently developing the Yuzhnoye engine for its Unified Launch Vehicle series of launchers under the project name SCE-200 (semi-cryogenic engine 200 tonnes).
The MTCR restrictions, along with others imposed by the US following India’s nuclear tests in 1998, were formally lifted in November 2010. Restrictions on technology associated with nuclear weapons remained, but nine specific entities that included ISRO and DRDO were allowed to import a range of technologies that had been prohibited.[624] The President’s visit in 2010 was followed by that of a delegation of two dozen US companies in the quest for Indian orders in February 2011, ushering in a fresh wave of commercial opportunities for US companies.
Commercial Space Services
By 2015, the global space industry was estimated to be $323 billion (Rs. 2,041,038 crore).[625] This valuation includes the cost of spacecraft, launch to orbit, ground segments and the services provided from space. Worldwide, there were 86 space launches to Earth orbit in 2015, 22 of which were classified as commercial valued at $2.1 billion (Rs. 14,000 crore). For three years, between 2013 and 2015, ISRO launched 28 satellites for nine international customers, which generated about $88 million (Rs.585.4 crore).[626] ISRO markets itself as a low-cost supplier of access to space. In the absence of an operational heavy-lift launch vehicle, ISRO’s market share will remain low.
Figure 11‑2 GSLV Mk3 with Second VAB in construction in background. June 2017. Credit ISRO
Space programmes are expensive, and where possible, national space agencies recoup their investment through commercial operations. It was not just India that lost out with the imposition of MTCR restrictions and the termination of the agreement with Russia. As ISRO's progress slowed, many American firms, too, lost out on lucrative contracts for high-tech components and systems. The international commercial interdependency surfaced in 2006 during a meeting between NASA Administrator Michael Griffin (born 1949) and ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore. Griffin offered to fly an Indian astronaut within the NASA astronaut programme. No Indian citizen had been in space for over two decades. Despite this, Nair declined on the basis of the cost but insisted that “Co-operation with NASA and procurement of components from US vendors is a top ISRO priority.”[627]
Today, ISRO has a mature and efficient satellite building, launching and operating infrastructure. It has also demonstrated its competence in building satellites for the Moon, Mars and science missions. ISRO’s first large communication satellites, the INSAT series, incorporated functionality for meteorology, broadcast, as well as communication, and were built by Ford Aerospace Communication Corporation. It was during the building and testing of the first INSAT (INSAT-1A) in California that ISRO engineers experienced American sanctions first hand. Although ISRO scientists were based in California during the build phase, their access to the technology going into INSAT, for which they had paid, was limited. These restrictions were a standard part of a typical commercial contract to protect the owners’ intellectual property and not necessarily related to sanctions, but the Indian scientists involved did not see it in that light. These restrictions placed by the State Department were an ‘eye opener’ and added to ISRO's resolve for self-sufficiency.[628]
Region
Commercial Launches
Percentage
Revenue $ (million)
Russia
5
23
289
The US
8
36
617
China
0
0
0
Europe
6
27
1066
India
2
9
66
Japan
1
5
113
Total
22
100
2151
Table 11‑1 Commercial Launchs undertaken in 2015. Credit FAA Annual Compendium 2016
By the time U.R. Rao stood down as chairman of ISRO in March 1994, he had initiated a drive to engage Indian industries to produce key space components to meet ISRO’s needs. In addition to reducing the dependency on foreign countries, this initiative would benefit ISRO with a shorter lead time and lower costs and also help boost the local economy. Industrial partners, including Godrej and Machine Tool Aids & Reconditioning, were contracted with the development of the C-12 engine. ISRO embarked on partnerships for the building of H2/LOX plant and test rig in Mahendragiri, modifying the SLP to accommodate the GSLV and building the facilities at Sriharikota for handling and storing cryogenic propellant. Having used up 6 of the 7 engines acquired from Russia, in January 2014, ISRO used its own design of cryogenic engine CE-7.5 and successfully placed a communication satellite, GSAT-14, in orbit. It had taken ISRO almost a quarter of a century to achieve this milestone. The US first launched the RL10 with cryogenic engine in 1963, Russia the KVD-1 in 1967(but not flown in space), China the YF73 in 1975, France the HM-7 in 1979 and Japan the LE5 in 1997.[629] ISRO's long journey to master the cryogenic engine technology was the consequence of the ISRO’s strategic decisions, geopolitics including the termination of t
he Russian cryogenic engine and technology transfer agreement and especially the US-initiated sanctions under the MTCR. The international restrictions were, however, instrumental in ISRO's becoming self-sufficient sooner than it would have otherwise. However, today only 40% of the CE-25 engine is made in India. The quantities of the other 60% required are so small that building production facilities in India are not cost-effective.[630] ISRO is planning to announce a new, better-funded initiative to engage not just academic organisations or private sector businesses, but any organisation without restriction that is willing to participate in the risky area of R&D for new materials and systems for ISRO’s future launch vehicles.[631]
In the past, it was clear which nation was responsible for designing, building, launching and operating a spacecraft. The modern picture is complex where spacecraft, launch services and support are procured on a commercial basis from multiple nations. For example, the three satellites in the Disaster Management Constellation (DMC-3) built and operated by UK's Surrey Satellites Ltd were launched by India and procured by a Chinese company, Twenty-First Century Aerospace Technology Company Ltd.[632] Which nation is responsible for a launch and whether it is commercial in nature are further complicated by the capability to launch from mobile platforms; rocket engines built in one nation are used to power launch vehicles of another. In modern complex commercial arrangements, it is not always clear how commercial are the commercial launches procured by government agencies. The statistics on commercial space activities are always subject to ambiguity and should be interpreted with care. While ISRO's ability to compete in the commercial launch market has not seen the growth it once expected, the MTCR sanctions accelerated the domestic production of many of the materials and systems that it would otherwise have imported. Over the last quarter of a century, India has had significant successes in space, missions to the Moon and Mars and the regional navigational system (IRNSS). It also made significant progress in terms of economic and technological achievements. As recognition of its greater influence on the world stage, India sought and was accepted as a member nation of MTCR in June 2016.[633]
Chapter Twelve
Satellites and Saris
W e had come all this way to study the Moon and what we discovered was the Earth, Bill Anders (William Alison “Bill” Anders, born 1933), one of the three men on Apollo 8 and the first to go to the Moon, told space historian Andrew Chaikin.[634] The true merit of going to space lies in the unique view of the entire Earth that cannot be seen from anywhere else. The numerous EO, meteorology and communication satellites continue this journey of discovery by observing the Earth every day. Countries, including Japan, Canada, Australia, India and Indonesia, have space programmes that maintain a strong societal connection. From the outset, India has exploited the product of space-borne assets for societal development with the intention to “harness space technology for national development.”[635]
Referring to the planned Satellite Instructional Television Programme (SITE) programme, Arthur C. Clarke said “In 1975 there will be a new Star of India. Though it will not be visible to the naked eye, its influence will be greater than any zodiacal sign.”[636] Since the mid-70s, India has had many more ‘stars’ (artificial satellites) that look down upon the vast Indian territory and provide communication, weather and EO information essential for 21st-century societies.
Between 1979 and 1994, in parallel with developing its launch vehicles, first the SLV-3 and then the ASLV, ISRO built and launched eight Rohini Satellites to help develop its indigenous capability in satellites and launch vehicles. Four satellites with a mass of around 35 kg were launched by SLV-3, and the other four, each with a mass of just over 100 kg, by the ASLV. They were all experimental satellites designed to evaluate the launch vehicle, capture scientific data and help develop the ground infrastructure.
In the process, teams of ISRO scientists and engineers developed both the satellite operational infrastructure and the experience required to operate it. Over time, ISRO has designed and built ever larger and more complex satellites and expanded the infrastructure to support them. The INSAT series of satellites were initially built by Ford Aerospace and launched by NASA or ESA. They were, however, operated entirely from India. Ford also built INSAT-1C and INSAT-1D, and they were launched by NASA or ESA.
Satellite
Launch Date
Launcher/Country
Description
Aryabhata
19 April 1975
C-1 Interkosmos/USSR
A science payload of 360 kg at an orbit of 563 × 619 km, it operated for the first four days and then partially until March 1981. Two of its three instruments returned data. Re-entered Earth atmosphere on 10 February 1992 after 3,500 orbits.
Bhaskara-I
7 June 1979
C1-Interkosmos/USSR
Science payload of 442 kg was looking at the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, it operated successfully for over a year and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in 1989.
Rohini Technology Payload
10 August 1979
SLV-3/India
The payload of 35 kg was dedicated to measuring the in-flight performance of the launch vehicle SLV-3, the first Indian launch vehicle capable of placing a satellite in orbit. The second stage failed, and the launch vehicle was lost into the Bay of Bengal.
Rohini RS-1
18 July 1980
SLV-3/India
First success for SLV-3. The satellite was in orbit (305 × 919 km) and operated for nearly two years.
Rohini RS-D1
31 May 1981
SLV-3/India
The remote-sensing payload of 35 kg was successfully placed in orbit (186 × 418 km) but in a lower orbit than intended, and the satellite re-entered nine days later.
Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment
(APPLE)
19 June 1981
Ariane-1/ESA
India’s first experimental communication satellite launched free by ESA’s then experimental launcher, Ariane. Its required orbit of 36,000 km located at 102°E longitude and its weight of 670 kg was well beyond the capability of the SLV-3. Initial orbit was not as planned but it operated for over two years.
Bhaskara-II
20 November 1981
Interkosmos/USSR
Experimental remote-sensing satellite was similar to Bhaskara-1 in weight and orbit. It was declared operational after receipt of 300 television images of the Indian subcontinent. Some telemetry was still being received until it re-entered on 30 November 1991.
INSAT-1A
10 April 1982
Delta Launch Vehicle/US
India’s first multipurpose communication, broadcast and meteorology satellite. Built by Ford Aerospace in the US and launched by an American Delta launcher, it operated for a few months and failed prior to formal handover to India.
Rohini RS-D2
17 April 1983
SLV-3/India
The final flight of SLV-3 delivering 41.5 kg to orbit (371 × 861 km). The mission was a complete success. RS-D2 re-entered Earth on 19 April 1990, after 17 months of operation. The SLV-3 programme came to a premature end to allow an earlier start on the development of the next launch vehicle, the ASLV.
INSAT-1B
30 August 1983
Space Shuttle
Identical to INSAT-1A and ordered from Ford at the same time, it operated successfully for longer than its planned seven years from 72°E for most of its operational life and from 93°E in 1992 and 1993 until decommissioned in August 1993. As part of the decommissioning activity, it was raised to a graveyard orbit to clear the orbit slot for a future satellite.
Table 12‑1 ISRO’s First 10 Satellites
INSAT-2A was built by ISRO and launched in 1992. Since then, India has built all its satellites, as well as satellites for other nations. By mid-2016, ISRO had built, operated or launched more than 80 satellites. Four decades since the first satellite, India has one of the lar
gest national programmes of operational satellites providing remote sensing, navigation, meteorological, navigation and communication services from Earth orbit. This journey began with Aryabhata.
India's First Satellite: Aryabhata
As Vikram Sarabhai was putting the final touches to his plan to build and launch India’s first satellite in his strategic document, Atomic Energy and Space Research: A Profile for the Decade 1970-80, he received an unexpected offer.[637] In a letter received in April 1971 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Russian Academy of Sciences offered to assist India in the exploration of space.[638] During a meeting in New Delhi in the following month, Vikram Sarabhai asked U.R. Rao to present ISRO’s plans for an Indian satellite to the Soviet Ambassador Nikolai Pegov. After Rao’s presentation, the Ambassador offered to launch India’s first satellite provided it was heavier than China’s first satellite.[639]
In a series of meetings that followed in New Delhi and Moscow, the USSR appeared to backtrack and suggest that India build a scientific instrument to be carried onboard one of their satellites. Vikram Sarabhai had tasked Rao to pursue the offer from the Soviet Union with only these words “do what you think is best for our space programme.”[640] Having already flown several instruments on US satellites (Pioneer, Mariner and Explorer series), Rao wanted more than just another instrument in space. Convinced by Sarabhai’s vision of using space technology for social development, he saw this as an opportunity for India to bootstrap its satellite programme.