The Indian Space Programme

by Gurbir Singh

  [518]. Here ‘small’ is a relative term. Strontium perchlorate is used for directional control for solid-fuel stages; it is a liquid. In the case of the first stage on the PSLV, up to 12 L/s is required on demand. ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P142.

  [519]. The flex nozzle used on the 22m long S200 boosters for the LVM3 can move up to + or – 7.8° using electro-hydraulic actuators https://web.archive.org/web/20101125141844/http://isro.org/pressrelease/contents/2010/pdf/S200_STATIC_TEST-01.pdf

  [520]. Another potential reason for the choice of solid propellant was the strong connection with the space programme of Japan that Sarabhai had cultivated through Professor Hideo Itokawa (1912–1999) from the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science in Japan. Just as SLV-3 was getting underway, Japan succeeded in launching its first satellite (23 kg Osumi) using the Lambda-4S launcher, an all-solid-fuel launcher.

  [521]. At this time, Sarabhai was the Chairman of AEC, where organisationally ISRO sat. The DOS had not yet come into existence. This paper is in two sections: the first is devoted to Atomic Energy and the second to Space Research. Sarabhai, Vikram. 1970. Atomic Energy and Space Research: A Profile for the Decade 1970-80. Mumbai: Atomic Energy Commission, Government of India. http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/02/006/2006423.pdf

  [522]. By December, Sarabhai negotiated a deal whereby ISRO would build its own satellite that USSR would launch. He had delegated the responsibility of designing and building the satellite to Professor U. R. Rao, who completed this task with the launch of India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, by the USSR in 1975. At 360 kg, it was 10 times the mass that the SLV-3 was capable of.

  [523]. The SLV-3 Project Manager Abdul Kalam records this as 0.65 m diameter on page 113 of ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P113.

  [524]. One of the most detailed descriptions of the development of ISRO’s launchers can be found in Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P54.

  [525]. Dick, Steven J. ed. 2013. Remembering the Space Age: Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Conference. Washington, DC: NASA. P45.

  [526]. The terminology used by rocket scientists globally is under constant evolution. A rocket motor is synonymous with a rocket engine. Initially, it was a term used when referring to solid rocket motors, but today, it has a more ambiguous use.

  [527]. During these early days of liquid propellants, ISRO acquired the red fuming nitric acid from the IAF. The quality was so poor that one ISRO scientist recalled that it was “neither red nor fuming”. Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P107.

  [528]. ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P118.

  [529]. Ibid. P120.

  [530]. Zykofsky, Paul. February 1982. Program Contributes to Nation-Building. Executive Intelligence Review. Volume 9(5). P38. Retrieved from http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1982/eirv09n05-19820209/index.html

  [531]. Menon, A. K. 15 May 1983. SLV-3: A Space Odyssey. India Today. Retrieved from http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-successfully-launches-slv-3-rocket-with-rohini-satellite-payload/1/371567.html.

  [532]. Following this success, Kalam became the centre of media attention. This generated envy among his senior colleagues, who too had contributed to the success of SLV-3 but had not received appropriate recognition. Kalam talks about this bitterness in his autobiography. Kalam, A. P. J. Abdul and Arun Tiwari. 1999. Wings of Fire: An Autobiography. Hyderabad: Universities Press. P55.

  [533]. The original First Launch Pad used by SLV-3 and ASLV was decommissioned in 1994.

  [534]. December 1985, Countdown number 68. The House Journal of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. A video of the launch is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLNhTU-F-o also see https://www.reddit.com/r/ISRO/wiki/resources/suborbital_flights/so-300-200

  [535]. The booster nozzles were canted by 9° to the vertical to prevent damage from the instability that may be caused by the expansion of the exhaust gas at the core stage.

  [536]. This technique is known as the Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control for yaw and pitch control using strontium perchlorate and a separate RCS for roll.

  [537]. Rao, U. R. 2013. India’s Rise as a Space Power. Delhi: Cambridge University Press India Pvt Ltd. P114.

  [538]. Although HEF-20 has its origins in the US, during the late 1960s, it was not easily available. ISRO tasked the Propellant Engineering Division to indigenise the production of HEF-20 and other propellants with the aim of becoming self-reliant. Kurup, M. R., V. N. Krishnamoorthy and M. C. Uttam. 1 March 1988. Development of Solid Propellant Technology in India. Sadhana 12(3): 229–34. P230. doi:10.1007/BF02812029.

  [539]. The numbers represented here come from a variety of published sources including A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO and ISRO’s website. There are discrepancies typically around 10%, especially with SLV-3).

  [540]. Some accounts record that the interval between the first-stage shutting down and the second-stage starting was 0.5 second. The figure of 1.5 seconds I have used comes from Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P135.

  [541]. The following source indicates a velocity of 6 km/s at the time of stage 1 burnout, which is too high to be accurate. ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P126.

  [542]. This was a collection of spacecraft with gamma-ray detectors. Gamma rays are an extremely powerful form of electromagnetic radiation emanating from the most powerful events (black holes and supernovae) in the universe. The Earth’s magnetic fields prevent gamma rays from reaching the Earth, so they are best investigated from space. Retrieved from http://www.ssl.berkeley.edu/ipn3/

  [543]. The Inertial Measurement Unit used in the SLV-3 Open Loop Guidance System was provided by SAGEM of France. ‘‘ISRO had approached US companies, but they refused to provide even catalogues about their gyros’’. Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P147.

  [544]. Gupta, S. C. 1995. Growth of Capabilities of India’s Launch Vehicles. Current Science 68 (7): 687–91. P690.

  [545]. Sarabhai, Vikram. 1970. Atomic Energy and Space Research: A Profile for the Decade 1970-80. Mumbai: Atomic Energy Commission, Government of India. P28. Retrieved from http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/02/006/2006423.pdf

  [546]. Sarabhai clearly states, ‘synchronous orbit’ rather than polar orbit, but that capability came later with the GSLV. By the late 1980s, remote sensing satellites, such as Aryabhata and SROSS, were considered to provide data of higher domestic value. A remote-sensing satellite, typically about 1,500 kg, requires a lower orbit of around 900 km. Communication satellites are heavier, around 2,500 kg, and require a higher orbit of 36,000 km. The Indian remote satellite (IRS) programme was initiated in the early 1980s. By then, ISRO could build and launch them without foreign partners. Remote-sensing satellites required a polar orbit, and the launcher became the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The GSLV would become the next step in the evolution of ISRO’s launchers. ISRO developed the expertise to build communication satellites around the same time as IRS but chose to incorporate more functionality, television broadcast, weather forecasting, disaster warning and search and rescue, and not just communication. This increased their weight beyond the PSLV limit. ISRO turned to the US and France to put them in orbit. Until GSLV-Mk3 becomes operational, ISRO will continue to engage ESA’s Ariane 5 to launch satellites heavier than 2,000 kg.

  [547].National Photographic Interpretation Ce
ntre, National Security Information. 24 February 1984. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84T00491R000100410001-1.pdf. A reference to PSLV in 1981 in a New scientist report with an early configuration. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=IbbMj56ht8sC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA215#v=onepage&q&f=false

  [548]. Baskaran, Angathevar. 2011. Competence Building in Complex Systems: The Case of Satellite Launch Vehicles in India’s Space Programme. The 9th Globelics International Conference: Creativity, Innovation and Economic Development.

  [549]. For 16 months, about 40 Indian engineers were trained in Russia in cryogenic engine technology. Interview with Professor U. R. Rao. 2013. See http://astrotalkuk.org/2013/12/05/isro-the-early-years/

  [550]. Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P120.

  [551]. Gopal Raj offers a persuasive case about why it was in France’s interest to engage in this arrangement with India. Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P123.

  [552]. Baskaran, Angathevar. 2011. Competence Building in Complex Systems: The Case of Satellite Launch Vehicles in India’s Space Programme. The 9th Globelics International Conference: Creativity, Innovation and Economic Development.

  [553]. N. Narayanamoorthy, who joined VSSC in 1971 and had been associated with the development of PSLV right from its formative years, states that the actual deliverables resulting from this agreement were as follows: (1) ISRO would supply 10,000 space-qualified pressure transducers to CNES, and (2) in return, France would transfer the know-how for their liquid engine, Viking, to ISRO. ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P131. Another account states that it was not 10,000 but 7,000. Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P123. The following source states that it was 7,000, not 10,000 transducers. Nagappa, Rajaram. 2016. Development of Space Launch Vehicles in India. Astropolitics 14(2-3), 158-176. P165. DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2016.1244877

  [554]. Rao, P. V. Manoranjan and P. Radhakrishnan. 2012. A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO. Hyderabad: Universities Press (India) Private Limited.

  [555]. ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P134.

  [556]. Rao, P. V. Manoranjan and P. Radhakrishnan. 2012. A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO. Hyderabad: Universities Press (India) Private Limited. P136.

  [557]. The US secret service recorded one of the earliest references to the PSLV (they referred to as the Polar Space Launch Vehicle) in a now declassified as SECRET a report dated 24 February 1984. The evidence came from satellite imagery of what looked like a static display of PSLV mock-up components. National Photographic Interpretation Centre, National Security Information. 24 February 1984.

  [558]. A derivative from the more commonly used UDMH and N2O2. Monomethylhydrazine fuel and mixed oxides of nitrogen.

  [559]. For roll control, the PSLV first stage used an RCS. A redesigned and enhanced version of the RCS was developed as the PSLV fourth stage.

  [560]. ISRO. 2016. From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey. Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Harper Collins India. P145.

  [561]. Ibid. P153.

  [562]. Rao, U. R. 2013. India’s Rise as a Space Power. Delhi: Cambridge University Press India Pvt Ltd. P177.

  [563]. Raj, Gopal. 2003. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India’s Rocket Programme. New Delhi; New York, NY: Penguin Books India. P237.

  [564]. Interview with SDSC-SHAR Director Dr. M. Y. S. Prasad. 12 January 2015. See Episode 72 on www.astrotalkuk.org

  [565]. Raj, Gopal N. 23 May 2016. After Successful Test of Reusable Vehicle, ISRO Has Further Plans for Slashing Launch Costs. The Wire. Retrieved from http://thewire.in/2016/05/23/not-just-the-rlv-td-isro-has-more-plans-for-slashing-launch-costs-37943/

  [566]. In 2011, NASA stopped operating the Space Shuttle, and since then, the only way astronauts and cosmonauts can get to the ISS is via the Russian Soyuz launcher. Soyuz is an enhanced version of the Vostok launcher used by Yuri Gagarin. The launch site used for modern launches is the same one that Gagarin used.

  [567]. http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=246186471. This short report is in Russian. Google translate does an adequate job.

  [568]. ISRO does not have a formal process or platform for announcing its strategic choices. Much of the information comes from lectures and presentations delivered by senior ISRO personnel. Like this one available on YouTube by Dr V Narayanan from the LPSC spoking about "Cryogenic Propulsion Systems for ISRO Launch Vehicles” in February 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jy-fXBTllE

  [569]. ISRO to Bank on Semi-Cryogenic Engine for Heavy Lift Rockets - The Hindu Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/isro-to-bank-on-semi-cryogenic-engine-for-heavy-lift-rockets/article19095367.ece. For more technical details of ISRO’s Semi Cryogenic engine design see https://www.ijirset.com/upload/2013/special/energy/16_DESIGN.pdf

  [570]. S, Madhumathi D. ‘Russian Tie-up to Boost ISRO’s Semi Cryogenic Launcher Plan’. The Hindu. 14 August 2015, sec. Science. http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/russian-tieup-to-boost-isros-semicryogenic-launcher-plan/article7536263.ece.

  [571]. This table, along with some of the other technical specifications in this chapter, comes from Norbert Brugge. Based in Germany, he hosts a website providing details on the development of space launch vehicles in countries around the world. http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets_1/index.htm

  [572]. These figures come from the CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk. SpaceX has successfully demonstrated the safe return of the first stage of its Falcon rocket to land on Earth and a floating platform at sea. AFP. 9 April 2016. SpaceX Lands Rocket on Ocean Platform for the First Time. The Express Tribune. Retrieved from http://tribune.com.pk/story/1081654/spacex-lands-rocket-on-ocean-platform-for-first-time/

  [573]. This table, along with some of the other technical specifications in this chapter, comes from Norbert Brugge. Based in Germany, he hosts a website providing details on the development of space launch vehicles in countries around the world. See http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets_1/index.htm

  [574]. RESPOND is ISRO’s research programme under which it uses part of its funding to sponsor external research. VSSC. June 2013. Titles for Respond Project/Research Area Document. P7. Retrieved from http://www.vssc.gov.in/VSSC_V4/images/pdf_files/respond/Research_Area.pdf

  [575]. DOS. ISRO Annual Report 2014–2015. P75. Retrieved from http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/pdf/AR2014-15.pdf

  [576]. ISRO maintained a low profile during the lead-up to the RLV-TD flight. Unlike other launches, it was not broadcast live. Nothing appeared on ISRO’s Facebook, Twitter or website until after the flight. A video of the launch looking down at the booster was published on ISRO’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ISRO/videos/1733895800167108/

  [577]. ISRO formally acknowledged this support via its only press release issued after the mission had been completed. ISRO. 23 May 2016. India’s Reusable Launch-Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), Successfully Flight Tested. Retrieved from http://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstrator-rlv-td-successfully

  [578]. Ramachandran, R. and T. S. Subramanian. 24 June 2016. “Design Process Has Been Validated”. Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.frontline.in/science-and-technology/design-process-has-been-validated/article8704727.ece

  [579]. VSSC Director K. Sivan stated that “As per data the RLV-TD landed softly in the Bay of Bengal. As per our calculations, it would have disintegrated at the speed at which it touched the sea”. ISRO to Test Next Reusable Launch Vehicle After Studying Data of May 23 Flight. 23 May 2016. Retrieved from http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/isro-to-test-next-reusable-launch-vehicle-after-studying
-data-of-may-23-flight_1888916.html. See also http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/indias-budget-mini-space-shuttle-blasts-off/ar-BBtm0dn?ocid=ansmsnnews11. Reports on what survived of the RLV-TD were inconsistent. Within a month of the RLV-TD launch, the ISRO Chairman stated that the vehicle ‘‘cannot survive’’. Ramachandran, R. and T. S. Subramanian. 24 June 2016. “Design Process Has Been Validated”. Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.frontline.in/science-and-technology/design-process-has-been-validated/article8704727.ece

  [580]. A coast guard helicopter, which was employed by ISRO, located the RLV-TD floating in the sea around 20 minutes after the splashdown. The coast guard reportedly took pictures, and sources said the vehicle didn’t suffer major damage as against the popular view that the winged body would disintegrate at the point of touchdown. For full story, see http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/ISROs-new-desi-reusable-wings-taste-success-in-maiden-flight/2016/05/24/article3448063.ece

  [581]. This press release was issued on the day of the mission shortly after it was successfully completed. ISRO. 23 May 2016. India’s Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), Successfully Flight-Tested. Retrieved from http://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstrator-rlv-td-successfully