Following is the Chronology of Indian Space Program:
Launch Dates, Vehicle Results
October 22, 2008
Indian Space Program : The Chronology
India to prove space supremacy to the world, especially to China
India launched its first unmanned moon mission on Wednesday following in the footsteps of rival China, as the emerging Asian power celebrated its space ambitions and scientific prowess.
Chandrayaan-1 (Moon vehicle), a cuboid spacecraft built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) blasted off from a southern Indian space centre shortly after dawn in a boost for the country’s ambitions to gain more global space business.
“What we have started is a remarkable journey,” G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO, told reporters.
The operation is ostensibly about mapping the moon, but the mission comes on the heels of China’s first space walk last month, when Chinese astronauts were feted as national heroes.
India does not want to fall behind in an Asian race to space that could have technological and military implications. There is disquiet in the West that China has military ambitions in space, with developments like anti-satellite missiles.
India’s national television channels broadcast the countdown to the launch live. Some scientists thumped their chests, hugged each other and clapped as the rocket shot up into space.
Greeted with patriotism in the media, the launch appeared to have distracted India from an economic slowdown, collapsing stock prices and outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence.
Perhaps remarkably in a nation where hundreds of millions of people live in poverty and millions of children are malnourished, the cost of the mission has scarcely been questioned.
“Destination Moon … Historic Day For India” blazed one TV channel on its screen.
Barring any technical failure, the spacecraft will reach the lunar orbit and spend two years scanning the moon for any evidence of water and precious metals.
A gadget called the Moon Impactor Probe will detach and land on the moon to kick up some dust, while instruments in the craft analyse the particles, ISRO says.
A principal objective is to look for Helium 3, an isotope which is very rare on earth but is sought to power nuclear fusion and could be a valuable source of energy in the future, some scientists believe.
It is thought to be more plentiful on the moon, but still rare and very difficult to extract.
India’s project cost $79 million, considerably less than the Chinese and Japanese probes in 2007 and ISRO says the moon mission will pave the way for India to claim a bigger chunk of the global space business.
ISRO scientists visited temples to seek the blessings of Hindu gods before the launch, and afterwards some expressed relief that rain had held off until the rocket was in space.
“The rain gods have been kind to us,” Madhavan said.
FROM NUCLEAR POWER TO SPACE POWER
For many proud Indians, the launch is another notch in the country’s global ambitions. India recently signed a civil nuclear deal with the United States, making it a de facto nuclear power.
“I’m very proud,” said Sunil Tambe, a taxi driver in Mumbai. “It means India can do these big projects and I think it will also benefit us because there will be more information and we can learn new things.”
In April, India sent 10 satellites into orbit from a single rocket, and ISRO says it is plans more launches before a proposed manned mission to space and then onto Mars in four years time.
“With China forging ahead in the space field, India cannot afford to lag far behind,” wrote security analyst Ajey Lele in The Indian Express.
ISRO is collaborating with a number of countries, including Israel on a project to carry an ultra-violet telescope in an Indian satellite within a year.
It is also building a tropical weather satellite with France, collaborating with Japan to improve disaster management from space, and developing a heavy lift satellite launcher, which it hopes to use to launch heavier satellites by 2010.
India has launched 10 remote sensing satellites since 1998, has several broadcast satellites in space to control 170 transponders and has also launched light-weight satellites for Belgium, Germany, Korea, Japan and France.
First Leg, Very Perfect, What’s next?
After a historic launch and a successful injection into the transfer orbit, India’s first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1 is ready for the next big task.Chandrayaan-1 has to get into the orbit around the moon where it will revolve for two years before returning back to the earth.
The moon spacecraft, was put into transfer orbit around the earth by the Polar Launch Vehicle PSLV-C11 after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
The 1,380 kg Chandrayaan-1, carrying 11 payloads, was released into a Transfer Orbit 18.2 minutes after the PSLV-C11 blasted off.
After a series of procedures over the next two weeks, the spacecraft would reach its desired Lunar orbit and placed at a height of 100 km from the Lunar surface, marking the operational phase of the mission which would put India in the elite lunar club.
Earlier, at the end of the 49-hour countdown, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-11 lifted off from the second launch pad into a cloudy sky.
This is the 14th flight of ISRO’s workhorse PSLV, which had launched 29 satellites into a variety of orbits since 1993, and 13th successive one in a row.
Chandrayaan-1 is carrying 11 payloads, five entirely designed and developed in India, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from US, which would explore the Moon over the next two years.
Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair described the successful launch as a historic moment in India’s space programme.
“The launch was perfect and precise. The satellite has been placed in the earth orbit. With this, we have completed the first leg of the mission and it will take 15 days to reach the lunar orbit,” Nair announced in the mission control centre.
October 21, 2008
More about PSLV C11′s Configuration
PSLV-C11, chosen to launch Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, is an uprated version of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle standard configuration. Weighing 316 tonnes at lift-off, the vehicle uses larger strap-on motors (PSOM-XL) to achieve higher payload capability.
PSLV is the trusted workhorse launch Vehicle of ISRO. During 1993-2008 period, PSLV had twelve consecutively successful launches carrying satellites to Sun Synchronous, Low Earth and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits. Now, its fourteenth flight is being used for launching Chandrayaan-1 to moon.
PSLV has repeatedly proved its reliability and versatility by launching 29 satellites into a variety of orbits. Of these, ten remote sensing satellites of India, an Indian satellite for amateur radio communications, a recoverable Space Capsule (SRE-1) and fourteen satellites from abroad were put into polar Sun Synchronous Orbits (SSO) of 550-820 km heights. Besides, PSLV has launched two satellites from abroad into Low Earth Orbits of low or medium inclinations. This apart, PSLV has launched KALPANA-1, a weather satellite of India, into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
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PSLV was initially designed by ISRO to place 1,000 kg class Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into 900 km polar SunSynchronous Orbits. Since the first successful flight in October 1994, the capability of PSLV was successively enhanced from 850 kg to 1,600 kg. In its ninth flight on May 5, 2005 from the Second Launch Pad (SLP), PSLV launched ISRO’s remote sensing satellite,1,560 kg CARTOSAT-1 and the 42 kg Amateur Radio satellite, HAMSAT, into a 620 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit. The improvement in the capability over successive flights has been achieved through several means. They include increased propellant loading in the stage motors, employing composite material for the satellite mounting structure and changing the sequence of firing of the strap-on motors. PSLV-C11 is 44.4 metre tall and has four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. The first stage, carrying 138 tonne of propellant, is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world. Six solid propellant strap-on motors (PSOM-XL), each carrying twelve tonne of solid propellant, are strapped on to the first stage. The second stage carries 41.5 tonne of liquid propellant. The third stage uses 7.6 tonne of solid propellant and the fourth has a twin engine configuration with 2.5 tonne of liquid propellant. The 3.2 metre diameter metallic bulbous payload fairing protects the satellites and it is discarded after the vehicle has cleared dense atmosphere. PSLV employs a large number of auxiliary systems for stage separation, payload fairing separation and so on. It has sophisticated systems to control the vehicle and guide it through the predetermined trajectory. The vehicle performance is monitored through telemetry and tracking. The main modification in PSLV-C11 compared to its standard configuration is the use of larger strap-on motors (PSOM-XL) containing more propellants. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, designed and developed PSLV-C11. ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) at Thiruvananthapuram developed the inertial systems for the vehicle. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), also at Thiruvananthapuram, developed the liquid propulsion stages for the second and fourth stages of PSLV-C11 as well as reaction control systems. SDSC SHAR processed the solid motors and carries out launch operations. ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) provides telemetry, tracking and command support during PSLV-C11′s flight. |
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PSLV-C11vehicle assembled upto
fourth stage at Vehicle Assembly Building |
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Chandrayaan-1
in PSLV-C11envelope |
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PSLV-C11 Flight Profile
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October 12, 2008
Chandrayaan 1 : Quick Glimpses
Chandrayaan 1 is scheduled for launch on October 22 at 6.20 am. The countdown begins 52 hours before the launch. The aims of this mission are : (1) Realise the goal of harnessing the science payloads, lunar craft and the launch vehicle with suitable ground support systems, including deep space network station. (2) Realise integration and testing, launching and achieving lunar polar orbit of about 1000 km, in orbit operation of experiements, communication/telecommand, telemetry data reception, quick look data and archival for scientific utilisation by identified group of scientists.
CHANDRAYAAN 1 SPACE CRAFT : Chandrayaan 1 uses a 3-axis stablised space craft, with two star sensors, gyros and four reaction wheels. The power generation is through a single-sided solar array that gives the required power during all phases of the mission. This deployable solar array, consisting of a single panel, generates 700 watts of peak power. During an eclipse, the space craft will be powered by lithium ion batteries. The space craft employs X-Band 0.7 m diameter parabolic antenna for payload data transmission. The antenna employs a mechanism to track the Earth station when the space craft is in lunar orbit. The space craft uses a bipro-pellant integrated propulsion system to reach lunar orbit as well as orbit and altitude maintenance while orbiting the moon.
The propulsion system carries required propellant for a mission life of two years with adequate margin.
