India’s Indigenous Cryogenic Engine tested successfully

Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully tested it’s indigenously designed Cryogenic Engine at Mehendragiri, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Cryogenic engines used before are Russian one. US and Russia only had self developed cryogenic engine. This new cryogenic engine will be used in GSLV D-3 mission next year.

Cryogenic engines are rocket motors designed for liquid fuels that have to be held at very low ‘cryogenic’ temperatures, as they would otherwise be gas at normal temperatures.

Normally used fuels are hydrogen and oxygen which are held at a low temperature of  20 Kelvin and 80 Kelvin respectively to remain in liquid form. The cryogenic engine develops a thrust of 73 kilo Newtons (kN) in vacuum with a specific impulse of 454 seconds (7.56 minutes) and can carry 2.2 tonnes.

Working on a staged combustion cycle with an integrated turbo-pump, the engine will have 42,000 rotations per minute (rpm). It also has two steering engines developing a thrust of 2 kN each to enable three-axis control of the launch vehicle during the flight mission.

The cryogenic engine will be integrated with propellant tanks, stage structures and associated feed lines of the launch vehicle for the flight mission in April next from the spaceport at Sriharikota, about 80 km north of Chennai.

The central government Friday approved the development of semi-cryogenic engines for space transportation at a cost of Rs.1,798 crore (approx Rs.18 billion) with a foreign exchange component of Rs.588 crore (Rs.5.88 billion).The semi-cryogenic engines will facilitate applications for future space missions like the reusable launch vehicle, the unified launch vehicle and the vehicle for inter-planetary missions.

(With IANS inputs)

New pictures from Chandrayaan 1 : Get them now!

The increase in temperature of Chandrayaan 1 Spacecraft is a slight set back for the mission. But, ISRO is hopeful of overcoming it by Mid-January 2009.

I present to you the latest pictures from Chandrayaan 1:(Click for full view)

Chandrayaan suffers a setback!

India’s maiden unmanned moon mission suffered a setback. The temperature range in the spacecraft is increasing as the space craft is on the sunlit portion of the moon. But, there will be no damage to the space craft. As a result, ISRO cannot use all it’s instruments at the same time.

According to a report in New Scientist, the spacecraft is currently facing external temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius, and cooling systems aim to maintain the spacecraft’s interior at around 40 degrees C.

“It is local summer for the satellite,” Chandrayaan project director Mylswamy Annadurai told New Scientist.

When the craft passes by the dark side of the Moon external temperatures will fall to as low as -100 degrees C.

Still, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working in unknown territory, on its first mission operating outside the Earth’s gravity.

“The thermal environment is very demanding. I think it somewhat surprised ISRO,” observed Paul Spudis, scientist at the Houston-based Lunar and Planetary Institute. “They have ways to mitigate the issue, so I do not see this as a big problem,” he added.

Annadurai said that the spacecraft systems are designed to withstand different temperature ranges depending on their use and exposure to radiation.

For example, solar panels that supply power to the spacecraft can withstand from minus to plus 120 degrees C. Others, like its infrared detector can only handle up to 50 degrees C.

Nine of the 11 instruments on-board Chandrayaan have now been switched on for calibration and simple health checks.

The spacecraft’s temperature is expected to stabilise by the end of December.

Until then, scientists will use one instrument at a time, as required, but will be able to operate all instruments simultaneously by mid-January.

Watch Videos about Chandrayaan on my YouTube Channel

Watch all the Videos about Chandrayaan on my YouTube Channel. To view my YouTube Channel, go to : http://in.youtube.com/user/manirajmj

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Tricolour to be planted on Moon tomorrow!

Moon Impact Probe is all set to be launched to the surface of the moon. Chandrayaan 1 entered it’s operational orbit yesterday. (13/11/2008) Tomorrow, Moon Impact Probe, which has our tricolour painted on it’s side will get detach from Chandrayaan at around 10 pm. Miniature Indian flags are painted on four sides of MIP. It will signify the entry of India on Moon.

During its 20-minute descent to the moon’s surface, MIP will take pictures and transmit these back to the ground. MIP is one of the 11 scientific instruments (payloads) onboard Chandrayaan-1, India’s first unmanned spacecraft mission to Moon launched on October 22.

Developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of Thiruvananthapuram, the primary objective of MIP is to demonstrate the technologies required for landing a probe at the desired location on the moon.

The probe will help qualify some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions. This apart, scientific exploration of the moon at close distance is also intended using MIP.The 29-kg MIP consists of a C-band Radar Altimeter for continuous measurement of altitude of the probe, a video imaging system for acquiring images of the surface of moon from the descending probe and a mass spectrometer for measuring the constituents of extremely thin lunar atmosphere during its 20-minute descent to the lunar surface.From the operational circular orbit of about 100 km height passing over the polar regions of the moon, it is intended to conduct chemical, mineralogical and photo geological mapping of the moon with Chandrayaan-1′s 11 scientific instruments (payloads).

Two of those 11 payloads – Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) and Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) – have already been successfully switched on. TMC has successfully taken the pictures of Earth and the Moon.

After the release of MIP tomorrow, the other scientific instruments would be turned on sequentially leading to the normal phase of the two-year mission.