Tag: GSLV Mark III

A Gadfly’s Perspective on Human Spaceflight

The question about benefits is rhetorical but an instance of holding missions concerned with sending humans to space up to the same scrutiny reserved for other, often less prestigious, expeditions.

Late last year, the Government of India sanctioned Rs 10,000 crore for the country’s first human spaceflight programme, to be fulfilled by 2022. Under this project, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to send three Indian astronauts to low-Earth orbit for a little less than a week and return them safely.

Colloquially called Gaganyaan, the project is part of India’s efforts to portray itself as a global space power or at least place itself at par with China.

Politicians that typically balk when asked to invest in climate-change mitigation or fundamental research jump at the chance to release the purse strings for spaceflight – even if they are of dubious relevance. Case in point: the ‘space command’, which India, China and the US are currently setting up. Indeed, as a result of such showmanship and megalomania, the leaders of these countries are militarising space in earnest. If taken to its logical conclusion, this will further wreck a world already divided along religious, racial, class and caste lines.

Such space projects are useful when demagogues are looking for something to blow their trumpets over, at the expense of asking whether there are any real science outcomes. This is why – especially when governments announce new space initiatives – we need to raise uncomfortable questions about their overall guiding logic and benefits.

One such question is of priorities: is it worth investing in a programme that may not be able to produce any concrete social benefits?

Any large technological programme with massive investment is highly likely to produce marginal benefits, sometimes called spin-offs. Oft-quoted examples include the development of the World Wide Web and the synchrotron — both at CERN, the European lab for research in nuclear physics. Satellite-based space missions have gone beyond that, however, having changed the way we communicate and observe the natural universe in revolutionary ways. ISRO has also made commendable contributions, particularly in light of its humble yet entrepreneurial beginnings in Thumba, a small hamlet near Thiruvananthapuram, in 1963.

Also read: ISRO Doesn’t Have a Satisfactory Answer to Why It Wants to Put Indians in Space

But the potential benefits that could accrue from human spaceflight are not very clear, at least not immediately. Lori Garver, a former deputy administrator of NASA, wrote in The Washington Post earlier this year:

NASA remains one of the most revered and valuable brands in the world, and the agency is at its best when given a purpose. But the public doesn’t understand the purpose of spending massive amounts of money to send a few astronauts to the moon or Mars. Are we in another race, and if so, is this the most valuable display of our scientific and technological leadership? If science is the rationale, we can send robots for pennies on the dollar.

The celebrated physicist Steven Weinberg is also a well-known science communicator. His latest book, Third Thoughts (2018), includes an article he wrote in 2013 in the journal Space Policy. In the article, he rebuts a paper entitled ‘The essential role of human space flight’ published in the same journal. The paper reads:

… should the US and nations at large pursue a human spaceflight program (and if so, why)? I offer an unwavering positive answer … Space exploration is a human activity that is intrinsically forward-looking, and as such, has positive potential. Both national and international space programs can galvanize the population, inspire the youth, foster job-creation, and motivate the existing workforce. The nature of the enterprises involved—their scale, novelty, and complexity—requires a steady and continuous upward progression toward greater societal, scientific and technological development. That is, in order to overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, progress is required. More to the point, the survival of humanity depends on expanding beyond the confines of our planet. Human spaceflight, in short, presents us with an opportunity to significantly advance the nation and the global community.

In his article, Weinberg refutes the key arguments in favour of human spaceflight, saying that space-based observatories like the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) have broadened our understanding of the universe. More recent breakthroughs on the origin and evolution of the universe have all been derived from data generated by these observatories.

The Hubble space telescope also belongs in this league, and its mantle as the most significant space-based observatory will soon be passed on to the James Webb Space Telescope. Additionally, robotic missions – like the Curiosity rover on Mars, the Yutu rover on the Moon, JUNO around Jupiter and the Hayabusa 2 probe at the Ryugu asteroid (not his examples but just as relevant) – are expanding our horizons. Weinberg then asks the same question of human spaceflight: What are its benefits?

Some have said that astronauts’ experiences can inspire others and generates a “certain potential for greatness for the present and future generations”. But Weinberg is dismissive of this aspect: “Manned spaceflight is a spectator sport, which can be exciting for spectators, but this is not the sort of excitement that seems to lead to anything serious.”

The question about benefits is not asked rhetorically but as an instance of holding missions concerned with sending humans to space up to the same scrutiny reserved for other, often less prestigious, expeditions.

In addition, we must also ask what the priorities of our publicly funded space science and technology initiatives are. Sending humans to space without an overarching vision that answers such questions will cost us dearly as a nation.

Consider the US National Academy of Sciences’ decadal strategy for Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS). Such peer-reviewed surveys are notable for sampling the aspirations of the scientific community, enabling larger bodies to build a prioritised programme of science goals that can play a major role in the US. For example, ESAS 2017 declared that NASA should prioritise the study of the global hydrological cycle; the distribution and movement of mass between oceans, ice sheets, groundwater and the atmosphere; and changes in surface biology and geology.

Also read: If ‘Chandrayaan 2 Was a 90-95% Success’ Is the Answer, What’s the Question?

India already has satellites that assist monitor Earth dynamics, including earthquakes, landslides, large-scale groundwater extraction, atmospheric moisture and winds, sea conditions, and its scientists collaborate with agencies that use satellites to study ice-sheets and glaciers. Such observations provide inputs to develop hazard mitigation programmes.

ISRO should focus on such applications, and the science thereof, in a more purposeful manner and fix targets to develop comprehensive Earth observation systems; and on building linkages to higher education centres in the country that could then conduct research based on the data obtained from Earth and planetary observation systems. And it should locate these projects within a list of priorities and a broader scientific agenda that has been justified to the government. It makes more sense to leave human spaceflight, at least when we know a mission-critical part of the 21st century is just beginning, to those with fewer goals on their hands.

C.P. Rajendran is a professor of geodynamics at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru.

ISRO Doesn’t Have a Satisfactory Answer to Why It Wants to Put Indians in Space

ISRO has come a long way in 50 years and needs new goals – but it isn’t freed from the responsibility to define a new vision to go with those goals. Gaganyaan lacks that.

In December 2018, the Government of India okayed the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) human spaceflight mission at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore – and India went ballistic. Many ISRO scientists and engineers are undoubtedly looking forward to the challenge of preparing its launch vehicle for human flight, creating a human-rated capsule and perfecting de-orbiting, ballistic reentry and capsule recovery systems – to name only a few of the critical technologies.

However, these are technical considerations. The question of whether ISRO is up to the technological challenge has been answered many times over with a resounding ‘yes’. The more important question is this: what is the ultimate purpose of India’s human spaceflight mission?

When the late Vikram Sarabhai introduced space activities in India, he had said:

There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society (emphases added).

In modern management jargon, these words were a vision statement. Sarabhai followed them up with what could have been the mission statement:

Our national goals involve leapfrogging from a state of economic backwardness and social disabilities attempting to achieve in a few decades a change which has incidentally taken centuries in other countries and in other lands. This involves innovation at all levels.

Communications, meteorology and navigation

What could one such innovation have been? His example:

A national programme which would provide television to about 80% of India’s population during the next ten years would be of great significance to national integration, for implementing schemes of economic and social development and for the stimulation and promotion of electronic industry. It is of particular significance for population living in isolated rural communities.

So with help from NASA, one of the first innovations that Sarabhai launched was the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE). The technological challenge here was to develop, deploy and maintain direct reception satellite receivers in 2,400 villages across six states.

Why would ISRO want to do this? The idea was to reach the unreached with developmental video programmes for schools and adults in their local languages. They would be broadcast by Indian Earth stations via the ATS-6 satellite loaned to us by NASA for one year.

At the time, ISRO was also working on the INSAT series, the world’s first multifunction satellites. They combined communications, broadcasting and meteorological observations on one bus. The INSAT enabled the explosion of TV coverage in India – from four metropolitan cities to 90% of the country using technology pioneered in SITE, called limited rebroadcasting. Today, INSAT supports DTH, telecommunications, emergency communications and meteorological observations.

Also read: U.R. Rao, ISRO Chairman Who Helped India’s Space Programme Settle Down

In 1969, 50 years ago, at the end of the first UN Conference on the peaceful uses of outer space, Sarabhai said:

When we came to Vienna, we thought that the areas of most immediate practical applications would be communications, meteorology and navigation, in that order. But one of the most striking things to emerge has been appreciation of the great potentiality of remote sensing devices, capable of providing large-scale practical benefits.

Today, India has one of the worlds biggest civilian remote-sensing programmes in the world through its network of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites.

So, with two such leading programmes and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) – renamed NAVIC – addressing the last of the triad of communications, meteorology and navigation, has Sarabhai’s vision of ISRO been completed?

ISRO seems to think so.

Until recently, Sarabhai’s visionary quote was up on the ISRO website but has since been relegated to the page on Sarabhai as its first chairman. Its place has been taken by the following vision statement: “Harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration”.

This new statement reiterates the original vision of Sarabhai in terms of “space based applications for societal development”. As expected, it also reiterates its commitment to the programmes of launchers and communications, remote sensing-and navigation satellite systems. But then it also adds “space science research and planetary exploration”, areas that Sarabhai had excluded in his 1969 statement.

The early-mover advantage

At this point, it is pertinent to remember two aspects of the way ISRO works. The first is that since SITE, ISRO has built an ecosystem of end-user agencies. The idea is that this ecosystem will institutionalise applications of space technology and so achieve the goals of socio-economic development.

Within SITE, Doordarshan was an equal partner producing programmes to be broadcast through satellites. INSAT is overseen by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Department of Telecommunications and the India Meteorology Department. IRS has a similar ecosystem of industries, state and central government departments and academia.

The second aspect is that India has been an early-mover in the application of space technologies, with ISRO as a catalyst. Thus, innovations in both technology and applications marked ISRO’s progress. India’s importance in these endeavours can be gauged by the fact that the very first UN Conference on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE) held in 1968 had Sarabhai, then chairman of the Indian National Committee on Space Research, as its vice-president and scientific chairman.

The second UNISPACE held in 1982 counted Yash Pal as its secretary general, and the third, held in 1999, had U.R. Rao as its president.

Also read: Say ISRO Sends an Indian to Space on an Indian Rocket. What Happens After?

Circling back to Sarabhai’s 1969 statement: while ISRO has been making and flying science satellites, including our first, Aryabhata, our excursions to the Moon, then Mars and now Gaganyaan appear to break from ISRO’s 1969 vision. This is certainly not a problem because, in the last half century, there have been significant advances in space applications for development, and ISRO needs new goals. However, these goals have to be unique and should put ISRO in a lead position – the way its use of space applications for development did.

Given the frugal approach that ISRO follows, Chandrayaan I and the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) did put ISRO ahead of its peers on the technology front, but what of their contribution to science?

Most space scientists are cagey, and go off the record, when asked about what we learnt that we can now share with others and claim pride of place in planetary exploration. Frankly, as an also-ran in this field, ISRO has lost the first-mover advantage like it had in communications and remote-sensing. It now faces a major uphill task to be able to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with. And it is not clear if the cost is worth it.

Gaganyaan has the same issues as Chandrayaan and MOM. While the technology development is a big challenge in the given time-frame, what do we hope to achieve after we have waved the Indian flag from orbit? We did that years ago with Rakesh Sharma and closely missed doing it once again with the loss of the US Space Shuttle Challenger. Moreover, it is moot as to why India did not join the International Space Station programme if it was also committed to an ‘Indian in space’ programme.

Continuity of purpose

While there exists a fledgling ecosystem for data analysis in the space sciences and, therefore, presumably for planetary exploration, there does not appear to be a similar ecosystem for human spaceflight to build on the mission itself. And the issue with building such an ecosystem lies in the one-off approach that ISRO has adopted to both planetary exploration and ‘humans in space’. There is no vision that spells out our long-term goals the way Sarabhai had in 1969, when ISRO was born.

When India set up its first Antarctic station, there was an unstated goal in the minds of those involved that if and when the Antarctic Treaty lapsed India – by virtue of its continued presence – will have a claim to the region’s resources. As a result, Dakshin Gangotri was followed by Dakshin Gangotri 2. There is also an Antarctic Centre in Goa to oversee the research as well as India’s continued presence on the continent.

India needs to define a similar continuity of purpose for its planetary exploration and human spaceflight programmes.

The docudrama Mars, aired recently on National Geographic, showed that colonising the red planet has to be a global, intergovernmental effort backed by deep pockets and close industry participation. The film highlights the pitfalls of such an effort. So could this be an area where India – through its humans in space – could establish a lead role?

It is possible. But without a vision and longer term thinking, Gaganyaan is just a flag-waving exercise and goes directly against ISRO’s ethos, at least as Sarabhai defined them half a century ago.

Arup Dasgupta is the managing editor of Geospatial World and former deputy director of the Space Applications Centre, ISRO.

ISRO Gears Up for Next Mk III Launch

The launch will mark ISRO’s fifth launch of the year and the second orbital test flight of the GSLV Mk III rocket.

At 5:08 pm today, India will continue its latest chapter in its spaceflight programme with the launch of the GSLV Mk III rocket carrying the GSAT-29 communication satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

The launch of the communication satellite will mark the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) fifth launch of the year and will be the second test flight of the Mk III rocket, ISRO’s heaviest. The vehicle is capable of lifting four-tonne satellites into the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

The GSAT-29 communications satellite carries high throughput communication transponders in the Ka and Ku bands. They will expand high-speed data transfer in remote areas, including over difficult terrain, including in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. The satellite has a planned operational life of over 10 years.

Also read: After GSLV Mk III Cruises to Success, ISRO Is Back to Its Hectic Schedule

The launch was originally slated for 5:08 am but was subsequently postponed by 12 hours to avoid being disrupted by Cyclone Gaja. Gaja was previously expected to make landfall between Chennai and Sriharikota, but it has since changed course. The 27-hour countdown began at 2:50 pm on Tuesday.

K. Sivan, the chairman of ISRO, said the Wednesday launch was among the “very important missions and a milestone” for India’s space programme. If the mission is a success, the GSLV class of rockets will be declared operational and join the PSLV.

However, the GSLV is far from establishing the same reliability as the PSLV rockets have. More successful launches over a larger time frame will be necessary to achieve that.

In the meantime, ISRO is also building a rocket to launch small satellites and capitalise on the booming small-sats market. The unsurprisingly named SSLV – ‘small satellite launch vehicle’ – is expected to be ready by the decade’s close.

On the other hand, the GSLV is a behemoth reserved for large satellites. And the Mk III, although only 43.5 metres tall, has a liftoff mass of 641 tonnes and is ISRO’s most muscular launch vehicle to date. The PSLV itself stands 44 metres.

It has twice the payload capacity as the Mk II version. But for the similar names, the Mk II and Mk III are of different design and use different kinds of cryogenic engines for their respective upper stages.

The Mk III “is powered by two S200 solid motors, one L110 liquid core stage and a powerful liquid cryogenic stage, C25,” Sivan said. The Mk II uses the CE 7.5 engine. The basic principle of all cryogenic engines is that they generate higher thrust by using liquid hydrogen as fuel.

Following liftoff, the rocket’s uppermost stage is expected to inject the satellite into the highly elliptical transfer orbit, at an altitude of 35,975 km. From there, the satellite will use its inbuilt propulsion system to move itself to the geostationary orbit, at 36,000 km.

Also read: GSLV Gyan: Why Experts Think the Mk III Is a Big Deal for ISRO and India

As The Wire has previously reported, eight ISRO satellites launched onboard Ariane rockets between 2005 and 2016 cost the organisation almost Rs 4,200 crore. Rockets like the Mk II and Mk III are expected to help reduce these expenditures.

A successful launch will also pave the way for producing more advanced satellites, Sivan said. “This vehicle is going to launch the Chandrayaan-II and also the manned mission. We are getting prepared for that.”

In 2014, the first successful flight of GSLV Mk III went off without a hitch when it carried a crew module as its payload. The second flight lifted GSAT-19 to orbit on June 5, 2017.

Success will also provide ISRO with some much needed encouragement: the organisation lost access to the GSAT-6A satellite in March after only a day in space and the GSAT-11 satellite had to be recalled from its launch in French Guyana to fix some issues that had been overlooked during testing.

(With inputs from PTI)

ISRO To Launch SAARC Satellite in March 2017

Narendra Modi, during the SAARC summit in Nepal in November 2014, had announced launching of a SAARC satellite as a gift for the benefit of members of the regional grouping in various fields, including telecommunication and telemedicine.

Representational image. Credit: ISRO

Representational image. Credit: ISRO

India’s ambitious South Asian satellite, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the benefit of SAARC members, will be launched in March next year, ISRO Chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar said on Tuesday. The satellite was originally scheduled to be launched in December. “SAARC satellite will be launched in March,” he told reporters.

Modi, during the SAARC summit in Nepal in November 2014, had announced launching of a SAARC satellite as a gift for the benefit of members of the regional grouping in various fields, including telecommunication and telemedicine.

Since Pakistan has ‘opted out’ of the project, it is now being called the South Asian satellite.

India had held deliberations with experts from other SAARC countries to finalise modalities for the satellite exclusively for the regional grouping.

On GSLV Mark III that is likely to be launched in December, the ISRO chairman said preparations were on in “full swing”.

“We have started the assembly for the launch in Sriharikota. So we are working towards making it happen as early as possible and are targeting for launch by December end.”

The rocket programme is crucial for ISRO as it would help the country launch satellites weighing around four tonnes.

To a question about plans to improve manpower and infrastructure facilities, he said. “We need to do more work [which] means we need to have more hands.”

On the third launch pad, the ISRO chief said it was necessary to make sure that the existing facility was being fully utilised.

Earlier, he addressed around 1,000 sportspersons drawn from 14 ISRO centres who are participating in the inter-centre sports meet, saying such activities helped to break barriers and reinvigorate mentally and physically, besides improving team work.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director Dr K. Sivan was also present.

ISRO Likely to Miss Deadline For South Asian Satellite Project

The delay in the South Asian satellite also comes at a time when SAARC’s annual summit in Islamabad has been called off following escalation of tension between India and Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious South Asian satellite project, announced two years ago, is likely to miss the December deadline as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch GSLV Mark III that month.

“ISRO has been launching at least one satellite every month, so our calendar is perennially packed and at this point of time it looks difficult to launch the South Asian satellite in December. It could get delayed by a month,” a senior official said.

Launching of GSLV Mark III will be a crucial development in the country’s space history. The launch vehicle is likely to be sent in the space by December end.

“Work on GSLV Mark III is in progress, but the date for the launch is yet to be arrived at. The project will help ISRO launch satellites weighing around four tonnes,” ISRO chairman and department of space secretary A.S. Kirankumar told PTI.

ISRO currently has the capability of launching satellites weighing up to 2.2 tonnes.

It has launched two satellites in September, and it is expected that October will also see launch of two more satellites. On August 28, it conducted the first experimental mission of Scramjet Engine.

The delay in the South Asian satellite also comes at a time when the regional grouping’s annual summit in Islamabad has been called off, following the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

“We are working on the South Asian satellite project, but no date for launch has been finalised,” Kirankumar said.

Modi, during the regional bloc’s 2014 summit in Kathmandu, had announced the launch of a SAARC satellite as a ‘gift’ to its neighbours in order to expand information sharing and connectivity within the region.

SAARC had come into being on December 8, 1985 and the initial plan was to operationalise the satellite in December this year.

However, Pakistan opposed the move and demanded that the satellite be brought under the ambit of the grouping. This was unacceptable to India. The name was later changed to South Asian satellite.

Barring Afghanistan and Pakistan, all other SAARC countries have given their go-ahead to the project.