Indian Military News

India crosses new frontiers in space
By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - India's space initiatives recently took a big step forward. The achievements were somewhat overshadowed by Beijing's confirmation that it had successfully shot down one of its own satellites with a missile, launching itself into a select club that comprised US and Russia until now and sparking talk about an arms race in space.

India's non-military efforts in space took a leap with the recent launch of the 44.4-meter-tall, four-stage Polar Satellite Launch



Vehicle (PSLV) carrying four satellites for the first time.

This success more than made up for the failure of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) last July 10 designed to launch heavy payloads. The GSLV burst into flames and set back India's quest to garner a portion of the US$2 billion satellite-launch market.

India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), unlike most other government-managed programs, has an otherwise impeccable record of progress, despite international sanctions that have required that it depend largely on domestic technology.

Of particular interest this time was the study of technologies connected with the reusable launch vehicle (RLV) via the 550-kilogram space-capsule recovery experiment (SRE), which has the potential to attract more countries to launch their satellites from India because of lower costs.

The RLV was successfully recovered (re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and landing on Earth) this week, after remaining in space for 11 days.

Space agency Chairman G Madhavan Nair termed as "fantastic" the splashdown of satellite SRE-I into the waters of the Bay of Bengal. He called it "a technological breakthrough as far as the country is concerned".

He said the recovery was a "big boost" to India mastering re-entry and recoverable technologies and building a reusable launch vehicle. Nair said, "This is a humble step towards sending an Indian into space.

"Sending a satellite into space is comparatively easy as the difficulties are known. Everything was unknown in bringing back a satellite from orbit. The satellite had a speed of 28,000km/h. We had to brake its orbit. We had to steer it. Its orbit-raising took place over the Pacific Ocean, then it traveled over the Pole, and then it passed Lucknow and Sriharikota. Its navigation, guidance, control and above all the thermal management for its re-entry had to work.''

Unlike traditional rockets, which can be used only once, the recovery launch vehicle, as the name implies, can be launched a number of times, thus cutting launch costs by a good margin. Currently it costs between $12,000 and $15,000 to place a kilogram of payload in orbit. Once the RLV is operational, this figure could decrease substantially.

The first technology-demonstrator RLV flight is scheduled for 2008-09. More flights could increase the space agency's commercial options.

The United States' space shuttle had its maiden flight on April 12, 1981. Despite its technological achievements, it proved an economic disaster. There are currently four shuttles, which will be phased out by 2010.

ISRO officials say that the Indian RLV will be much better than the US shuttle as it will have new and enhanced safety features. Two US space shuttles have exploded or disintegrated in flight, killing their crews.

Indeed, space business is a frontier that India wants to tap. The country is looking to embark on its first fully commercial satellite launch by lifting the Italian satellite Agile into outer space aboard the workhorse PSLV-C8 in March or April. The launch reportedly will cost $10 million.

According to Nair, India's launch vehicles are cost-effective and thus competitive. ''It will be a great opportunity for us if we can capture at least 10% in the launch business,'' he has said.

India may also launch Russian satellites for a global navigational system this year. ISRO is also slated to send an Indonesian micro-satellite into space this year.

Many feel that the time is ripe for India to embark on a government-led campaign to win launch orders from other countries by putting competitive bids, especially to developing countries.

India is looking to follow the lead taken by China, which joined hands with Brazil and won an order in 2004 to build and launch a communications satellite for Nigeria. Russia, the US and Europe continue to lead the world in space launches, followed by China.

India is also looking for more cooperation with the US, which has partnered with it in many space endeavors going back to 1963, when an Indian atmospheric experiment was carried on a US-made rocket. However, progress has been hobbled by the inter-linking of India's missile, space and nuclear programs and the sanctions that have accompanied India's nuclear tests.

However, the restrictions have been eased over the years as relations between the two countries have improved. Last year, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO signed an agreement to fly two US lunar-mapping instruments on India's first unmanned mission to orbit the moon, scheduled for early next year.

The agency has already developed two categories of rockets - the PSLV, designed for Earth observation and scientific missions such as remote sensing satellites, and Chandrayaan, for the moon mission.

The latest remote sensing satellite Cartosat-1 joined what is already the world's largest cluster of non-military remote sensing satellites. Six Indian spacecraft are already observing the Earth with a wide range of instruments.

However, the Indian launch vehicles are not yet powerful enough for India's heaviest communication satellites, which have been launched on Europe's Ariane. ISRO is looking to be self-sufficient in this sector from 2008, though the failure of the GSLV last year will delay plans.

The INSAT (Indian National Satellite) series of satellites has given 90% of the population access to satellite television besides building a distant-learning network.

India's ability to launch a human in space is, however, still a decade away, say scientists.

Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.

(Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

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BLUEJACKET said:

I wonder if we will ever see Indians, Russians and Chinese crew members on the same spacecraft together?

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India Times said:

IANS[ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2007 10:40:37 AM]

NEW DELHI: The race for an Indian Air Force (IAF) order for 126 combat jets just got hotter, with US aerospace major Boeing offering to jointly produce the frontline F-18 Super Hornet in India if it wins the contract.
"In the F-18, we have arguably the most advanced fighter in the world. If we win the contract, we offer the opportunity of entering into a joint production arrangement with an Indian defence contractor," Said Chris Chadwik, Boeing Vice President and General Manager, Global Strike Systems.

"Clearly, there is very strong competition but we believe we are positioned very strongly," he added.

Should the deal come through, India will be the first country outside the US where the F-18 is produced. It will also be the first time Indian companies will be able to participate in the production of a US fighter. India's premier Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) currently produces the Sukhoi Su-30 and MiG-series of Russian jets, as also the British Jaguar.

According to Brian Nelson, who heads the international communications wing of Boeing Integrated Defence Systems (IDS) that manufactures the F-18, an IAF order would mean the first eight aircraft would be shipped off-the-shelf and the remaining jointly produced in India.

Toward this end, Boeing would be aggressively positioning the F-18 at the upcoming Aero India 2007 international air show at Bangalore Feb 7-11, with one aircraft performing aerial manoeuvres and another on static display.

...

"We view this (Aero India) as the start of a journey to establish a real and lasting relationship with (the) Indian (defence) industry to fulfil their requirements," Chadwik pointed out.

"We see more and more involvement in the defence sphere as India will get to see Boeing as a friend to create business opportunities. We see opportunities for long-term business relationships.

"A decade down, when we look back, we will be able to see the good opportunities that have been created," Chadwik added.

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