INDIA'S BIG LEAP IN SPACE
Lalit Sethi *
India has taken one
more big leap in space. May 8, 2003 was a date with a milestone:
a 1,800 kilogram satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, and in one thousand
seconds after 4.58 p.m. the communications satellite was in orbit.
It is stationed at 36,000 km above the earth. This is a significant
move in crossing new frontiers of science with India’s own capabilities.
As the satellite separated from the launch vehicle, the mission
had succeeded and the scientists led by the Chairman of the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO), Dr K.Kasturirangan, were jubilant.
Their tense days and weeks and months of preparation had been
rewarded with success. This was their 13th success in 24 years
since August 1979. In these years, the first mission was partially
successful and three subsequent efforts were abortive. But an
80 per cent success rate is something to be proud of. In the past
nine years all the nine missions crossed every hurdle to come
up with flying colours. The latest satellite is expected to boost
the broadband needed for the growing communications needs of the
country and speed them up as well as facilitate broadcasting to
a greater extent.
This is part of the
25 year space vision which has already been unveiled. Having achieved
self-sufficiency in the fabrication of satellites, India is now
nearing full self-reliance in launching capabilities. Exclusive
satellites for different services is the primary objective of
the vision.
The Prime Minister,
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, complimented the scientists and announced
in Parliament in the middle of his speech during a debate: "Just
a few minutes ago, the experimental communications satellite,
GSAT 2, was injected precisely into its planned geo-synchronous
transfer orbit. This is a matter of great pride for all Indians.
I am sure the House would join me in congratulating all the personnel
of the Indian Space Research Organisation and its associated research
laboratories and industrial units for reaching yet another landmark
in space".
An Indian cryogenic
engine is undergoing successful trials at the Liquid Propulsion
Centre in Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu and would be ready in two
years. With this India would attain full self-sufficiency in launching
heavy satellites like the IRS with its own time-tested PSLV. Edusat,
the exclusive satellite for enhancing literacy, is proposed to
be launched in two years to boost the ambitious distance education
programme. Insat 3A and Insat 3E are to be launched soon. Nine
satellites and six launch vehicle missions are proposed in the
next two years. Insat 3B and 3C are already in orbit. Insat 3D
is in an advanced stage of development and work on Insat 4 series
is now under way. Metsat, meant for exclusive meteorological services,
has been flight-tested and is due to be launched in the current
year.
Experts have described
the GSLV launch as a "textbook precision" work. It was
watched by a large number of people from the terraces of the Sriharikota
facility and for them it was a fantastic sight, an unmanned entry
into space, raising new hopes of Indians’ journeys into space
in the near future. The 49 metre long three stage vehicle weighing
414 tons lifted off with a loud roar. But soon afterwards the
satellite separated from the launch vehicle. For Dr Kasturirangan
and his team it was a "proud technological achievement".
The ISRO Chairman said the next step would be to launch a 2,000
kg satellite with GSLV capability. The present launch was done
with the Russian-made cryogenic engines but by the end of the
decade or earlier an Indian cryo engine would be ready.
Five more satellites
are due to be launched in the years to come. The cryo stage is
an important key in the whole process and it separated "beautifully
and it hit the bull’s eye". This has given the Indian apace
scientists a lot of confidence for the new work in hand. Ground
monitoring stations in Canada and Italy, besides Beijing, are
picking up signals from the satellite. The complete telemetry
and tracking of the GSLV from lift off to satellite injection
was supported by four Indian ground stations, besides down range
stations at Port Blair, Brunei and Biak in Indonesia. The master
control facility at Hassan in Karnataka is now monitoring the
satellite. The first GSLV D1, launched in April 2001, was 1540
kg in weight and the latest one is 260 kg heavier. The new one
seeks to revalidate the different systems of the vehicle. Improvements
made since the first launch vehicle are a step forward in the
operation of the GSLV systems. Measuring 9.55 metres in length
in its final orbit configuration, GSAT 2 carries four C band transponders
and two Ku band transponders and a mobile satellite service (MSS)
payload operating in S band. All these will partially meet India’s
growing communication and TV needs and promote self-sufficiency
up to a point and be put to commercial use. About 150 public and
private sector industries were engaged in building most of the
components and hardware of the GSLV. Even though the cryogenic
upper stage was supplied by Russia, the complex electronics systems
that control the functioning of the satellite were developed by
ISRO. The master control facility at Hassan is carrying out manoeuvres
to place the satellite in its space slot besides testing the systems
on board. The satellite continues to function normally.
The Minister of Science
and Technology, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, says that we have proved
to the world that India is second to none in technology. The day
is not far when "we will be launching our INSATs with GSLV
from Sriharikota." How has all this been achieved? The scientists
say that this has been done by "enhanced propellant loading
in core and solid motor; high pressure engine in liquid propellant
strap-ons in the second stage; and by optimising structural elements".
They will monitor radiation doses in the satellite with a sensitive
transistor, besides studying solar flare emissions by using semiconductor
devices as well as environment in the vicinity of the spacecraft.
Several aspects of equatorial electrodynamics will be investigated.
India is already
into space commercialisation in a small way with the launch of
Belgian, German and Korean satellites in the polar orbit with
PSLV. Altogether it has put five foreign satellites in the orbit
and a sixth one from Singapore is expected to be launched soon.
* Science Journalist
