News Analysis India

Tag: ISRO

  • Former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan welcomes retired IPS officer RB Sreekumar’s arrest

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Expressing satisfaction over the arrest of former IPS officer RB Sreekumar by Gujarat Police on Saturday, former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan said that action had been taken against the retired police official for “fabricating stories and trying to sensationalise them” and “it is exactly what he did in my case also” over the 1994 ISRO espionage case.

    Former Gujarat DGP RB Sreekumar was arrested by Gujarat Police on Saturday, a day after Supreme Court ruling on June 24 which upheld the clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a Gujarat court in the 2002 riots case.

    Speaking to ANI over the phone, Narayanan said that the former officer was “crossing all limits of decency” and “there is limit to everything”.

    “I came to know that he was arrested today for keeping on fabricating stories and trying to sensationalise them, there was a charge against him. It is exactly what he did in my case also. But our system is such that anybody can say any loose statement and get away with it. This is what some responsible people at bigger positions also keep on doing,” Narayanan said.

    “Now that it is shown by Supreme Court that you can’t do it anymore. So they must be behind the docks. That way, I am very happy to know that he is being arrested because there is a limit for everything. I think he is crossing all the limits in terms of decency, in terms of judicial prudence,” he added.

    Narayanan accused Sreekumar of making false statements about him. “I personally feel whatever he is charged with is applicable to my case also. One day he will say that I am corrupt. It has nothing to do with the case, it is closed. But again he will say, he will bring someone else to say this. This is what he has kept on doing. Now I hope that he will stop doing that. He should also be punished for that,” he alleged.

    Narayanan said no one should be allowed to take advantage of loopholes of law. “When he was arrested I was very happy because he will keep on doing this kind of mischief all the time, there must be an end to such a thing. That is why I said, I am very happy. Same thing applies to me in all respects,” he said.

    “He will keep on telling something. He will make use of the loopholes of the law and then try to play his cards in such a manner so that you get fed up and run away. So that whatever he is saying becomes true. This is what he has been doing with so many cases. I want to make it clear, this is not on,” he added.

    The CBI had moved Supreme Court against the Kerala High Court order of August 2021 granting anticipatory bail to four persons including Sreekumar in a case relating to the alleged framing of Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage matter.

    The high court had granted anticipatory bail to Sreekumar and two former police officers of Kerala and a retired intelligence official in connection with the case.

    Nambi Narayanan and another former ISRO scientist had in August last year told CBI team probing the ISRO conspiracy case that they were subjected to “mental and physical torture” by former Kerala police and Intelligence Bureau officers. Sreekumar was then the Deputy Director of the Intelligence Bureau.

  • Indo-US joint space mission satellite to come to India soon

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: The payload integration of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) joint space mission, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, has been completed and set to undergo testing soon, Dr Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the NASA Science Mission Director, said here on Wednesday.

    The joint mission, whose aim to is be an earth observation satellite, has been years in the making and has a tentative launch date some time in 2023. When launched and in operation, NISAR will be the first radar imaging satellite using dual frequencies, and will be used for remote sensing to observe natural processes on Earth — including natural disasters and ones occurring due to climate change or natural disturbances. The satellite developed at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion is also set to be the world’s most expensive earth-imaging satellite.

    The key point for the mission is that data collected will be available within hours of natural disasters occurring to help provide information for disaster management among other uses. With payload integration completed for the satellite and testing to be done soon in the US, the complete machinery will be sent to India later this year to be integrated with ISRO’s Geotationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark- II, which will launch the satellite into space.

    “The main goal is to be able to distribute the data we get directly to the people, so that there can be direct and on-ground applications that the mission helps,” Dr Karen St Germain, director of the Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate at NASA, told TNIE. Dr St Germain and Dr Zurbuchen were speaking at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, on Wednesday.

  • ISRO taking help of doctors in developing human-rated spacecraft for Gaganyaan mission

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation is taking help of doctors in building its human-rated spacecraft for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human spaceflight that aims to take astronauts into a low earth orbit.

    The ISRO has roped in doctors to understand the impact of the spaceflight on humans and will design the spacecraft accordingly.

    The astronauts selected for the mission have also been involved in making of the orbital module. “There are four astronauts who are part of Gaganyaan. We talk to them. They sit in a cockpit. We ask them to go through this and tell us whether the placing of equipment is correct, whether the lighting is correct or whether the edges are causing discomfort,” ISRO Chairman S Somnath said during a brainstorming session with health experts on the use of space technology in emergency medical services.

    Somanth said scientists at the ISRO were developing the human-rated spacecraft.

    “We also look at various measures of quality to increase the reliability and finally to prove the redundancy,” Somnath said, adding that space agencies the world over, including ISRO, have imbibed developing failsafe systems as a culture.

    “We are also looking at how doctors can connect with the human spacecraft design. There is an interaction happening with doctors and engineers on the designing of the human spacecraft. If you have to conduct a successful human space flight and sustain it in India, we need a strong pool of doctors who will get involved in this human spaceflight mission as well,” he said.

    Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that the first unmanned mission in the Gaganyaan series was expected to be launched next year. This would be followed by another unmanned mission, before Indian astronauts board the spacecraft for a sojourn in a low earth orbit.

    According to a senior ISRO official, a human-rated spacecraft should be able to accommodate the crew as if they are living in normal acceptable conditions and they should be able to perform various activities during their stay.

    The engineers have to design the spacecraft by identifying potential hazards and developing systems to control such happenings. The spacecraft also should have the facility to safely recover the crew from any hazardous situation.

  • ISRO successfully tests large human-rated solid rocket booster for Gaganyaan mission

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation on Monday successfully completed the static test of a human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) for the Gaganyaan programme at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

    The HS200 is the human-rated version of the S200 rocket booster of satellite launch vehicle GSLV Mk III, popularly known as LVM3, the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency noted in a statement.

    “The successful completion of this test marks a major milestone for the prestigious human space flight mission of ISRO, the Gaganyaan, as the first stage of the launch vehicle is tested for its performance for the full duration,” it said.

    The event was witnessed by ISRO Chairman and Secretary in the Department of Space, S Somanath, and Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) S Unnikrishnan Nair along with other ISRO scientists.

    The design and development of the HS200 booster were completed at VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram and propellant casting was completed at SDSC, Sriharikota.

    The S200 motor, which is the first stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle intended for launching a 4,000 kg class satellite to the geosynchronous transfer orbit, was configured as a strap-on rocket booster.

    Based on the successful launch pedigree of this launch vehicle including the Chandrayaan mission, the LVM3 has been identified as the launcher for the Gaganyaan mission.

    For the manned space mission, LVM3 launch vehicle underwent improvements stipulated by the requirements of human rating, it was stated.

    Accordingly, a host of design improvements aimed at increasing the safety and reliability of various systems were implemented in the S200 booster like all other systems.

    These include additional safety features for motor case joints, robust insulation and ignition systems.

    The control system used in this booster employs one of the world’s most powerful electro-mechanical actuators with multiple redundancies and safety features, ISRO said.

    The system is indigenously designed and developed by ISRO in participation with various industries spread across the country.

    “Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, ISRO could complete the entire design, development, realisation and testing process within a short span of two years,” the statement said.

    The HS200 booster loaded with 203 tonnes of solid propellant was tested for a duration of 135 seconds.

    The 20-metre long and 3.2 m diameter booster is the world’s second-largest operational booster with solid propellant, it said.

    During the test, about 700 parameters were monitored and the performance of all the systems was normal, the space agency further said.

    “With the successful completion of this test, ISRO marches one more step closer to Gaganyaan Programme,” it said.

    Out of the three propulsion stages of LVM3, the human-rated versions of the second-stage known as L110-G loaded with liquid propellant and the third stage C25-G with cryogenic propellant are in the final phase of qualification, including tests with static firing.

    “Gaganyaan programme, the most prestigious scientific endeavour of India, is steadily progressing towards its final goal of taking an Indian to space and bringing him safely back,” ISRO added.

  • After Moon and Mars, ISRO eyes budget Venus trip

    By Express News Service

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Space Research Organisation has a history of stunning the world by conducting space missions at incredibly low costs. In line with this legacy, the ISRO has now set its eyes on Venus expedition at a trifling cost of Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. 

    “The cost will depend on the extend of instrumentation. If you put a lot of payload instruments, the cost will naturally go up,”  said ISRO chairman S Somanath on Friday.

    While international space agencies like NASA spends huge amounts on space missions, the ISRO opts for budget missions. ISRO’s Chandrayan-1 was a budget spaceship built at a cost of only Rs 386 crore. The Chandrayaan-2 mission cost Rs 603 crore while its launch was made at Rs 367 crore.

    Speaking to media on the sidelines of a national conference on Aerospace Quality and Reliability here, the ISRO chief said the agency is in the process of approaching the Union government seeking approval for the mission. 

    Responding to questions, he said the schedule for Chandrayan-3 is yet to be fixed. The ISRO, after its Moon and Mars missions, is now looking at a Venus mission. Even as there are reports that the ISRO has been eyeing a December 2024 window for launching the Venus mission, Somanath said the schedule hasn’t been finalised yet. It would be announced only after final clearance by the Union government.The ISRO has been making efforts to ensure that it would be a unique mission. “We have to be careful with expensive missions of this nature,  he said. 

     It’s not mere fancy for work: ISRO chairman

    “It’s not mere fancy for work that we want to do a Venus mission. We do it for the unique identity that this mission will create amongst all the Venus missions that are likely to happen in future. That’s the goal,” said Somanath, adding  the mission would generate a lot of data than can be utilised by scientists. Though the schedule has not been announced yet, the ISRO is ready with the preparatory stages. “The technology definition, the work package, schedule, procurement — all these are ready. But then it has to go to the government, which will analyse it and has to finally approve the same,” he said. He said Chandrayan 3 is now going through testing stages including navigation, instrumentation and ground simulations. However no schedule has been fixed. 

  • Maharashtra independent MP Navneet Rana, ISRO chairman S Somanath get CISF cover

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Member of Parliament, Navneet Rana, and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath were accorded armed VIP security cover by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), sources said.

    Rana was provided ‘Y’ category all India security cover on April 14 while Somnath was accorded ‘Y+’ category all India security cover on April 18. Both Rana and Somnath were provided Central security cover after a threat analysis by the Ministry of Home Affairs in its recent VIP security meet.

    Rana, a former Indian actress who mainly acted in Telugu cinema, is an elected Member of Parliament from Amravati in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate.

    Eminent aerospace engineer and rocket scientist Somanath, who also holds charge of secretary of the Department of Space for a joint tenure of three years, recently succeeded Kailasavadivoo Sivan as the new ISRO chairman.

    Somanath is an expert in a host of disciplines including launch vehicle design. He has specialised in Launch Vehicle Systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, integration designs and procedures, mechanism design, and pyrotechnics.

  • ISRO chairman Somanath, Maharashtra MP Navneet Rana given VIP security cover by Centre

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra MP Navneet Rana and ISRO chairman S Somanath have been provided a central armed VIP security cover by the Union government, officials said on Friday.

    The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) accorded the security cover last week to the two after accepting separate recommendations of central intelligence agencies that favoured armed security of paramilitary commandos to them in view of possible security threats to them.

    Navneet Rana, a member of Lok Sabha from the Amravati seat of Maharashtra, has been accorded ‘Y’ category central cover that would entail about three to four armed commandos of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to move with her, they said.

    On Friday, the Mumbai police issued a notice to her and her MLA husband Ravi Rana, asking them not to disrupt the law and order situation as they plan to recite ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence here on April 23.

    The lawmaker couple is known to have an unofficial understanding with the BJP.

    Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath has also been accorded a ‘Y+’ category security cover.

    The rocket scientist will have about four to six armed commandos round-the-clock with him whenever he travels to any part of the country, officials said.

    The CISF, that has traditionally provided proximate security to previous ISRO chiefs and also guards the main complex of the institution in Bengaluru, has been tasked with the job.

    Somanath, who played a key role in developing the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III, or GSLV Mk III, was appointed the ISRO chief in January this year by the central government.

    Before the current assignment, he was the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

  • Leaky valve, low pressure in propellant tank led to GSLV failure in August 2021: ISRO

    ISRO found that the GISAT-1 mission failed owing to damage in the soft seal in a critical valve which resulted in lower pressure in the rocket's liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank.

  • ISRO conducts ground testing of solid booster stage for SSLV

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The ground testing of the newly-developed solid booster stage (SS1) for the new launch vehicle of ISRO — Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) — was carried out on Monday at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

    All the propulsion parameters during the test are found satisfactory and closely matching with the predictions, the Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO said in a statement.

    SS1 motor is a three-segmented solid propulsion stage incorporating many new technologies and innovative processes that includes bond-free joint between the segments, high-power electro mechanical actuator with digital control electronics, optimised ignitor and simultaneous propellant casting of all segments, which have been successfully validated in the ground test, according to ISRO.

    “The successful test of solid booster stage has given sufficient confidence to proceed with the first developmental flight of SSLV (SSLV-D1) which is scheduled in May 2022. The remaining stages of SSLV — SS2 & SS3 stages — have successfully undergone necessary ground tests and are ready for integration,” the statement said.

  • DRDO-developed monolithic microwave integrated circuits on board EOS04 satellite

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Monolithic microwave integrated circuits developed by the DRDO are on board the EOS04 satellite launched on February 14 by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Defence Ministry stated on Friday.

    The circuits have been used in radar imaging modules of the satellite, the ministry said in a statement.

    “The use of indigenously designed and developed MMICs (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits ) is an important step towards Atmanibhar Bharat,” it said.

    The satellite is designed to provide high-quality images for applications such as forestry, agriculture, hydrology, soil moisture and flood mapping.