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| Indian space program | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 24 2012, 06:57 PM (773 Views) | |
| gary oldman | Jul 24 2012, 06:57 PM Post #1 |
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Mission possible After the resounding success of Chandrayaan-I, India is on the path of sending a human space mission B N Suresh & S Unnikrishnan Nair WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE Soviet-made artificial satellite Sputnik 1 way back in 1957, a new age was born that of space. It changed the way how space was viewed and also helped mankind on Earth. The utilisation of space helped save lives by issuing warnings on natural disasters, provided access to medicine, weather forecasting, geospatial information and helped in agriculture and natural resource management. Today, space systems allow people and governments around the world to see with clarity, communicate with certainty, navigate with accuracy and operate with assurance. While space technologies have immensely helped to find solutions to many of the problems faced by a common man, all space-faring countries strongly believe that the human space flight is the next logical step in the space exploration. Everywhere the desire is to build systems which are affordable, possibly with commercial participation and embark on a clearly defined programme of human exploration beyond earth orbit. Manned or robotic missions? Questions have often been asked on the need for human spaceflight when much can be accomplished with robotic missions. There are definite advantages of having astronauts in space rather than utilising unmanned machines alone for space exploration. The adaptability and dexterity of humans allow better capability in dealing with the unpredictable. Astronauts can make on the spot value judgments to determine the most effective ideas for exploration. This advanced perception will facilitate unforeseen breakthroughs, particularly on the Moon, Mars and other interplanetary missions, as well as in space-based zero ‘g’ laboratory. An astronaut can weigh relative values, reacting intelligently to the unexpected. He can also exhibit innovative technical skills in maintenance of equipment. Machines can only do what they are programmed to do, and lack novelty. Human space exploration would provide more selective and higher quality information than unmanned space probes. At this juncture a right combination of robotic and human space explorations seems to be the judicious choice. Benefits of a human spaceflight Scientific and technological benefits Human spaceflight is a technological challenge. Many cutting-edge technologies will be mastered and perfected during the course of the programme and these will find multiple applications. For example, telemedicine systems developed for astronauts find extensive application in providing high-quality medical care on Earth. Biotelemetry, used during the manned space programmes to monitor the medical parameters of astronauts, has found many applications in remote medical monitoring, remote medical treatment and development of miniature medical equipment. Countermeasures for space adaptation and alleviation of sickness will become increasingly relevant when long duration missions are undertaken. Another important area is microgravity research. The prime focus of majority of micro-g experiments, with proprietary tag attached to them, includes areas which are of utmost significance to humankind, yielding very high returns from space processing. The areas of “focussed micro-g processing” include development of life-saving drugs, targeted drug delivery devices for cancer and resistant infections, tissue/organ constructs, separation of biological cells for transplantation, materials science, fluid physics, life sciences and critical knowledge on the phenomenon of combustion. Planetary exploration is another area which is under focus now. The developments on Earth without much concern to ecology and environment are posing questions on sustainability. It is believed that human species will migrate to other planets, set up permanent/ quasi-independent space colonies, as the resources on Earth are depleting very fast and the environment is becoming more and more hostile for species survival. The defence against Earth crossing asteroids and comets is another area of concern. Human spaceflight missions will equip us to develop technologies needed for species survival in other parts of the solar system. Investment for future generations The expenditure on human space programme is to be considered as an investment for future generations and the benefits are to be viewed with a long-term perspective. The many intangible benefits cannot be easily quantified only in financial terms. Energy requirements are galloping at a fast pace. Fossil fuel is fast depleting and apart from harnessing non-conventional energy sources like solar, wind and tidal power, we need to search for alternate sources of energy. Recent discoveries have proved the existence of fuels and other sources of energy in celestial bodies of the solar system, e.g. Helium-3 on Moon, Magnesium, Cobalt and Uranium on Mars, Gold on asteroids etc. Helium-3 can provide cheap, non-toxic, non-radioactive energy by a fusion reaction. Another possibility, to meet the rising energy demands on Earth is by harnessing solar energy available in space. The investment by Indian industries on human spaceflight programme will have a beneficial multiplier effect on the wider economy. Industries will invest further to cater to the requirements of the programme which results in overall improvement of manufacturing and development capability in India of world class standards, which further catalyses industrial growth. Space tourism is an emerging area. A host of private players are developing spacecrafts for suborbital and orbital manned flights. The Indian spaceflight programme The Human Spaceflight Programme (HSP) aims to undertake a mission to carry crew of two to LEO and return them safely to a predefined destination on Earth. The mission will have the following features. Mission duration is a few hours for the first mission extendable up to seven days Emergency mission abort and crew escape provision is provided during launch pad, ascent and orbital phases of flight Crew module has capability to manoeuvre in atmosphere up to a down range of +/- 125 km and cross range of +/- 60 km Throughout the mission acceleration is within 4 g Figure 1: Indian Human spaceflight - Orbital Vehicle India plans to undertake a human spaceflight programme during the second half of this decade. The configuration selected for the first flight is one with a base diameter of 3.1 m and 14o boat tail angle as shown in Figure 1. The first flight will be for a few low earth orbits. The entire mission design is done with crew safety as the prime factor under consideration. There is a viable crew escape provision during the entire launch vehicle ascent mission regime. During the initial phase this is achieved by means of a crew escape system (Figure 2) and later utilising the service module propulsion systems. Figure 2: Crew Escape System Schematic The first human spaceflight mission will be followed by longer duration missions, which will include EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity), microgravity experiments with human intervention and monitoring etc. A separate habitat module will be appended and extended missions lasting a month or more will be attempted. Further, human space missions to Moon and Mars are also under study. Technologies for human spaceflight Various new and complex technologies are to be developed for the human spaceflight programme. Some of the important ones are listed below. Crew module systems: Crew Module is the control centre and living quarters of the crew for the entire mission. It has all the sub-systems required to ensure safe and comfortable environment for crew and for mission management. Crew escape system: Crew escape system ensures safety of crew in case of exigencies. It consists of an Abort Sensing and Implementation System (ASIS) and fast acting solid motors which quickly and automatically removes Crew Module to a safe location in case of an emergency under any impending failures. Environment control and life support system (ECLSS): ECLSS ensures comfortable environment inside crew cabin by effectively controlling pressure, temperature and humidity. It also caters to the human need for water, air, food and management of waste. Flight suit: The flight suit is a pressure retention structure. This protects crew under emergencies like an ECLSS failure. It provides all the basic necessities for life support such as breathable oxygen, required pressure, temperature regulation, carbon dioxide removal, clear vision, mobility, communication system, and collection of body wastes. Mission management with human in the loop: The entire mission design is to be carried out with crew safety as the prime factor. Using human onboard for effective mission management is different from the autonomous missions of normal launch vehicles and satellites. Redundant navigation, guidance and control system: As part of human rating, the launch vehicle and orbital vehicle avionics should be strengthened to achieve very high reliability with adequate fault tolerance. This calls for better redundancy and fault detection and isolation capability in navigation, guidance and control system, than existing. Quad redundant NGC system for Crew module and TMR for launch vehicle are proposed. Human-rating of launch vehicle and systems: For human rating of launch vehicle, all flight systems will have to be verified and re-designed, if necessary, to ensure that no two failures shall result in permanent disability or loss of crew life. Features like increased safety margins, added redundancy and increased safety and reliability will be addressed exhaustively. Simulators for verification, validation and crew training: Numerous static and dynamic simulators are essential for the programme. This includes simulators for qualifying subsystems like avionics, life support systems etc. and simulators for training the crew to get them familiarised with operations during nominal and off-nominal mission scenarios. Crew health monitoring systems/bio-astronautics: Monitoring health of the crew during mission requires development of sensors, electronics and telemetry. There is a need for initiating studies on Bio-astronautics. Space medicine: Space medicine is another important area which has to address various discomforts and medical emergencies during space missions along with the needed remedial actions. For sustained long duration space missions, fundamental research on space medicine is essential. Crew training and required facilities: Crew-training programme should provide astronauts and ground personnel with appropriate knowledge, skills and aptitude required for space missions, on-orbit operations, safety and mission success. Technologies for deep space missions: For deep space missions lasting months, many new technologies have to be mastered like integrated vehicle health monitoring, advanced propulsion systems, advanced automated rendezvous and capture, robotics, regenerative life support system, extraterrestrial mining, surface habitation, healthcare at remote location and radiation protection systems. India’s aspirations India’s space journey started in 1963 with upper atmospheric studies using sounding rockets. After more than four decades, India has a big constellation of government-owned communication and remote sensing satellites serving the country in several application programmes. The launch vehicle services have fully matured to meet the national demands. Undertaking a human spaceflight in the coming years is an idea that is gaining momentum in the country and is being debated actively. ISRO has carried out detailed studies to assess the feasibility of putting a human in orbit and bringing him/her back safely to a specified destination on earth. It is always argued that for a country like India, priority should be for poverty eradication, providing drinking water to masses etc. While these sectors should get the needed priority, it is essential to undertake the developments in advanced technologies parallely. The same question was raised 40 years back about our space programme but today the benefits derived from the Indian space programme have far exceeded the initial expectations and has immensely contributed to improve the quality of life of the common man. As nations and their partners return to moon, ventures to Mars and to points between and beyond, human spaceflight will succeed as it embodies the human quest for exploration and it is one mission that India is bent on making it possible. http://geospatialtoday.com/gst/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1030:mission-possible&catid=48:articles&Itemid=84 |
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| gary oldman | Jul 24 2012, 06:59 PM Post #2 |
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Arnie, Post as much as you can buddy.....Because everyday v hear somethin popping out......v"ll make it big here.....start topics and start posting........cheers....are u from india?.... |
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| cream | Aug 10 2012, 10:28 AM Post #3 |
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![]() ![]() GSLV-MK-III payload fairing completes acoustic tests at NAL ![]() The second liquid Stage of the GSLV-Mk III called the L110. ![]() ![]() GSLV Mk III booster(S-200) testing ![]() GSLV MARK 3 This is the latest vehicle India is working on. It will eventually carry humans to space. Edited by cream, Aug 10 2012, 10:29 AM.
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