SRO to carry out a test flight of Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) by second quarter of 2015

The reusable vehicle will bring down the cost of satellite launches

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will carry out a test flight of Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) by second quarter of 2015. Technology Demonstrator winged body vehicle weighing 1.5T will be lofted to a height of 70 km using solid booster, thus attaining 5 times the speed of sound. Thereafter it will descend by gliding and splashing down into the sea. This test flight would demonstrate the Hypersonic aerodynamics characteristics, Avionics system, Thermal protection system, Control system and Mission management. Development of Reusable Launch Vehicles is a technical challenge and it involves development of many cutting edge technologies. The magnitude of cost reduction depends on development and realization of fully reusable launch vehicle and its degree of reusability. ISRO has taken steps to develop next generation launch vehicle GSLV MkIII, capable of launching 4 ton class communication satellites to Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit, which would bring down the cost of satellite launches.  Department of Space has taken multi-pronged approach to provide Space education to the youths in the country The Department of Space has taken multi-pronged approach to disseminate or to provide formal education on important subjects coming under Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications to the youths in the country as under: • Department of Space (Dos) has established an academic institution viz., Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (lIST) at Thiruvananthapuram with a prime objective of providing highly specialised academic programmes in the niche areas of Space. The Institute is offering Undergraduate programmes, Post graduate programmes and Doctoral programmes to the youth of the country. • Dos has established an academic and training institute viz., Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) at Dehradun. The institute offers Post graduate diploma and Masters courses in Remote Sensing, Geo-informatics, Environment and Atmospheric sciences, Urban planning, etc. • The Department has developed curriculum in the areas of Remote Sensing & GIS for PG programme and assisted various academic institutions to establish the required laboratory infrastructure and administer the academic programme. • The Department has also provided technical and scientific support to students and faculty members of various academic institutions to design, develop and realise small satellites by the respective institution. The Department has also extended the support of free launch services to place the students` satellites in orbit. • The Department has also tied up with various academic institutions to undertake research and related activities in the field of Planetary Science and Exploration. • To promote Space Science education amongst the youth, the Department has identified few academic institutions to support and strengthen the research in space sciences in the universities through guidance and funding. • The Department has also encouraged academic institutions to participate in the scientific satellite missions by providing flight worthy payloads duly developed by the academia. • The Department has also instituted Research Fellowships Scheme in academia to promote space science research work at national laboratories. • The Department has involved many academic and autonomous research institutions to work in the areas of climate and weather of the Sun-Earth system through funding and definition of research themes. • As a collaborative approach with academic institutions and research institutions, the Department has been running the Joint Astronomy Programme, where in the selected student will pursue research in Astronomy and Astrophysics leading to award of Ph.D degree. This information was provided by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to unstarred question in the Lok Sabha today. The fourth satellite #IRNSS-1D to be launched soon Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is setting up Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to provide positioning and navigational services in Indian mainland and surrounding region up to 1500 Km. IRNSS consists of seven satellites in a constellation, three satellites in geostationary orbit and four satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The objective of IRNSS is to provide positioning services over Indian region with an absolute position accuracy of better than 20 metres. IRNSS provides two services namely Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for Civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users. Out of the 7 satellites required in the constellation, three satellites namely, IRNSS-1A, 1B & 1C have already been successfully placed in the orbit. The fourth satellite IRNSS-1D is scheduled for launch during March 2015. The work on remaining three satellites is in progress. The associated ground segment for maintaining the satellites in orbit, monitoring the constellation status, correction of the orbital parameters and navigation data uploading is in place.