India's Science and Technology
Minister Jitendra Singh said that the country has earned around 40 million
euros launching 15 foreign satellites from 2011 till date.
The Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) launched 15 foreign satellites and 14 Indian satellites
during fiscal years 2011-2014 and in this fiscal.
He said that the revenue earned
through launch of foreign satellites was 39.82 million euros. He also quipped
that the Department of Space has laid down the future space programme till
2020.
The plan foresees development of
advanced launch vehicle systems, thematic earth observational satellites with improved
resolution, high-power, high-throughput communication satellites, microwave
multi-spectral remote sensing satellites, weather and climate studies,
constellation of satellites for regional navigation, development of critical
technologies for human spaceflight and satellites for space science and
planetary exploration purposes.
The minister also said that India
has spent Rs 349.9 crore on its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) till March 31, of
the total project outlay of Rs 450 crore.
The Mars Orbiter Mission,
informally called Mangalyaan was launched on November 5, 2013 by the ISRO. It
is India's first interplanetary mission and if successful, ISRO would join the
Soviet space program, NASA, and European Space Agency, becoming the fourth
space agency in the world to reach Mars.
Recently, the spacecraft
completed 75% of its journey to the Red Planet and is expected to enter orbit
around Mars on 24 September 2014.
Scaling up outsourcing
Indian space agency ISRO would
significantly scale up outsourcing to industries to fuel the quantum jump in
the programmes being undertaken by it and has mooted a risk-sharing model, its
chairman K Radhakrishnan said.=
He said more than 500 industries
(micro, small, medium and large) already account for 60 per cent production of
the space agency's programme and their share would further go up.
ISRO is witnessing a
"quantum jump" in the production of rockets (Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle) and satellites, in the last two-three years, he said.
Radhakrishnan said the ISRO has
already launched three satellites this year, and four more spacecraft are
getting ready for launch by March 2012.
"So you can see a quantum
jump in both satellites and launch vehicles (rockets). And when you do this PSLV
missions, you also send some of the foreign satellites," he said, adding
the ISRO had already bagged order to launch 11 foreign satellites.
Radhakrishnan said in the case of
proven launch vehicles (PSLV), standard satellite buses and communication transponders
-- which are largely repetitive in nature -- he definitely sees outsourcing to
industry to grow significantly.
"We are getting into
risk-sharing model," he said.
The ISRO has proposed to set up a
huge manufacturing complex near the Sriharikota spaceport on the Andhra coast
so that its industrial partners have production there.
At present, ISRO's suppliers are
located in different parts of the country, and the idea now is to cut down the
turnaround time and get the products on time.
The complex is planned to be
built on 200-300 acres in Sriharikota, close to the launch site, and ISRO is
currently engaged in discussions with the Andhra Pradesh government for land
acquisition.
"Industry is positive. We
are informally talking to the industries," he said, adding the ISRO is
working on different models such as industries setting up facilities on this
land or ISRO giving them space to put up factories.
ISRO has also mooted an idea for
industrial partners that they can work in consortium mode if they wish -- like
coming together of players in the field of electronics, production, metals and
precision fabrication, among others.
India’s Mars mission
The Indian space journey to the
‘Red Planet’, with the launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM or Mangalyaan) by
the ISRO, no doubt marks a big leap into planetary exploration. Although only
the beginning of a long and arduous odyssey into the unknown regions of outer
space, the Rs. 450 crore project, along with Chandrayan-1 or the Moon Mission,
has put India in the elite club of countries venturing into space exploration
and planetary studies.
Mangalyaan, moreover, has also
demonstrated the mastery that Indian scientists have achieved in putting small
satellites (weighing up to 1,500 kg) into the near (polar) orbit using
indigenously built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). With 25 perfect
launches, crowning with the MOM, the four-stage PSLV rocket has become a
veritable ‘workforce’ that has enabled ISRO to do commercial business by
putting into orbit small satellites from other countries as well.
It has taken over 25 years to
reach this level of perfection.
But the success of Mangalyaan and
Chandrayan should not detract from the far bigger challenge of building launch
vehicles that can carry higher payloads and propel probes deeper into outer
space. That is where there the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
fits in.
Dubbed as the ‘game changer’ that
holds the key to India’s growth as a genuine space power, the GSLV helps put
heavier satellites (above 2.5 tonnes) into the more distant geosynchronous
transfer orbit. At these heights, the satellites follow the earth’s rotation,
while appearing to be stationary in a fixed position. It also makes this orbit
ideal for telecommunication satellites or monitoring weather patterns on a
continuous basis.
While the PSLV may rake in some
business, it is the GSLV that can make the Indian space programme truly vibrant
through the capability to launch heavier payloads and making the country a
cost-effective launch services provider. The country is, in fact, now launching
its own communication satellites by outsourcing the job to Europe’s
Arianespace, Russia or US at huge costs.
A fully operational GSLV is also
crucial to power India's Chandrayan- II slated for 2014. ISRO has to, then, put
the GSLV mission on high priority, if the country is to be reckoned in the league
of the top nations in space technology.
Unfortunately, right now, China
and Japan have raced ahead of India in this technology, while the US and Russia
are, of course, way forward, as Madhavan Nair, former ISRO Chairman, puts it.
“On the ground, the cryogenic
engine (to power the GSLV) is ready. It has to be proved a couple of times in
flight for using to carry higher payloads. The expertise, funds and people are
available in the ISRO”, he points out.
Global recognition
Lockheed Martin, the world's
largest defence and aerospace corporation, held informational discussions with
the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its export arm, Antrix and
this was one of the points for possible cooperation.
Lockheed Martin's India Chief
Executive Roger Rose told India Strategic that while it follows the US
Government lead in space activities, it regularly holds discussions to learn
more about individual companies and their capabilities.
Rose noted that India has a strong
and growing space industry that has great potential for future cooperation. It
was suggested that one area that could be explored is using Indian capabilities
in low-cost launch, as ISRO has displayed a commendable track record in this
regard. Other possibilities that could be examined include cooperation on
manned space flights.
Lockheed Martin noted, however,
that any cooperation beyond these kinds of informational discussions would be
subject to an overall policy and agreement framework acceptable to both the
Indian and United States governments and compatible with U.S. export control
regulations.
Commercially, it would be a
win-win situation for both sides. And if cooperation between the two countries
grew substantially, Indian companies could also become part of a global supply
chain with Lockheed Martin, Rose said.
At present, ISRO is on the US
"Entities List" due to which US companies cannot share hi-tech dual
technology as defined by the Department of Commerce. New Delhi has already
asked Washington to remove ISRO, as well as the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), from that blacklist, to make bilateral
cooperation meaningful.
Reference:
- http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/india-earned-40-million-euro-for-launching-15-foreign-satellites_946536.html
- http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-07-11/news/29761078_1_isro-polar-satellite-launch-vehicle-foreign-satellites
- http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories748.htm
Image courtesy: ISRO
