Posts

Showing posts from July, 2010

India conducts missile interception test, direct hit at Endo Atmospheric level

India today flight tested fourth consecutive successful Interceptor Missile test against Incoming Ballistic Missile in Endo atmospheric regime at 15 Km altitude at 1005 hrs and achieved direct Hit. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) made, single stage Interceptor Missile fitted with Directional Warhead and other advanced systems has neutralized the target which was mimicking incoming enemy Ballistic Missile. To mimic the incoming enemy’s ballistic missile trajectory, a target missile was launched from Launch Complex – III, ITR Chandipur. Interceptor Missile fitted with directional warhead was launched from Wheeler Island and destroyed Target Missile which broke into fragments and was tracked by various Radars and other sensors. All weapon system elements including Command and Control, Communication and Radars performed satisfactorily. Present among the user representatives’ were Air Marshal PK Barbora, PVSM, VM, ADC, Vice Chief of Air Staff, IAF and Maj Gen

ISRO's great expectations

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Radhakrishnan was upbeat when he met the media after the successful launch of PSLV-C15 and gave details of the future programmes like Chandrayaan-2 and the manned mission. He made it clear that the manned mission involved just putting astronauts in space and not on the moon. Chandrayaan-2 was in its advanced stages of design. The idea was to make a soft landing on the moon and release a small rover for lunar exploration that can be controlled from ground. The rover prototype model has already been made and the project would be ready for launch by 2013. For the manned mission, at least two astronauts would be sent to space. While the launch vehicle was almost ready, ISRO is working on the capsule design. A crew escape system in case of emergency is vital for a manned mission. It has now been defined. After the capsule is ready, it would be sent unmanned to space in 2013 using PSLV to monitor it in orbit for at least seven days.

ISRO to launch more satellites this year

After successfully placing five satellites in orbit on Monday, India's space agency ISRO said it will launch more satellites this year and efforts were on to put two Indians in space orbit. "We will launch GSat-5, a communication satellite, using GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket. The other launch will be Resourscesat-2, a remote sensing satellite, using the rocket PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Radhakrishnan said in Sriharikota. He was talking to reporters after five satellites, including the advanced high resolution cartography satellite Cartosat-2B, were placed in orbit following the successful launch of the PSLV rocket from the spaceport here, about 80 km north of Chennai. He said: "The next PSLV rocket will carry multiple satellites - Resourcesat-2 and two small satellites." According to ISRO officials, the organisation has all the sub-systems to assemble the PSLV r

India evaluating Patriot ground-based air defence system

  India is evaluating the advanced Patriot ground-based air defence system for its ballistic missile shield and the US has provided "classified" material to it on the weapon unit, which was successfully used during both Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Patriot's manufacturer Raytheon said on Tuesday. "A number of exchanges have taken place between the government of India and the US and information has been given to India at the classified level," Joseph Garret, Vice President of the company's Patriot Programmes told PTI. Replying to questions, he said tests of the Patriot system, which has been procured by 12 countries, by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and other agencies had been "highly successful". On India developing its own missile defence shield, Garret said, "Patriot system gives a major boost to any country's defence capability. India may be developing its own system, but Patriot is a com

Fresh trial of ballistic missile likely next week

Balasore, July 20: Preparations have begun as India plans to conduct a fresh trial of its tactical ballistic missile to build a credible defence shield for intercepting and destroying incoming missiles, informed sources. The Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile test is likely to be conducted early next week, sources added. The trial may be conducted on July 26 or 27. The test involving coordinated flight of missiles hostile missile and the interceptor missile would involve both the ranges of Interim Test Range Dhamra as well as Chandipur. During the trial, the interceptor missile would shoot down an incoming `enemy missile' as part of its efforts to build a credible ballistic missile defence shield. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has built both the missiles, according to sources.

India's Akash missile ready for production, induction

Image
After several years of delay, India's indigenously developed Akash surface-to-air missile is now ready for production and induction in the armed forced. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has received orders worth Rs 27,000 crore from both the Indian Army and Indian Air Force for the weapon system, is all set to start the production process along with its industry partners. “The weapon system for the Akash missile is now ready for production and induction. “This is a major milestone for DRDO and its industry partners. It is also an essential step towards indigenously developing more complex air defence weapons for the future,” a DRDO official was quoted as saying by Financial Express. The Indian Army had recently placed an order for 12 batteries of the medium range Akash missiles. Earlier this year, the IAF had ordered six Akash missile squadrons in addition to two squadrons already procured by it. Each squadron comprises 125 Akash missiles. T

Manned flight, next on ISRO's list

An unmanned test crew module will be put into orbit by ISRO in 2013 as a prelude to the country’s maiden manned mission to send two Indians into space. ISRO also said on Monday that a third launch pad, at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, is proposed to be built at Sriharikota, where the rocket that will take the Indian astronauts into space, will be assembled and blasted off. ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said the space agency plans to launch the first test unmanned mission with an unmanned capsule on PSLV, which will be put into orbit and recovered soon after the mission. Talking to reporters here after the successful launch of remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2B and four other satellites by the PSLV rocket, he said that in the next three months ISRO will launch GSLV-F06, which will carry a communication satellite, and PSLV-C16 with a remote sensing satellite on board. ISRO has prepared a road map with an initial plan to put two humans in orbit around earth, keep them there for seven da

PSLV launch successful, 5 satellites placed in orbit

In a textbook launch, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on Monday successfully placed into orbit, the remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2B and four other satellites, after a perfect lift off from the space-port in Sriharikota. At the end of an over 51-hour countdown, the 44.4 metre-tall four-stage PSLV-C-15, costing Rs 260 crore, blasted off from a launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre with ignition of the core first stage and placed the satellites in orbit one after the other. Visibly relieved scientists, headed by ISRO chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, cheered as ISRO's workhorse PSLV soared into clear skies at 9.22am from the spaceport in the East Coast in Andhra Pradesh, about 100 km north of Chennai. The PSLV launch assumes significance as it comes about three months after ISRO suffered a major setback on April 15 when the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3), which was launched using an Indian-designed and built cryogenic engine for the fi

ISRO outlines plans to send Indians into space

An unmanned crew module will be put in orbit around the earth by a modified Polar Satellite Launch (PSLV) in 2013 as a forerunner to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sending two Indians into space, S. Ramakrishnan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO, said here on Monday. India has plans to send two Indians into space in a low-earth orbit and they will stay in space for about a week before returning to the earth. A third launch pad, at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore, will be built at Sriharikota, where the rocket that will take the Indian astronauts into space will be assembled and launched. Mr. Ramakrishnan told a press conference here, after the successful PSLV-C15 flight, that the module in which the Indian astronauts would go into space had already been designed. The life-support systems, the thermal-proofing on board the module and the crew escape system in case of an emergency had already been defined. “We are also planning a launch pad abort for the crew

ISRO launches RH rocket with student’s payload

ISRO has successfully launched the RH 200 rocket, which had a part of its payload developed by students from Vellore Institute of Technology University (VITU) in Tamil Nadu. The RH 200 rocket, a technology demonstrator flight, was launched on July 7 from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) attached to Vikram Sarabhaio Space Centre, a VSSC release said today. The payload developed by the VITU students was part of ISRO's initiative of encouraging varsity students as partners in payload development. The students' payload comprised tri-axial accelerometers, power switching module and safe arm relay unit matching the requirements of RH 200 rocket, the release said. The tri-axial accelerometer can monitor accelerations in all three directions. The power-switching module is for the power control of the payload. The faculty and students of VITU had taken keen interest during the development and test activities of these payloads at various work centres, it added

Astra test-fired for second consecutive day

Image
India on Wednesday test-fired Astra, the indigenously developed beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile at Chandipur near here, hours after carrying out the first night trial of the weapon. The sophisticated missile was fired from a launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) complex, about 15 km from here, at 2.07 pm, defence sources said. The second consecutive trial comes after the missile was test-fired for the first time for night trial in inclement weather conditions on Tuesday night. The data generated were being thoroughly examined by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists, the sources said. The single stage, solid-fuelled Astra is more advanced in its category than the contemporary BVR missiles and is capable of engaging and destroying highly manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets, DRDO scientists said. The 3.8-metre-long missile, which has a diameter of 178 mm, can carry a warhead containing explosives weighing 15 kg and can be fitted to

PSLV-C15 rescheduled for July 12:ISRO

The launch of ISRO`s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) fixed for July12th, 2010. A marginal drop in the pressure in second stage of the vehicle was noticed during the mandatory checks carried out on the PSLV-C15 vehicle. This is the new date for the launch of PSLV-C15 mission which has been decided after preliminary results of the analysis obtained. PSLV-C15 is planned to launch India`s Cartosat-2B, an Algerian satellite ALSAT-2A, two nano satellites NLS 6.1 and NLS 6.2 from University of Toronto, Canada and STUDSAT, a satellite built by students from academic institutions in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Cartosat-2B is declared to be launched on the date July 12 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh

India all set to roll out indigenous naval LCA

India is all set to roll out its indigenous naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Bangalore on Tuesday, which will be witnessed by Defence Minister A K Antony. "The first indigenous naval Light Combat Aircraft – the LCA (Navy) NP1 - is scheduled to roll out from HAL Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) hangar on July 6," a Defence Minister official said here on Monday. An important milestone for the naval programme of Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the aircraft would be brought out of the hanger where it was assembled part-by-part during the roll-out. Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma will be the chief guest at the event. The aircraft is being readied for induction into the Navy and for deployment on board the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), currently under construction at the Cochin Shipyard, by 2015. Following the roll-out, the Naval LCA, with state-of-the-art technologies and punch, w

Astra missile likely to be test fired

Astra, the Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), is likely to flight tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR). While two days are slated July 6 and July 7, sources said most likely the flight testing of the missile would be carried on July 7 (Wednesday) and a team from production unit has reportedly reached this place. On the last occasion on January 11 this year two trials of the missile were conducted successfully. The sophisticated missile is envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in the head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km. The missile is intended for the Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000H, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, MiG-21 Bison and Tejas combat jets, as also the Indian Navy's Sea Harrier jump jets. Astra, which uses solid propellant, can carry a conventional warhead of 15 kg. It is the smallest of the missiles developed by the DRDO in terms of size and weight. It is 3.8-metre l

DRDO develops UAV 'Netra' to aid in anti-terrorist operations

India's defence research agency DRDO has developed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) specifically for anti-terrorist and counter insurgency operations, which will be inducted into the armed forces by the year-end. The 1.5 kg UAV, called 'Netra', is a collaborative development project between ideaForge, a company formed by a group of Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, alumni and one of Defence Research and Development Organisation's Pune-based labs, Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE) Pune. DRDO scientist Dr Alok Mukherjee, who demonstrated the UAV, here yesterday said Netra would be ready for induction into the services within the next six months after it is subjected to some more trial tests. "The UAV is capable of operating in all the conflict theatres, including urban quarters, in a situation similar to that of the 26/11 terror attacks.", he told reporters here yesterday. Mukerjee said the estimated cost of Netra is R

DRDO working on more advanced version of Arjun MBT: Saraswat

After receiving orders for 124 more Arjun main battle tanks, the DRDO has decided to supply an advanced version of the weapon system to meet the requirements of the Army. "We will have the modifications (on Arjuns) that the Army is looking for," Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V K Saraswat said here on Thursday. He was asked if the DRDO had any plans of delivering a more advanced version of Arjun to the Army as part of the next order. The DRDO chief was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function to mark the golden jubilee of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS). Saraswat said that the DRDO had already started working on the mark II version of the tank, which will incorporate a number of modifications that have been sought by the Army. "We have to make certain modifications in the tank, which we call the Arjun mark II version. Development process on mark II is already in progress and our scientists and the Army

India to test missile defence shield once again in August

It's a no-brainer that with two long, unresolved borders with nuclear-armed China and Pakistan, India needs to develop an effective missile defence shield as soon as possible. The good news is that India is planning another test of its fledgling ballistic missile defence (BMD) system next month. BMD systems, however, are incredibly complex. They have to detect, classify, track and then hit a fast-incoming hostile missile with interceptors or anti-missile missiles with virtual pinpoint accuracy, all within a matter of minutes. No one, after all, wants nukes to leak through the so-called shield. And if there are multiple enemy missiles, it becomes all the more formidable. Even the BMD systems of US, Russia and Israel are yet to be proven in actual conflict. The US, of course, has spent billions of dollars on its missile defence systems like Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Aegis BMD-3 and THAAD (terminal high-altitude area defence) system, the last of which was tested as recently

GSLV relaunch with indigenous cryogenic engine in one year: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to relaunch the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with a home-grown cryogenic engine in a year's time after the failure in April this year. "We have come across a few scenarios after detailed analysis of the failure. Now the immediate task is to test it on the ground and we look forward to relaunch it next year," ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of the 117 birth anniversary celebrations of Professor PC Mahalanobis at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata. The five earlier versions of the GSLV had Russia- supplied cryogenic engines. India's cryogenic upper stage (CUS) engine was meant to replace the Russian engines. The GSLV D-3, the satellite launch vehicle showcasing the country's indigenous cryogenic technology, trailed off its designated course and went out of control shortly after the lift-off on April 15. The rocket, along with its two payloads

After two setbacks, Isro set to launch five satellites on 12 July

After two setbacks this year, India’s space agency is set to launch five satellites on 12 July, including one that can shoot pictures of small objects on land and compress the time needed for building high-resolution maps by half. Isro had deferred the launch of its workhorse polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) scheduled in May after it found leaks in the rocket’s second stage. The leaks were detected when pressurized nitrogen was pumped in the rocket as part of tests on the launch pad. The same rocket will be fired now, following repairs and further tests, said an Isro official from Sriharikota. He did not want to be named. “Even if the leak is minor, it takes many days to rectify and certify it fit,” said U.R. Rao, a former chairman of Isro. “In space, you don’t take risks.” The rocket will also launch Alsat-2A, a remote sensing satellite from Algeria and India’s first African customer, two nano satellites from the University of Toronto, and Studsat, a small satellite built