Mighty India Power

After launching development of stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles), India is now also looking at designing solar-powered spy drones which can cruise in the sky for several days at a time. The high-altitude, long endurance (HALE) solar-powered UAV will not just reduce Indian military's carbon footprint but more importantly provide a cost-effective and flexible 24x7 ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) platform akin to "a pseudo-satellite" orbiting closer to the ground. "Yes, Army and IAF have asked us to develop the solar-powered HALE UAV. Initial work is in progress for such a drone which can undertake a 15-day continuous flight over 30,000-feet,'' DRDO's chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada told TOI. The drone will harvest solar energy during the day, storing it in fuel cells to provide power for electric motors for night flying. "Solar efficiency is low but we are looking at a pay...

Another dimension to the ''moon mission'' may open up as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning a joint mission with United States’ National Aeronautics Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to collect samples from the moon. “This (project) is in the planning phase, alongside India’s lunar mission programme activities centered around ‘Chandrayaan II,”  ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told a news conference here after the successful launch of PSLV-C16 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, 100 km North of Chennai. NASA is planning to execute this mission in the year 2016, while the ISRO will provide the “communicating orbiter” of the project, besides chipping in with a few scientific instruments, he said. That will be called the “Moonrise Mission.”

Reaffirming its workhorse tag, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) today completed its 17th successful mission in a row when it launched the country's remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2 from the spaceport of Sriharikota. Today's successful launch by PSLV-C16 , which also carried two nano satellites, has again demonstrated India's commercial launch capabilities in the multi-billion dollar global market in the sector. After overcoming the lone failure of PSLV-D1 launched on September 20, 1993, it has been a success story all the way for the ISRO's homegrown four-stage launch vehicle. Since 1994, PSLV, designed and developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, has launched a total of 44 satellites, including 25 from abroad. Among the key launches undertaken by the PSLV are India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I in October 2008, four Cartosats and Resourcesat-1. A standard PSLV version is 44 metres tall wi...

Recently India conducted a successful ballistic missile defence test which was capable enough to intercept and kill the incoming missile. This shows that Indian ballistic missile defence program comprising of long range tracking radar, command and control system and the interceptor, is maturing at a faster pace. As a result, the South Asian strategic stability would be challenged as there are diversification of threats and limited response options, BMD adds value to the complexity of the region. Read More...

ISRO today announced that it will launch three satellites, including an advanced remote sensing satellite to study and manage natural resources, on April 20. "Preparations for the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) carrying Resourcesat-2 satellite are progressing well at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. In this mission, PSLV-C16 will launch Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat satellites," the space agency said.