The Hindu Business Line : ISRO targets to develop semi-cryo vehicle in 6 years

Bangalore, Nov. 15 A 4-lakh-km lunar leap and a day after an impacter firmly established Indian presence on the moon, ISRO is set for deeper, bigger missions. It has started work to build a new, powerful semi-cryogenic launch vehicle that can travel far and bring materials or men back home from space travel, according to the head of the national space agency.

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram is finalising the design of a launch vehicle powered by a semi-cryogenic engine system and “this is an entirely new development”, ISRO’s Chairman, Mr G. Madhavan Nair, said.

“The return (technology) needs powerful launchers. For that we are in the process of developing semi-cryogenic rocket systems that will feed the future missions. The target is to develop the semi-cryo vehicle within six years, with a budget of Rs 1,600 crore.

“The design phase is almost completed. We expect a project proposal soon. Thereafter, it has to go through a series of ground tests,” Mr Nair, who is also Secretary, the Department of Space, told Business Line in an interview.

Powerful boosters

He said, “If you want to just get to the moon you require a particular capacity. For the return mission, the capacity has to be doubled. GSLV MkIII (due for test by 2010) for example, has a 10-tonne lift capacity in a low-earth orbit. We have to achieve a capability of 20 tonnes plus for bringing back our spacecraft. The semi-cryogenic launcher will give much higher, more powerful and eco-friendly boosters which could be used for larger missions.”

The semi-cryo system runs on superior kerosene or refined paraffin (RP1), considered a green propellant; it also lowers costs by 30 per cent as it replaces the expensive liquid hydrogen. India will be only the second after a few former Soviet States to have this technology, said Mr P.S. Sastry, Director, Launch Vehicle Programme Office.

Now that the 23-day-old Chandrayaan-1 has already achieved most of its objectives, “We can now go to Mars, or any other object in the solar system; they are now within reach of India. Chandrayaan-1 gives us tremendous confidence in undertaking inter-planetary projects,” Mr Nair said after the Moon Impact Probe crash-landed on the moon on Friday night. He has spoken of an Aditya mission to the Sun and another to Venus as well.

“We have a projection for the Mars mission in the next Five-Year Plan. We are in the process of selecting the scientific experiments. If everything goes well, we should have that mission in 4-5 years. The Space Commission has approved the human mission and we have to submit it to the Government.”

The low-earth manned trip is estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore and needs technologies to sustain people through the trip with food, special spacecraft and soft landing. ISRO is also building an Astronaut Training Centre near Bangalore with an initial spend of Rs 100 crore.

Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2, slated for 2011-12, jointly with Russia, he said, is a firm plan, with each agency putting in around Rs 425 crore. “We are going to have a lander and rover which will collect samples from the lunar surface. Beyond that, there is no commitment. If we find minerals on the moon, the next logical step would be to collect them and get them back to earth. That may be a future mission, beyond 2015,” he said.

That would be when a the launcher with a return capability is in place. The first project to bring back spacecraft — the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment or SRE-1 — was tested in January 2007 and the second is slated for 2010-11.

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