Indian Human Spaceflight Programme

Michael Clark talks about India's human spaceflight programme and the rockets that will enable them.

The Indian human Spaceflight programme is a proposal by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop and launch a two-person crew to Low Earth orbit. Recent reports indicate that human spaceflight will occur after 2017, on a GSLV-Mk III, as the mission is not included in the government's 12th five-year plan (2012–2017). Since the ISRO does not have a human-rated launch vehicle or the budget from the government to undertake such a flight, it will not happen this decade.

'India's First Manned Space Mission' is being planned in 2021 by Indian Space Research Organisation. Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO told this in an interview to NDTV.

Preparations

On 9 August 2007 the then Chairman of the ISRO, G Madhavan Nair, indicated the agency is "seriously considering" a human spaceflight mission. He further indicated that within a year ISRO would report on its development of new space capsule technologies.

Development of a fully autonomous orbital vehicle to carry a two-member crew into a low-Earth orbit (LEO) has already begun. ISRO sources said the flight is likely to be in 2016. Government had allocated ₹95 crore (US$11.4 million) for pre-project initiatives for 2007 through 2008. A crewed mission into space would require about ₹12,400 crore (US$1.5 billion) and a period of seven years. Planning Commission estimates that a budget of ₹5,000 crore (US$599.1 million) is required for initial work on the manned mission during the eleventh five-year plan (2007–12). A project report prepared by ISRO has been cleared by space commission. In February 2009 the Government of India gave the green light for the manned space flight programme, due to launch in 2016.

MC Dathan, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) stated that ISRO will set up a full-fledged training facility in Bangalore for training Vyomanauts. ISRO is planning to build a third launch pad at Sriharkota for manned missions with extra facilities like entry into the crew capsule and an escape chute.

The trials for the manned space missions began with the 600 kg Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, and safely returned to earth 12 days later. This demonstrates India's capability to develop heat-resistant materials necessary for re-entry technology.

In 1984, Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to go into space, flying aboard a Soviet mission. Sharma was one of the people who endorsed the 2006 proposal for an Indian manned space programme.

Description and development

Main article: ISRO Orbital Vehicle

The major objective of manned mission programme is to develop the fully autonomous three-ton ISRO Orbital Vehicle spaceship to carry a 2-member crew to orbit and safe return to the Earth after a mission duration of few orbits to two days. The extendable version of the spaceship will allow flights up to seven days, rendezvous and docking capability with space stations or orbital platform.

ISRO plans to use for OV spaceship the GSLV-Mk II launcher (Mark two is Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-II launcher with an indigenous cryogenic engine). About 16 minutes after lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, the rocket will inject the Orbital Vehicle (OV) into an orbit, 300 km-400 km from the Earth. The capsule would return for a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will set up an Vyomanaut training centre in Bengaluru by 2012, to prepare personnel both for first orbital flights aboard an OV and for future manned Moon missions which will land Indians on the Earth's natural satellite after 2020.

Disclosing this to media-persons, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said: "We zeroed in on Bengaluru after identifying several favourable aspects. We have an aviation medicine institute in the city which will significantly contribute for the Vyumanaut training."

A site of 140 acres (0.57 km²) beyond the greenfield Kempegowda International Airport has been identified. The ₹1,000 crore (US$119.8 million) centre will train the selected Vyomanauts in rescue and recovery operations, surviving in a zero gravity situation, study of radiation environment and for the long journey in the space through water simulation.

India would get receive assistance in crew selection and training from Russia under an agreement signed between the two countries in March 2008. One option which was studied was a flight of an Indian Vyomanaut aboard a Soyuz capsule in preparation for the Indian mission. However, in October 2010 this option was given-up.

ISRO will build centrifuges to train the Vyomanauts on the high-gravity acceleration which occur when the vehicle lifts-off. It also plans to build a new launch pad at a cost of ₹600 crore (US$71.9 million) as it proposed to undertake a manned space mission by 2016. It would be the third launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on the east-coast in Andhra Pradesh, some 100 km north of Chennai.

In spring 2009 the full-scale mock-up of crew capsule of OV was built and delivered to Satish Dhawan Space Centre for training of Vyomanauts. India will be short listing 200 IAF pilots for this purpose. ISRO is currently framing the criteria to short list the fighter pilots. The selection process would begin by the candidates having to solve a ISRO questionnaire, after which they would be subjected to physical examinations like cardiac, dental, neurological, ophthalmologic, psychological, radiographic and ENT. They will also have to undergo several lab tests at Indian Aerospace Medicine in Bengaluru. Only 4 of the 200 will be finally selected for the first space mission training. While two will fly, two shall act as reserve. The commencement of selection process of final four awaits government's approval.

Cooperation with Russia

India and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on joint activities in the field of human spaceflight programme during the visit of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to India in December 2008.

According to the accord, an Indian Vyomanaut will once again be part of a space mission on board a Russian spacecraft. This mission, tentatively scheduled for 2013, will precede a planned Indian manned spaceflight in 2016. This plan was abandoned later in 2010

"As per the agreement, an Indian Vyomanaut will first go on a space mission on a Russian spacecraft. This will be followed by an Indian manned mission to space in 2015," Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

Under the MoU signed by G. Madhavan Nair and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Perminov, ISRO and Russian space agency Roskosmos have revealed that they will jointly build the spacecraft for the Indian manned mission.

"We will be redesigning the Soyuz space capsule of the Russian agency for our mission," Nair said.

ISRO has already been sanctioned ₹95 crore (US$11.4 million) to study all aspects of the manned space mission, which will involve a two-member Indian crew spending a week in space. The spacecraft, to be placed in a low earth orbit, will splashdown in the Indian Ocean after completion of the mission.

ISRO has already announced the setting up of an Vyomanaut training centre in Bengaluru. It has now said that a batch of 200 would be initially selected before four are finally shortlisted, of these two would go on the mission.

In 2010, Russia announced that India no longer planned to do a Soyuz mission.

Sources

• India's Space Odyssey – by Raj Chengappa – India Today, pp 60 to 66 – 5 February 2007
• http://planningcommission.nic.in:80/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp11/wg11_subspace.pdf
• http://www.indianexpress.com/news/plan-panel-okays-isro-manned-space-flight/426945/

External links

• ISRO orbital vehicle record at Astronautix.com
• India mulls human space mission
• Archived 2008-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
• ISRO to discuss manned mission to moon
• ISRO press release
• President Kalam’s vision: India will land on moon in August 2025
• India Wants To Send Man Into Space Ahead Of Further Missions Beyond LEO
• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has handed over the first ‘Crew Module Structural Assembly’ for the ‘Human Space Flight Program’ to ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
• The GSLV Mk-III will have a sub-orbital flight in April. It will have as payload a prototype of the crew module meant for the manned mission
• Designs for India's First Manned Spaceship Revealed