#dnaEdit: India’s pride

The successful launch of the Reusable Launch Vehicle — Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) — is without doubt another milestone for India’s space programme. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has now reached a stage where it is conducting successful launches or testing new technology every few months. The launch of the RLV-TD comes soon after India completed its regional satellite navigation system by putting seven navigation satellites in orbit. Among the notable successes in the past eighteen months include the use of indigenously developed cryogenic engines in the GSLV Mark-II, which is nearing operationalisation, and the successful hotbed testing of the cryogenic engines that will power the GSLV Mark-III, which is slated for launch later this year or early-2017. Thought the cost of the RLV programme is estimated to be Rs95 crore, the reusable vehicle will help save nearly 80 per cent of mission costs in future. This focus on keeping costs low has worked immensely to ISRO’s advantage. The ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix Corporation, has launched 57 satellites for international customers, and 30 more are in the pipeline, thanks to its track record and competitive pricing.

The objective of Monday’s technology demonstrator was to collect key data on hypersonic speed, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight, and overcoming the high temperatures during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Unlike the present landing which was in the Bay of Bengal, the next is expected to be on land at Sriharikota. It is also possible that an advanced version of the RLV could be used in a manned mission. However, the RLV will be operationalised only by 2030. In contrast to India which is just finding its feet, the US retired the last of its reusable space shuttles in 2011 after conducting 133 successful launches. The Russians gave up after one attempt in the 1980s. In a way, the longer trajectory taken by India’s space mission also reveals why there are no short cuts on the path of indigenous development. The ISRO has come up the hard way, overcoming international sanctions and launch failures, before perfecting its technology. Further, the success of the ISRO is in dire contrast to the DRDO in the defence research sector, which has now been overshadowed with the government going the Foreign Direct Investment route for technology infusion.

However, the ISRO’s immediate challenge is the development and the operationalisation of the cryogenic engines and the GSLVs. It must be remembered that Russia provided India with six cryogenic engines, but not the technology transfer. However, this did not lead the ISRO to complacency or despondency, but drove them towards developing the technology indigenously. Unlike the PSLV, which can carry only small and medium-sized satellites, the cryogenic rocket stage used in the GSLVs provides greater thrust for every kilogram of propellant it burns, compared to solid and liquid propellant rocket stages. So this will allow the GSLV Mark-II and Mark-III to carry payloads (satellites) around two tonnes and four tonnes respectively. India’s manned or robotic mission to space will also depend on the success of the GSLV Mark-III. The GSLV will also further boost Antrix’s commercial and international standing. 

In January, the ISRO had announced an ambitious plan to build India’s heaviest rocket that can carry 10-tonne satellites using semi-cryogenic engines. With each success, the ISRO has begun setting more ambitious targets for itself. Putting to rest idle speculation about a manned mission, ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar was clear about the agency’s priorities. He said the agency was targeting more rocket launches, at least one launch every month, and increasing satellite capacity. The manned mission will cost over ten times the Rs450 crore expenditure on the Mars Orbiter Mission and is not an easy decision for the government to take, despite the immense prestige and the global attention. Irrespective of when the sanction comes, the present trajectory of ISRO’s growth is on track to help India take great leaps forward in space research.