Second part of interview with the outgoing chief of ISRO, Dr
A S Kiran Kumar
What ISRO is doing to put Indians into
space
January
14, 2018 09:32 IST
'The astronaut's suit is already done by a Baroda company and has
been tested.'
As Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Dr A S Kiran Kumar retires
today, January 14,, he tells Shivanand
Kanavi about India's upcoming missions to the sun, moon
and Venus.
- Part 1 of the Exclusive Interview: 'We want 60 launches in 5
years'
What is happening with India's navigation systems like Gagan and
NAVIC ?
Gagan
(GPS Aided Geo Augmented
Navigation) has been certified by the director general of civil
aviation. All aircraft registered beyond January 2019 must carry satellite
assisted systems like Gagan so that the hole in our airspace can be filled.
Many
are already using it for en route planning. Gagan is fully operational and
three transponders in three separate satellites with redundancy.
As
for NAVIC (Navigation with Indian
Constellation) earlier known as IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System) we
have a constellation in orbit.
Using
a small dongle attached to a mobile phone a fisherman can navigate. Trials have
been done of this system and it will be rolled out this year.
The
coast guard will also get information about boats within a 20 metre resolution.
The
American GPS has been around for decades. For our system to become popular, we
need entrepreneurs who will provide services based on our signal in a
cost-effective manner while developing a sustainable business.
We
are also starting a competition where participating companies will develop
cost-effective solution for say 10,000 users.
The
best solution will get an award and the development costs will be subsidised by
ISRO.
The
entire technical information of such solutions will be available in the public
domain.
We
are also developing digital chip sets for use. We are basically building the
ecosystem.
What went wrong with the clocks (of IRNSS-1A)?
Clock
stability is crucial in navigation satellites. We have built in triple
redundancy.
Both
the US GPS and the EU's Galileo have faced failures of clocks. In our case, all
three clocks stopped functioning.
Where do you procure them from?
From
France. But we are now building our own, which is undergoing tests and a team
is working at the Satellite Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, so that from now
onwards we will have our own atomic clocks on board.
What about electric propulsion?
We
are working on it. GSat 19 is already carrying an experimental 30 milli Newton
electric propulsion system which is being used for station keeping activities.
In
the next flight we are sending 80 milli Newton system. We are also establishing
a lab for developing 300 milli Newton.
The
resultant advantage will be in higher payload capacity. Currently, we are
developing 4 tonne launchers.
But
if we use electric propulsion of Ion Thrusters, then we can boost the launch
capacity to 6 tonnes.
It
will lead to slower transition from elliptical GTO (geostationary transfer orbit) to circular GSO (geosynchronous orbits).
It
might take 3 to 4 months instead of a few days achieved with gas propulsion,
but the gain in payload makes up for it.
We
have also given contract to a startup (Bellatrix
Aerospace) from IISc Bengaluru which is developing a microwave
electro-thermal thruster, which they have patented.
We still seem to be using Dubai-based Thuraya satellite phones. Is
there any plan to launch our own sat phone system?
Yes,
the innovation we have done is to create a sleeve which is as big as a normal
mobile phone and when you put your mobile phone in it, it becomes a sat phone.
It is
handheld.
We
have a 6-metre diameter antenna on the satellite and we are building a new one
with 12-metre antenna on the satellite so that a low power hand held mobile
phone can be used as sat phone.
That's brilliant!
It is
not for commercial use. It is used only for strategic purposes. Even the
frequency has been released only for strategic use.
Tell us about Chandrayaan-2. Do we also have a plan for another
Mangalyaan?
The
Chandrayaan-2 configuration is frozen. It will have a moon orbiter and a lander
and rover. It will be launched on GSLV Mark 2.
The
flight model is getting integrated.
As
for the lander we need the new technology of engines which can be throttled. So
that we can vary the thrust levels for smooth descent and landing including
hovering etc.
Trials
are going on. The rover will come out of the lander and move around on the
surface of the moon for one Lunar Day which is equal to 14 earth days.
Is the rover being made by a startup?
That
is a different thing which is a part of Google's competition whose launch
contract is with ISRO.
It is
going through various ups and downs. It should have happened by now, but the
development is still going on.
Our
own rover is being tested already. It will move around and fire a laser into
the lunar soil and whatever material gets kicked up will be analysed.
The
result will be communicated from rover to lander and lander to orbiter and
orbiter to earth.
As
for other missions, right now we are looking at Venus, another Mars mission, an
asteroid mission, Aditya, our solar mission etc.
Our
approved missions are Chandrayaan-2 and Aditya.
Aditya
will do solar coronagraphy and other measurements regarding the magnetic field,
solar flare etc.
Within
a year or so we will firm up. Venus feasibility has been established and we
have announced opportunity for payloads.
Has any time table been set up for putting an Indian into space?
It is
still not an approved thing. We are only developing critical technologies.
Crew
module recovery, emergency recovery, environmentally controlled chamber for
crew use in space, life support systems etc.
The
astronaut's suit is already done by a Baroda company and has been tested.
But
as far as priorities we still have a huge gap between supply and demand for
various satellites in communication, earth observation etc, which we need to
address. We have about 42 and we need 80 to 100.
In
the meantime, GSLV Mark 3 will get stabilised and with higher capacity for low
earth orbits of about 10 to 12 tonnes.
How is the unique Indian Institute of Space Technology evolving?
We
are absorbing about 100 graduates every year. Now we have three disciplines in
BTech and 18 disciplines for MTech and a PhD programme also.
We
have started a Satish Dhawan endowments at Caltech (California Institute of Technology) and we are
sending our toppers to study there.
They
are all topping their batches there too. They will also do some internship in
the industry there.
We
are charging no tuition fee at IIST for all students, they have to pay only for
hostel and food etc.
Do you have a training school for recruits in ISRO like the DAE (Department of Atomic Energy)?
We
don't have a training school like the DAE.
Those
who are recruited are trained in orientation programmes and mid-course
programmes etc.
It is
fairly systematic activity of 3 to 6 months and also encourages
inter-disciplinary work.
What is the current level of attrition in ISRO?
Very
small at this time.
After
the 6th and 7th Pay Commission and additional incentives the packages are quite
attractive.
More
over many people like job security as well as the opportunity to do nationally
important challenging projects.
