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ISRO Looking To Build A Design For New Reusable Rocket For Global Market.

As we know that the expense of reaching into space is a major hindrance in space exploration and other space-related applications. So, a reusable rocket launched by ISRO would prove a great unanimous solution to attain low-cost, trustworthy, and on-demand space access.

India is allegedly forethinking about designing and building a brand-new reusable rocket for the global market, S Somanath, Division of Area Secretary and Indian Area Analysis Organisation in ISRO, announced through the Bangaluru Area Expo (BSX) 2022 on 5 September, Monday. The proximate launch automobile from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) afterward the GSLV Mk III launch could be a reusable one and it is predictable that it will cut back on the expense of launching satellites. The area firm will allegedly work with the area businesses, startups, and New Space India Restricted for the development of the said reusable rocket.

During the seventh edition of Bengaluru Space Expo 2022 to support and encourage private space agencies, the chairman of the Indian research Space Organisation, S Somanath, declared his plans to design and develop a new reusable rocket according to a report by Press Trust of India (PTI), India’s primary news agency having reach as vast as Railways.

“…all of us want launches to be much cheaper than what we do today,”.
“So, the idea is the next rocket that we are going to build after GSLV Mk III should be a reusable rocket,” Somnath said.
“This is the idea and we are working on that idea. That idea cannot be ISRO’s alone. It has to be an industry’s idea. So, we will have to work with them in designing a new rocket, not only designing it, engineering it, manufacturing it and launching it as a commercial product and operating it in a commercial manner,” he added.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Currently, it costs ISRO about 10,000 USD which is approximately 7,97,800 INR, and 15,000 USD which is about 11,96,800 INR to position a one-kilogram payload into orbit. Somanath apparently said that they can cut it down to up to 5,000 USD (about 3,98,000 INR) and 1,000 USD (about 79,700 INR) per kg and that the one procedure to take action may be to construct the rocket reusable. He also specified that currently, the nation does not possess reusable expertise in the launch autos division.

Indian Space Research Organization has been involved in several different applied sciences together with the Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, in order to have a retro-propulsion to land the rocket back on earth, he confirmed adding that by integrating these latest applied sciences, the area firm wants to be a member of palms with industry, startups and its commercial arm NSIL (New Space India Limited) to develop a latest reusable rocket.

“We would like to see such a rocket, a rocket which will be competitive-enough, a rocket that will be cost-conscious, production-friendly which will be built in India but operated globally for the services of the space sector. This should happen in the next few years so that we can retire all those operating launch vehicles (in India) at appropriate time,” he said.
“So, it’s a big shift from what we do today,” he pointed out. “I would like to see this (proposal) taking shape in the next few months.”
Source: www.thehindu.com

ISRO will be working on the Reusable launch vehicle technology demonstration program, also known as the RLVTD series of technology demonstration missions which will reportedly be the first step towards the building of a fully reusable vehicle. A winged Reusable launch rocket is confirmed to act as a flying test bed to evaluate several technologies.

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor’s in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank “paper has more patience than person

NASA Reveals James Webb Telescope’s First Cosmic Targets To Include Distant Galaxies, Nebulae, And More:

The James Webb Space Telescope, a joint project of NASA, ESA, and CSA, will soon reveal unequaled and in-depth views of the cosmos with the impending publication of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data. The US, European, and Canadian space agencies are preparing for a dramatic presentation of early observations by the $10 billion (approximately Rs. 79,330 crores) observatory, which is slated to disclose fresh insights into the origins of the universe on July 12.

An international panel chose the Southern Ring Nebula, which surrounds a dying star 2,000 light-years away, and the Carina Nebula, a gigantic cloud of gas and dust situated 7,600 light-years away, to be included in the first collection of full-color scientific images. One of the iconic towering pillars that makes up the Carina Nebula is the three-light-year-tall “Mystic Mountain,” a celestial peak that Hubble is credited with photographing.

Webb has also performed spectroscopy on the distant gas giant WASP-96 b, which was discovered in 2014. Spectroscopy is an analysis of light that provides comprehensive information. WASP-96 b is around 1,150 light-years from Earth and has a mass that is almost half that of Jupiter. It also orbits its star in about 3.4 days.

The next object is Stephan’s Quintet, a tiny galaxy 290 million light-years away. The list of cosmic objects that Webb chose for these initial observations is provided here. It will be made public on Tuesday, July 12 at 10:30 a.m. EDT during NASA’s live broadcast. Each image will simultaneously be made available on social media and the agency’s website.

The targets mentioned below constitute the observatory’s first wave of full-color scientific photos and spectra, as well as the official start of Webb’s general science activities. An international committee including members from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute chose them.

• The Carina Nebula: The Carina Nebula, located around 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina, is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky. Stars are born in stellar nurseries called nebulae. Many huge stars several times the size of the Sun can be found in the Carina Nebula.

• WASP-96 b (spectrum): WASP-96 b is a huge gas-filled planet located beyond our solar system. The planet is approximately 1,150 light-years away from Earth and orbits its star every 3.4 days. It was discovered in 2014 and has nearly half the mass of Jupiter.

• The Southern Ring Nebula: It is also known as the “Eight-Burst” nebula, is a planetary nebula, which is an expanding cloud of gas that surrounds a dead star. It has a diameter of roughly half a light-year and is about 2,000 light-years away from Earth.

• Stephan’s Quintet: Stephan’s Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus, approximately 290 million light-years away. It is noteworthy for being the first compact galaxy group found in 1877. Four of the quintet’s five galaxies are entangled in a cosmic dance of frequent close encounters.

• SMACS 0723: Massive foreground galaxy clusters amplify and deform the light of objects behind them, enabling a deep field view into both the extremely far-off and fundamentally dim galaxy populations.

Webb can look farther back in time to the Big Bang, which occurred 13.8 billion years ago, as compared to any instrument before it thanks to its infrared capabilities.

Webb is able to detect the first stars’ light with an unparalleled level of resolution as it transitions from the shorter ultraviolet and visible wavelengths it originally emitted into longer infrared wavelengths as the cosmos expands.

The publication of these initial photographs signals the official start of Webb’s research activities, which will continue to investigate the mission’s core scientific issues. Teams have already applied for time to utilize the telescope in its first “cycle,” or year of observations, through a competitive process.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s leading observatory for space science. Webb will investigate mysteries in our solar system, as well as distant worlds orbiting other stars, and will investigate the intriguing architecture and origins of our universe and our place in it.

Roshni Ankola

I am a second-year student pursuing Liberal Arts from Nmims. I am a painter, I love reading and have a great interest in cooking. I am also a trained kickboxer. I’ve always had a passion for writing and hence in my free time, I work as a freelance writer.

China All Set to Reach for The Stars with Tianwen-1

Leave a Comment / Tech News / By Athulya

The last week or so has led to several high-profile space launches and missions. Adding to the list is China, which plans on launching a mission on July 23rd. It is the country’s most ambitious mission to date, with plans to send three spacecraft to Mars, which also includes a rover to explore the Martian surface. If successful, it will become only the second country in the world to get a rover to the Red Planet. Here’s a look at everything you need to know about the launch and what it means to the country.

Aiming for the Stars

The mission, codenamed Tianwen-1, after a poem that translates to Questions to Heaven is China’s most ambitious project yet. The mission comprises sending to the lunar orbit and surface an orbiter, lander, and rover. The probes will be a part of the Long March 5, which is China’s sturdiest and most powerful rocket. The orbiter will study the atmosphere, whereas the lander will touch down on the ground. It will work as a platform for the rover, helping it move around on the Martian surface to explore it.

Ambitious Projects

Over the last decade, China has been testing out various complex space projects and missions, like Tianwen-1. Last year, it became the world’s first nation to land and explore the Far-Side of the Moon. The country also stated that it would remain committed to lunar exploration. In keeping with that, China aims to launch another mission to bring samples from the Moon. This mission will mostly occur by the end of this year. The Tianwen-1 will be China’s biggest and most ambitious interplanetary mission. In the future, the country aims to explore an asteroid, and even visit Jupiter by the 2030s. Planetary Scientist James Head, who works at Brown University and collaborated with scientists from the Chinese Space Program, believes the country has several long-term exploration plans.

Martian Exploration

Exploring Mars is by no means an easy feat, with China’s first attempt not even leaving the Earth. The country launched orbiter Yinghuo-1 in 2011 with the help of a Russian spacecraft named Phobos-Grunt. However, the Ukrainian rocket which aimed to launch the probes failed, destroying both the Russian and Chinese crafts. However, this time around, China is handling everything from the launch to the development of the craft. If successful, China will add its name to the small list of countries that have successfully orbited Mars. Taking things further, the Chinese plan on landing on Mars, which only the USSR and the US have done prior to this. When it comes to rover exploration, only the US has done it before on Mars, making this a prestigious project for the Chinese.

Rugged Details

The details regarding the space program, like with most things happening in China are kept hidden. However, the country has released some general information regarding the structure of their mission. All three of their crafts will take around seven months to reach Mars. As per schedule, the Chinese devices will reach their destination by February 20201, by when the UAE orbiter too will arrive. Furthermore, NASA plans to launch the Perseverance Rover on July 30th, meaning all three crafts will reach Mars around the same time. The Tianwen-1 will orbit Mars for two or three months, studying the perfect landing location. Once it has a potential landing site, it will analyse and validate data before it proceeds to the surface. The Chinese plan on landing on a strip known as the Utopia Planitia, which is where NASA’s Viking 2 touched down way back in 1976.

Mission Plan

The Tianwen-1 rover will map out unexplored Martian geography, search for water and ice, and also study the Martian surface climate. The rover has over six different instruments, including a Ground-penetrating radar that can help identify rocks, and search for water under the surface. The lander and rover will have to perform an ambitious eight-minute descent manoeuvre to reach the Martian surface. The spacecraft will utilise the Martian atmosphere to cushion the fall, helping them slow down when exiting the orbit. A parachute will deploy to help further slowdown the devices, and the lander will use its engine to hover over the surface before touching down.

The confirmation regarding the mission’s success will have to come from Chinese officials. Experts believe that if all goes well, the Chinese will celebrate grandly, whereas there will be little noise if something goes wrong. The orbiter will help relay communication between the team and the rover while analyzing Mars from its orbit using its instruments. First and foremost, though, the launch needs to be successful. Reports state that it will take place around 12:45 AM on July 23rd. If they miss that timing, they have a window of opportunity till early August to try once again. This will be the Long March 5’s fifth launch, and its history isn’t all good.

While its debut was a success, the second launch in 2017 was a failure, leading to redesigning. After the revamp, the rocket had a successful launch in 2019, and we will have to see if the fourth time turns out lucky for the rocket. Space enthusiasts will have to wait and see whether the mission will be a resounding success for the Chinese and their blossoming space exploration plans. Also, such an achievement could help everyone by giving us more insight into the Martian surface.

Athulya

Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.

Virgin Orbit’s Rocket Launch Fails to Impress As Rocket Stutters Instead of Heading To Outer Space

Leave a Comment / Tech News / By Athulya

Enthusiasts who want to fly to outer space might have to wait a little while longer. As reports, the test launch done by Virgin Orbit ended up failing, after the Boeing 747 dropped the LauncherOne rocket from it. Soon after the test, Virgin Orbit confirmed that while the drop was successful, the rocket suffered an anomaly. Here’s a look at what happened and what it could mean for the company, which aims to send tourists to space soon enough.

Not There Yet

The test flight happened yesterday, and the rocket after being dropped was to take off and ignite. However, the company confirmed that while it successfully ignited, some anomaly caused the rocket to then fall. The company has said that they will look into the data, to try to figure out what went wrong, and later try again. Virgin Orbit also made it clear that the test’s failure had not left anyone hurt or injured. William Pomerantz, VP of Special Operations at Virgin Orbit, tweeted that the team would go to bed wiser than they were in the morning. He stated that while the mission wasn’t a complete success, they were able to tackle one of the most significant technical hurdles associated with the launch.

To The Stars

Virgin Orbit, is a sister company to Richard Branson’s space tourism firm Virgin Galactic, which plans to send people to outer space. The company was out on Monday to test its small satellite launcher and rocket, which it had been developing over the last six years. The company was hoping to see the rocket successfully detach itself, ignite and then launch itself. However, while it did two of the first two correctly, some anomaly caused it to fail while in air.

How The Virgin Orbit’s Mission Plan Looks

The main rocket used by Virgin Orbit, LauncherOne, has the capacity to launch small and medium-sized payloads. The rocket can handle payloads that are as big as a washing machine and can launch them into outer space. The rocket utilises some unique science to do so, as it does not launch itself straight from the ground. Instead, LauncherOne starts its flight from under the wing of a Boeing 747 plane.

Nicknamed the Cosmic Girl, the Boeing 747 can carry the LauncherOne up to a maximum of 35,000 feet. Once the plane reaches that altitude, it pulls up and angles itself correctly so that the rocket can drop away. Once it falls, the LauncherOne’s engine ignites and propels ut towards outer space, along with its payload. Virgin Orbit’s CEO, Dan Hart, says that this unique science helps them stand apart. Due to this technology, they can launch outer space rockets from anywhere, as all they need is a suitable Boeing 747 plane. Therefore, this new technology gives the company incredible flexibility and accessibility.

Way Ahead

However, while this is how the technology should work, yesterday’s failure has highlighted the errors in their judgement. The test launch yesterday was the first time the Virgin Orbit would have put anything into orbit, which the LauncherOne is yet to achieve. While the company has been testing its hardware for a while, they are yet to breach the limits of space. Some of the tests that ended successfully were ignition tests for the LauncherOne engine, named NewtonThree. These tests were mainly done at Virgin Orbit’s facility situated at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

Moving Ahead

The Cosmic Girl is handled and flown by their chief pilot, Kelly Latimer, who has taken the main role in several launches. The team had even successfully launched a dummy rocket a while back to ensure that it fell the way they wanted it to. In essence, the team had tested everything except the rocket’s ignition, which is where things went wrong.

The way here has been a long one for Virgin Orbit, which had anticipated to test the LauncherOne much earlier. However, they were held up due to work developing the rocket. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the company halting its operations in Virgin Orbit factories along Long Beach. During the test, the LauncherOne carried a weighted payload that resembled a customer’s satellite. Though it did not end up how they planned, the company aims to learn from this failure and analyse what went wrong. Since more than half inaugural launches of new rockets fail, the team is prepared to rework the rocket and try again.

Once the rockets clear the test, the company’s first commercial service is launching over 10 satellites for NASA, via mission ELaNa XX. Once that is done, the company will then move on to launching small payloads into orbit. The other significant players in this market include Elon Musk-founded SpaceX, which is also trying to launch vehicles into space. We will have to see how all these plans pan out in the future. But for now, Virgin Orbit needs to focus on getting their launching right!

Athulya

SpaceX Unveils its Starship Prototype that may Take People to The Mars Next Year

Leave a Comment / News, Product, Tech News / By Yashica Vashishtha

Elon Musk is dreamy about making interplanetary possible for humans. And for that, he and his company SpaceX have been researching and developing things that possibly can help humans to start living in different planets and visit space whenever they want to. SpaceX completed 11 years since it first made it to the orbit on 28th Septemeber. Marking the date, on Saturday, the CEO unveiled the prototype of another rocket, Starship vehicle named Starhopper, that would take him and his company a bit closer to his dream.

On Saturday night, Elon Musk addressed a gathering of hundreds of people, including employees, local supporters, space enthusiasts and space reporters at the company’s South Texas launch site, where he showcased the new rocket’s prototype named mk. 1. The event was also live-streamed.

According to Musk the rocket still needs improvements in its design and working, but it may go into the orbit within six months. He also talked about the test flights the rocket will be having in one or two months. The test will be conducted at the highest altitude it can go to, like the tests were done for the Falcon rocket, with its prototype Grasshopper rocket. The company took multiple tests for Grasshopper to practice and perfecting its launching and landing. Till now, mk. 1 has completed two successful flights at a lower altitude.

The company built the Mk. 1 during this summer on the South Texas coast and the same will take off from the very coast for the test flights. This won’t be a single rocket. But a fleet of Starship rockets will be developed at Texas and the Florida coast.

“What’s really kind of hard to grasp, at a visceral level, is that this giant ship will do the same thing that Grasshopper did. This thing is going to take off, fly to 65,000 feet, about 20 kilometres and come back and land in about one to two months. So that giant thing, it’s really going to be pretty epic to see that thing take off and come back.” said Musk during the event.

Musk also revealed that the Starship rockets can carry around 100 people and that too for long-duration flights to different planets. The company aims to help the governments to build cities on planets like Mars, such that its rockets would be taking of significant quantities of cargo and people to the other planets.

“Starship serves as a large, long-duration spacecraft capable of carrying passengers or cargo to Earth orbit, planetary destinations, and between destinations on Earth,” SpaceX said.

Yashica Vashishtha

Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.

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LightSail 2 Successfully Sailing in Space through Sunlight

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Yashica Vashishtha

This is true that all the living things get energy from the sunlight, and now, with the latest experiment carried out by The Planetary Society through its LightSail 2 spacecraft, it is confirmed again. Bill Nye, CEO of the non-profit organisation, announced today that the organisation’s experimental bread-loaf-sized, solar-powered spacecraft has successfully raised its orbit with the help of sunlight.

“Today, we declare mission success. We’re going to a higher orbital altitude without rocket fuel, just with the push of sunlight,” Nye said in a press conference.

The spacecraft was launched on 25th June from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, along with the other payloads, with the help of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and was deployed in its solar sail on 23rd July. The solar sail is made of four triangular sails of shiny Mylar. Since the deployment of the craft, the team LightSail have been observing and supervising every movement of the spacecraft.

According to the team, LightSail 2 was moving slowly upward in the Earth’s orbit, and it has raised its apogee about 2 kilometres in the past four days. The 5 kilograms CubeSat had been keeping the records about the progress of the craft, and on July 2, it sent the information about its successful propelling to the Earth’s orbit.

The solar sail is 344 square foot in area. The light particle from the sun bounce from the shiny sails and generate a small amount of force. With the continues bouncing of the light, particles make this force even stronger and push the craft forward, raising the craft in its orbit, that too, without the use of fuel.

It has been over a decade since The Planetary Society has been working on the LightSail program, and the previous experiment with the LightSail was a fail. The current mission is crowdfunded through about 40,000 donations, raising $7 million.

LightSail 2 has become the first spacecraft of this size to rise its orbit with solar sailing, and the first to be propelled by solar sailing in the Earth orbit. Usually, the spacecraft make use of fuel engine to a propeller in the space, but the success of LightSail 2 is indicating that in future there can be big spacecraft that will consume the photons for propelling.

The orbit raised by LightSail 2 is slowly forming an elliptical shape, and since the orbit is more towards the Earth’s atmosphere, the LightSail team has estimated that it will be dying within a year. But the success of this experiment has raised new hopes for people.