Bangalore, October 2: Close on the heels of display of its military might by China on the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic, India quietly achieved something that will have a far-reaching impact on the country’s defence capabilities.
T K Alex, director of the ISRO Satellite Centre at Bangalore, told the TNS today that an indigenous cryogenic engine had been successfully developed. "The cryogenic engine is ready. It has already reached the space port at Sriharikota (from Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu)", he said.
The advance would give India the ability to build the dreaded intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). This led the US to prevent Russia from supplying cryogenic technology to India. India’s contract with Russia for buying cryogenic engines came under fire from the US which said it was a violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime to which Russia is a signatory. Eventually, the Russian Federation supplied a limited number of engines to India without the transfer of critical technologies.
Only a few countries, including the US, Russia and France, have the necessary knowhow to build cryogenic engines fuelled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
In December last year, ISRO had successfully conducted the flight acceptance hot test of the indigenous cryogenic engine at its Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri.
The first indigenous cryogenic engine will be used in the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket that is slated to put the experimental communication satellite GSAT-4 in the orbit. "The launch will take place sometime in coming December", Alex said.
Besides the use of the indigenous cryogenic engine, the GSAT-4 launch would also be unique in many other ways. "For instance, we shall be using the electric propulsion technology for the first time to give the geostationary satellites a longer life span", he said.
"GSAT-4 itself is not designed to have a long life. But once the technology, known as plasma thrusters, is successfully tested, it will be used in future satellites to give them an enhanced life span", Alex said.
Electric propulsion technology would be used for sustenance of a satellite for the initial two to three years. "During this period the solar panels (for generating electricity from solar energy) work very well. Afterwards the satellite will switch over to the chemical propulsion mode", said Alex.
Weighing around two tonnes, GSAT-4 will carry a multi-beam Ka-band bent pipe and regenerative transponder and navigation payload in C, L1 and L5 bands. The satellite reportedly can guide civil and military aircraft.
India’s rare achievement in rocket technology
It is a matter of pride for all Indians that the country today is in a position to build its own Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), needed by the armed forces to meet any serious threat to India’s security. This has been made possible after successfully developing the country’s first cryogenic engine, which is ready to be used in the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) that will put the GSAT-4 experimental communications satellite in orbit sometime in December this year. India is the sixth country in the world after the US, Russia, the European Space Agency, China and Japan to have acquired indigenous cryogenic engine building capability. The cryogenic stage "is a very complex system", which will give a big push to India’s space research programme. A cryogenic engine uses liquid hydrogen at minus 260 degrees Celsius and liquid oxygen at minus 183 degrees Celsius. As Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists have explained, those engaged in the task have to acquire great expertise in storing and pumping liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
It all began with India reaching an agreement with Russia in 1992 for the supply of cryogenic engines and technology for the ISRO’s GSLV programme. Moscow, however, reneged on its commitment following pressure from the US, which said that Russia could not go ahead with the transfer of this sensitive technology to India because of being a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime. The ISRO took it as a challenge and the happy result is before all of us to see. The ISRO Cryogenic Upper Stage Project, launched in 1994, helped India join the world’s elite club with indigenous cryogenic technology with the first "full test firing" in 2002.
The brief test for reaching the full-fledged cryogenic stage in the rocket system development at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu was conducted in October 2006. Now the much-awaited cryogenic engine is ready to be used for different purposes. The US forcing Russia to deny India this crucial technology has proved to be a blessing in disguise. The ISRO scientists must be adequately rewarded for their remarkable achievement.
