India’s Manned Spaceflight Program
India has now embarked on its own human spaceflight effort though it has not been fully approved but is expected to receive approved during 2009. India had flown a guest cosmonaut scientist Rakesh Sharma within the Soviet Soyuz/Salyut program in 1984. It now plans to fly another flight of that nature in 2013 with an India astronaut to fly on a Russia Soyuz to ISS as part of a experience build up for their own efforts. Although under Government consideration since 2007 it has only now in 2009 begun in earnest to move forward with such a research and development effort well beyond the effort at technology development already carried out. With the State Planning Commission approval of a 1.7 billion Pound multi year Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) program design study and technology development planned to culminate with the launch from India into low earth orbit of an astronaut crew by 2015. It is planned to launch a two human crew on a seven day mission at an orbital altitude of 275-400 kilometers. Flight test of the booster un-crewed spacecraft combination is planned to begin in 2013-2014 to be followed with human crewed flights in 2014-2015
Human Spacecraft Concept
The three parts multiple (three person capacity) human crewed spacecraft seems to have an uncanny resemblance though somewhat smaller to the design studies for a descent module developed between the Russian, Federal Space Agency (FSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Russia is in fact assisting India in designing this new human crewed spacecraft and in astronaut training development. Russian has since independently decided to develop the spacecraft for its newly planned human lunar effort. That effort human spacecraft wise has some serious similarities to the U.S. Constellation program spacecraft design from the best options analysis as embodied in the Orion Crew Exploration spacecraft design. However the Russian manned lunar effort is designed around a different launch vehicle program approach than that proposed by the United States of America. The results to date indicate the Russian effort is based on a lighter crewed spacecraft more dependent on multiple earth orbital assembly launches than single launch effort being considered by the US program with only one manned spacecraft earth orbital rendezvous being considered. Though the Indian effort is on a smaller scale scope it does reflect a design trend seen in several of the Worlds leading space developing countries.
The three metric ton spacecraft concept as presented by the ISRO consists of three sections. The top of the spacecraft consist of a launch escape system designed to race away from the booster in case of launch vehicle failure early in flight. This in turn is attached to the two or three human crewed truncated cone descent module below the launch escape system that has a Service Module (SM) below the crewed descent module. The SM is used for life support, power, instrumentation and propulsion including retro fire to return to earth and reaction control systems (RCS) maneuvering operations in low earth orbit.
It is planned to launch the Indian human spacecraft on the GSLV-Mk-II with its 2.8 meter diameter upper stages design from the Srtharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR) Center on Sriharikota Island in the Bay of Bengal third new launch facility to be constructed.
Future Human Spaceflight Goals
India has already successfully started its unmanned lunar exploration effort with the launch of the Chandrayaan-1 mission on October 22, 2008 and the planned Chandrayaan-2 un-crewed landing mission to fly in the last quarter of 2011 or early 2012. Although some have characterized it as a 21 st. Century version of an Asian lunar race between China (PRC) verses Japan and India similar to the US/USSR efforts of the 1960’s. It in fact would seem to be a global trend leading to something much more important in the long term. All the World Powers that have the resources, economic capability must get the experience of doing a human lunar landing and base programs before the required global combined effort to transfer human civilization to another planet in our solar system will become practical and achievable. It would appear that this trend is gradually developing in that general direction whether intentionally or not. Yes the potential and real threat perceived from its neighbors and especially China the PRC are drivers enough to push this S&T effort. India’s ISRO even envisions manned lunar flight by 2020 as a possibility
India is like most western styled democratic republics plans to continue to push the basic sciences to push the basic technologies to drive the national economy both in commercial and military technology requirements for the nation’s well being as all others also carry out in the same pursuits.
