1.Reusable space plane
RLV: The Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is India’s reusable space vehicle which ISRO hopes to use to reduce satellite launch costs. It looks like the American space shuttle, but it won’t be manned and will be mounted on top of a rocket to form a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO). The test of the RLV-TD (Technology Demonstrator) is scheduled in the coming months, which will see the prototype reach an altitude of 70 km before gliding back for a splash down in the Bay of Bengal. The next test will be a landing test on a 2 km long runway after being dropped from a height of 5 km. Once operational, the RLV will land on a runway like a regular aircraft after it deploys the payload into orbit. Currently there isn’t a 5 km long runway in the country that the RLV will require, but it is expected to come up near Sriharikota, the home of India’s space programme.
2. Launching humans into space
Manned Space Flight Programme: ISRO killed two birds with one stone when the GSLV Mk3 test with an inert cryogenic stage took off with the CARE (Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment) on 18 December 2014. The module reached an altitude of 80 km and made a successful splash down in the sea using the largest parachutes ever made in the country. Once operational, the crew module will host up to three Indian astronauts for orbital missions lasting up to a week in space. It will make India only the fourth nation in the world after Russia, US and China to have the ability to send humans into space. Maybe even to the moon one day. The Air Force will most likely be tasked with training and selection of the astronauts, and according to ISRO the schedule for sending the first Indian on an Indian rocket is planned for 2021. For this, the GSLV Mk3 will have to be man-rated – it has to demonstrate a set number of continuous successful launches.
3. Bigger rockets
GSLV Mk4: The global satellite industry revenues stood around $195 billion in 2013. And if India is to play a role here, it will need bigger and heavier rockets to launch heavier payloads into space. The GSLV Mk3 that is under development has a capacity to lift up to 4 tonnes into GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit – where all the communication satellites have to reach to reach the 36,000 km circular orbit). The next step though is likely to be named GSLV Mk4 which will be able to lift 6.5 tonnes. It is what ISRO will require if it is to send Indians to the moon as has been reported. The Mk3 will form the basis for the launch vehicle which will use four instead of two S200 solid rocket boosters, currently the second most powerful solid rockets in the world. The first stage with two Vikas Engines may give way to the quad engine stage.
4. Back to the moon
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Chandrayaan-2: India’s Chandrayaan mission was responsible for the discovery of water on the moon, which was it’s biggest accomplishment. A second Chandrayaan mission is in the works and will include a lander and rover along with the orbiter. The mission, which was supposed to be developed in collaboration with the Russian space agency, is now being developed in-house. The orbiter of the Chandrayaan-2 will have five instruments and will weigh around 1,400 kg. The mission lander will make a soft landing and release the rover which is designed to collect lunar soil samples and analyse them. The mission is set for launch in 2017.
5. Navigation system
ISRO
IRNSS: ISRO is also working on India’s own satellite navigation system which will be independent of the US controlled GPS system. Called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), one of the reasons for its development is the US denial of GPS data during the Kargil conflict. The IRNSS will offer standard positioning system for civilian use like for aircraft navigation. A special Restricted Service will allow users like armed forces who demand higher accuracy of coordinates. The system will comprise 7 satellites of which four are in orbit already. The last one is due for a launch in the middle of next year.