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Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
ISRO's 2025 setbacks mirror 1988 — and that's not bad news
Nearly 37 years ago, in 1988, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was reeling under two successive failures of the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV). Critics had then questioned whether ASLV is capable of flying at all. The Expert Review Committee headed by the then director of the National Aerospace Laboratory at Bangalore, Roddam Narasimha, examined the causes of failure and observed that 'the investigations have not revealed any major technological problems that cannot be handled with the capabilities and skills already available in ISRO…. space projects outside India have gone through similar experiences, but lessons learnt from such failures can establish the basis for future successes'. After two successive failures this year, it might seem like deja vu for ISRO, but these lines from the committee's report will form a silver lining. Early this week, ISRO's reliable workhorse, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), failed to launch the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-09) into sun-synchronous polar orbit. It is only the fourth time that PSLV has failed in 62 launches since 1993. In January this year, GSLV successfully launched NVS-02, a surveillance satellite, but could not place it in the correct geosynchronous orbit. NVS-02 is part of a collection of satellites that will form the backbone of India's positioning system NavIC, a subcontinental answer to the United State's Global Positioning System (GPS). Most likely, having missed its correct position in the sky, NVS-02 will not be part of NavIC. Even as detailed reports on these failures are awaited, the reasons are not about a lack of mastery over the technology of satellite launches and placement in a desired orbit. In comparison, the failures of ASLV in 1988 – an inadequate digital autopilot system to poor control during the transition from one stage to another — were far more fundamental. Despite rare failures, the PSLV has emerged as a reliable and cost-effective launch platform for small satellites weighing up to 2,000 kg. Since 2015, PSLV has helped ISRO generate about Rs 3,861 crore from satellite launch services. In this segment, India's market share is only about 3 per cent, and this potential remains untapped. The failures remind us that despite the mastery over technology and repeated successes, space exploration will remain an unforgiving territory where even minor errors will be harshly punished. A mildly unhinged screw in a train might be harmless, but on a rocket it can be a disaster. There are many such instances. In 1988, about 50 seconds after the ASLV-D2 was launched, control over the rocket was lost for only about half a second after the first-stage ignition. This half-second error propagated quickly, and the rocket crashed into the sea. NASA launched the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1998. It failed due to a misunderstanding between two teams that used different units for distance measurement, one using meters and the other using inches. The lunar module that carried Neil Armstrong to the moon in 1969 was luckier. With hardly any fuel left, it landed far from the designated place due to an unexpected extra thrust. Expecting such eventualities, the US President's office had a prepared speech in case the astronauts did not return alive. Fortunately, that speech never had to be used. With lakhs of components and hundreds of interconnected subsystems, the reasons for rocket failures vary widely. Usually, failure implies that the rocket could not place the satellite in the intended orbit. By this yardstick, in the last two decades, the worldwide rocket launch failure rate is about 5-10 per cent. Nearly 58 per cent of the failures arose from propulsion systems responsible for rocket flight. This week's PSLV-C61 failure belongs to this category. ISRO's initial assessment attributes the failure to a pressure drop in its third-stage engine. Further, 36 per cent of failures are due to incorrect functioning of systems that control the trajectory, altitude, and separation of the rocket. Modern rockets are controlled by computer software, which itself is another point of failure. Since 2000, about 14 per cent of failures could be traced back to software glitches. Failures are a great leveller. They haunt more advanced spacefaring nations, such as the US and Russia, as much as they hurt India. The Vanguard rockets the US employed during the 1950s had only a 27 per cent success rate. Russia's famed Soyuz rockets, too, have failed, most recently in 2018 while carrying astronauts to the International Space Station. Space exploration is fraught with failures. For ISRO, 2025 has kicked off with challenges but not setbacks. As the Expert Committee spelt out in 1989, research, design and operations must be made rigorous in 'evolving solutions to the complex problems posed by the advanced technologies' in launch vehicle programmes. In the world of space exploration with zero tolerance for errors, this is the only way to recover from failures. The writer is a professor of Physics at IISER, Pune. Opinions are personal
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Glitch-hit NVS-02 can provide services only for 2-3 hours per day
BENGALURU: Even as the failure analysis committee (FAC) set up to look into the May 18 PSLV failure prepares for its first formal meeting, details about the defective valve that affected India's NV-02 navigation satellite , launched on Jan 29, have emerged, confirming that the satellite is only partially operational. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In an official response to queries under right to information, has conceded that NVS-02's current orbital parameters — approximately 190km perigee (closest point to Earth) and 37,000km apogee (farthest point to Earth) — allow for only a few hours of usable Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) service daily. 'At present, with the given orbital parameters of NVS-02, it is estimated to provide PNT service for an average duration of 2 to 3 hours per day. But this calls for user receiver modifications and firmware updates. Technical feasibility of the same is being worked out,' Isro's response reads. Isro's GSLV-F15 that lifted off with the NVS-02 at 6.23am on Jan 29 had placed the satellite which is part of India's NavIC constellation, in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) around 19 minutes later. Just a few hours later, Isro had detected a glitch in the valve that was to supply oxidiser to the liquid apogee motor (LAM). No exact reason Without oxidiser, Isro was unable to fire LAM, perform orbit corrections and take the satellite to the intended final orbit. The exact reason for the failure could not be ascertained, the response reads, noting that no single point failure was responsible. Test results confirmed that the issue was not related to power disconnection. Despite the reduced service window, Isro maintains that the accuracy of the PNT signal from NVS-02 will be 'usable'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The NVS-02, part of India's NavIC constellation, carries one indigenous Rubdium Frequency Standard (RAFS) and three foreign RAFS, which serve as timing sources critical to navigation accuracy. While Isro maintains that the Indian-made RAFS unit is performing comparably to their foreign counterparts, it declined to disclose technical information about the same, citing national scientific interest. PSLV failure Meanwhile, the FAC setup to investigate the cause of failure of the PSLV whose third stage (PS3) failed on May 18, was scheduled to meet for the first time on May 21. Isro chairman V Narayanan told TOI: 'I have conducted the six meetings so far, including four on the day of the launch. We have to enable the FAC to conduct its meeting.' While Isro has officially said that there was a drop in chamber pressure of the third stage (PS3) motor case, it is yet to conclude on what may have caused the pressure to dip. Sources had indicated to TOI, as reported in its May 19 edition, that reasons that may have caused the drop in pressure could be: depletion of internal insulation, which affects the fuel burn, or a defective nozzle. Narayanan, however, said: 'I don't want to preempt anything at this moment and all I can say is that it is connected to the third stage.' He said that the FAC headed by M Annamalai will investigate the matter. Annamalai is a former Isro scientist who has served as director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) and has earlier been part of multiple FACs.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Operation Sindoor: How homegrown deftech mount a near-impregnable air defence
By all counts, India's comprehensive takedown of Pakistan's military in the 4-day face-off was enabled by its ability to mount a near-impregnable air defence, while simultaneously undertaking devastating precision strikes on multiple enemy targets. Remarkably, this capability was inspired by a homegrown deftech stack. The standout air defence weapon, Akash , a short-range surface-to-air missile, shielded vulnerable installations and cities. It's entirely configured on mobile platforms, making it very versatile. Similarly, deployment of an array of UAVs, a hybrid constellation of homegrown and foreign drones, boosted India's offensive repertoire. Unlike other air defence systems like Israel's Iron Dome, India's air defence required integration of both foreign and domestic hardware and software systems. This is a big capability, given that technology evolves so rapidly, making it almost impossible for a country to achieve end-to-end indigenisation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 오돌토돌 닭살피부, 이걸 몰라서 평생 방치했었네요 현명한소비자 Undo The piece de resistance, though, was BrahMos cruise missile , which decapitated Pakistan's prime airbases, including Nur Khan and Rahim Yar Khan. At present, BrahMos is 3x faster than other cruise missiles - achieving almost 3x speed of sound - and is considered the best in the world. In turn, the surgical precision of these strikes was achieved by using NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), India's homegrown satellite navigations system put together by Isro. It is the equivalent of GPS (US), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), and BeiDou (China). The accuracy of NavIC's footprint over the subcontinent is within a metre. Live Events While this is laudable, it begs the question: why is such world-class tech capability not replicated across other sectors? Worse, this proficiency masks more than it reveals about India's strategic dependency on foreign sourcing. The uncomfortable answer is that both deftech and spacetech are bankrolled by GoI and, hence, derisked. In contrast, most other sectors, dominated by the private sector, are still struggling under the dual burden of regulatory and tax overreach, a hangover from the licence raj days India is unable to shed. On July 1, India will celebrate the 8th anniversary of GST. It was the biggest piece of tax reform, which economically united the country under the idea of 'One Nation, One Tax'. GST created this architecture by collapsing 36 tax jurisdictions into one tax, subsuming 17 taxes and 13 cesses levied by Union and state governments. It led to doubling of registered taxpayers to 1.40 cr, and created an unprecedented surge in buoyancy. In April, GST collections topped a record ?2.37 lakh cr. Despite these impressive stats, regulatory overreach and red tape are threatening to trip up this marquee tax reform. It emerges that the same commodity can be taxed at multiple rates. GST rate on popcorn mixed with salt and spices is 5%, 12% on pre-packaged and labelled popcorn, and 18% on caramelised popcorn. Ironically, share of popcorn in GST collections is in decimal points. Worse, this iterative interpretation smacks of the sales tax era that preceded GST's rollout. Similarly, GST Council, which has oversight of the tax rollout, has been dragging its feet on shrinking tax slabs. The larger worry is that unchecked red tape is also taking its toll on strategic interests. This isn't immediately apparent given our focus on successes notched up in deftech and spacetech. The best defence is a strong Indian economy. In turn, this is predicated on the country's ability to rein in red tape and foster domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. This plays into the hands of global vested interests who are systematically creating strategic gaps in India's bid to build military capability domestically. Centre for Digital Economy Policy president Jaijit Bhattacharya and principal additional director general Ranjan Khanna recently pointed out that dumping by China is jeopardising domestic capacity to manufacture TDQ (trimethyl dihydroquinoline), PX-13 (pilflex 13) and insoluble sulphur, required in the production of off-road tyres used in military-grade trucks. Two decades ago, similar dumping of penicillin G by China had forced the shutdown of four domestic companies manufacturing this antibiotic critical for treating bacterial infections, especially of combat personnel. Acknowledging the strategic challenge, GoI has now extended PLI to restart domestic production of pencillin G. Yes, while India's recent display of its deftech capability was spectacular, it is, unfortunately, an island of excellence. There is a clear imperative to extend this capability across sectors. The solution to achieve this lies within, not outside.
Economic Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Operation Sindoor: How homegrown deftech mount a near-impregnable air defence
By all counts, India's comprehensive takedown of Pakistan's military in the 4-day face-off was enabled by its ability to mount a near-impregnable air defence, while simultaneously undertaking devastating precision strikes on multiple enemy targets. Remarkably, this capability was inspired by a homegrown deftech stack. The standout air defence weapon, Akash, a short-range surface-to-air missile, shielded vulnerable installations and cities. It's entirely configured on mobile platforms, making it very versatile. Similarly, deployment of an array of UAVs, a hybrid constellation of homegrown and foreign drones, boosted India's offensive repertoire. Unlike other air defence systems like Israel's Iron Dome, India's air defence required integration of both foreign and domestic hardware and software systems. This is a big capability, given that technology evolves so rapidly, making it almost impossible for a country to achieve end-to-end indigenisation. The piece de resistance, though, was BrahMos cruise missile, which decapitated Pakistan's prime airbases, including Nur Khan and Rahim Yar Khan. At present, BrahMos is 3x faster than other cruise missiles - achieving almost 3x speed of sound - and is considered the best in the world. In turn, the surgical precision of these strikes was achieved by using NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), India's homegrown satellite navigations system put together by Isro. It is the equivalent of GPS (US), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), and BeiDou (China). The accuracy of NavIC's footprint over the subcontinent is within a metre. While this is laudable, it begs the question: why is such world-class tech capability not replicated across other sectors? Worse, this proficiency masks more than it reveals about India's strategic dependency on foreign uncomfortable answer is that both deftech and spacetech are bankrolled by GoI and, hence, derisked. In contrast, most other sectors, dominated by the private sector, are still struggling under the dual burden of regulatory and tax overreach, a hangover from the licence raj days India is unable to July 1, India will celebrate the 8th anniversary of GST. It was the biggest piece of tax reform, which economically united the country under the idea of 'One Nation, One Tax'. GST created this architecture by collapsing 36 tax jurisdictions into one tax, subsuming 17 taxes and 13 cesses levied by Union and state governments. It led to doubling of registered taxpayers to 1.40 cr, and created an unprecedented surge in buoyancy. In April, GST collections topped a record ?2.37 lakh these impressive stats, regulatory overreach and red tape are threatening to trip up this marquee tax reform. It emerges that the same commodity can be taxed at multiple rates. GST rate on popcorn mixed with salt and spices is 5%, 12% on pre-packaged and labelled popcorn, and 18% on caramelised share of popcorn in GST collections is in decimal points. Worse, this iterative interpretation smacks of the sales tax era that preceded GST's rollout. Similarly, GST Council, which has oversight of the tax rollout, has been dragging its feet on shrinking tax larger worry is that unchecked red tape is also taking its toll on strategic interests. This isn't immediately apparent given our focus on successes notched up in deftech and spacetech. The best defence is a strong Indian economy. In turn, this is predicated on the country's ability to rein in red tape and foster domestic and foreign plays into the hands of global vested interests who are systematically creating strategic gaps in India's bid to build military capability domestically. Centre for Digital Economy Policy president Jaijit Bhattacharya and principal additional director general Ranjan Khanna recently pointed out that dumping by China is jeopardising domestic capacity to manufacture TDQ (trimethyl dihydroquinoline), PX-13 (pilflex 13) and insoluble sulphur, required in the production of off-road tyres used in military-grade decades ago, similar dumping of penicillin G by China had forced the shutdown of four domestic companies manufacturing this antibiotic critical for treating bacterial infections, especially of combat personnel. Acknowledging the strategic challenge, GoI has now extended PLI to restart domestic production of pencillin while India's recent display of its deftech capability was spectacular, it is, unfortunately, an island of excellence. There is a clear imperative to extend this capability across sectors. The solution to achieve this lies within, not outside.
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Business Standard
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Private defence company stock soars 12% today; zooms 76% from March low
Share price of Astra Microwave Products today: Share price of Astra Microwave Products (Astra) soared 12 per cent to ₹1,030.10 on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade in an otherwise subdued market. The stock of the private aerospace & defence company hit an 11-month high. It is inching towards its record high level of ₹1,059.75 touched on June 18, 2024. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was down 0.3 per cent at 81,093 at 11:22 am. In the past one week, Astra has outperformed the market by surging 24 per cent, as compared to 2 per cent rise in the BSE Sensex. The stock has recovered 76 per cent from its 52-week low of ₹584.20 hit on March 3, 2025. Orderbook update & Outlook As on December 31, 2024, Astra's order book stood at ₹1,960.2 crores, which is executable in the next 12 to 36 months' period. The country is witnessing a rapid import substitution, increased domestic production, and growing exports, leading to an inflow of higher indigenous orders to defence public sector undertakings (PSUs). Private players like Astra may also benefit from the flow down of these orders. With the focus on increasing participation in indigenisation orders, the company said its consolidated order book stood at ₹2,332 crore as of December 2024. The defence industry is advancing steadily towards self-reliance driven by government policies, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) innovations and global collaborations. The country is witnessing a rapid import substitution, increased domestic production and growing exports. This push towards indigenisation is expected to boost the earnings of both public and private defense companies as many defense PSUs are witnessing good order inflows with higher indigenous percentages, Astra said in Q3FY25 earnings conference call. Meanwhile, analysts believe that the order pipeline remains strong for Astra in both the domestic and export markets, considering the substantial opportunity in defence and space sectors. Management sees total orders opportunity worth ₹24,000-25,000 crore for the company over FY25-28E, primarily in defence and space electronics. Margins and profitability is expected to improve further led by execution of higher-margin domestic contracts. The company has moved up in the value chain from manufacturing subsystems/ components to development & manufacturing of various high-end, high-value systems. The Company continues to explore new opportunities and strengthen its overall capabilities through in-house development and strategic collaborations with other key players. With critical systems like microwave and radio frequency application-based equipments like Gallium Nitride (GaN) Transmit/Receive Modules (TRMs), NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) chips and other key radars & EW systems, etc., analysts at ICICI Securities, believe that the company continues to improve its product mix significantly. About Astra Microwave Products Astra Microwave Products' (Astra) is engaged in the design, development and manufacture of sub-systems for Radio Frequency and microwave systems, primarily used in defence, space & meteorology. The company's product range includes radars, missile electronics, electronic warfare, satellites, MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) and communication systems Astra has 3 Automatic assembly lines for PCB Assembly, 7 Class 10K cleanrooms and 1 Class 100K clear room. The RF & Microwave Test Instruments & infrastructure extends from 30MHz up to 40GHz. In-house Environment test facilities including EMI/ EMC facility and a first for any Indian Private Industry-Near Field Antenna test and measurement range. Starting with a diverse range of microwave products like filters, transmitters, receivers, antennas, etc., the company has produced, developed & supplied space-borne hardware that has flown on Indian satellites. In addition, Astra has moved up the value chain and has supplied multiple Systems to various end users in Defence, Aerospace & Metrology segment.
