History is witness that whenever the developed countries plotted to deny technical knowhow in any field, India picked up the gauntlet and came out with flying colours. One may recall how the USA put stumbling block on our way to procure heavy water, an essential component for our nuclear projects sometimes in 1980s. Without getting demoralized, India as a proud nation, immediately launched its own efforts and accordingly our committed scientist achieved the objective to surprise the exclusive club members of the heavy water technology. Similarly, when india made its debut in space programmes including communication satellites, it needed cryogenic engines which were needed for greater payloads. In early 1990s, the then USSR gave us seven such engines and six of them were used. All the times purchasing the system,involved heavy expenses and so we went to the willing USSR for this purpose. To our misfortune, exactly then the USSR disintegrated and the resultant weaker Russia could not overlook American stand to oblige a time tested friend like India. Once again we took up the challenge to harness our own talents.
WHAT IS CRYOGENIC ENGINE:
For sending any satellite into the space, it needs fuel to generate thrusting power. Different fuels have different capacities. The PSLV generally has solid or liquid fuels which do not give required power to heavier payloads. Since the communication satellites carry a heavier payload, they cannot depend on that conventional energy. If the payload is two tones, the system will require the thrust of a cryogenic engine. Liquid hydrogen and oxygen together meet this requirement. Both these gases, responsible for water, if treated in a highly minus temperature and liquified, the energy generated is capable of giving appropriate thrust to a heavier payload. During a two-decade long toils, the country could make a breakthrough. But the experiment does not stop only here. The most delicate part consists of collecting, storing and transporting because being highly inflammable, any conflagration may occur. So our two earlier tryst with this new found engine ended in fiasco. Ultimately, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle D-5 with cryogenic rocket power could successfully blast off on Jan 5, 2014, proving a great new year gift to the nation. According to the team of scientists at Sriharikota, the satellite could touch the lowest and highest points from earth exactly as set and is responding to the control room obediently.
After Russia, USA, China, European Space Agency and Japan, India has become the sixth country to boast of cryogenic engine technology. This success has saved the nation a huge amount of foreign exchange as no more we shall knock at the door of other countries. Now we can send satellites with several machineries for research. It will not only pave the way for manned space missions but also prove synergic in inter-planetary projects and watching enemy activities on the earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment