Evolution Of Solid Propellant Rockets In India

Few space programmes anywhere in the world would have had such a modest beginning: one van and a small fleet of precious bicycles used, besides other things, for ferrying parts of sounding rockets--rockets that glean information on the upper atmosphere--to the launch site. And for use as an office and laboratory was the St Mary Magdalene Church at Thumba, the small fishing village in Kerala where it all started. What the programme lacked in facilities, however, was more than made up for by the dedication of the small band of people who worked there, and their calibre. Leading this team was Vikram Sarabhai, one of the great visionaries of modern India. A great motivator of people, he was able to inspire his talented team to put India firmly on the path to space exploration. Then and now, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has continued to draw gifted people of the stature of Satish Dhawan, Brahm Prakash, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and U.R. Rao, to list only a few. Reach for the Stars: The Evolution of India's Rocket Programme relates, for the first time, how India developed its satellite launch capability. heartbreak, and one rendered all the more difficult as most of the technology had to be developed indigenously, ranging from the rocket engines themselves to precision guidance systems. Today India is able to design and build its own Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) to launch remote sensing satellites used in weather forecasting, resource mapping and crop yield estimates--functions crucial to putting the country on the fast track to development. In fact, the Indian remote sensing satellites form the largest constellation of such satellites in space. From sounding rockets to PSLVs has been a huge technological jump, and in this dramatic and amazing story author Gopal Raj tells how the transition was made, and the reasoning behind some of ISRO's most difficult choices in the course of thirty-eight years. It is specially apt that the book comes when the Indian rocket programme is poised at the edge of a new phase of growth, when cryogenic technology will give India the capability to launch its own communication satellites. story of a group of people who, as with their gravity-defying rockets, could rise above their limitations to accomplish the impossible.

The book follows a unified approach to present the basic principles of rocket propulsion in concise and lucid form. This textbook comprises of ten chapters ranging from brief introduction and elements of rocket propulsion, aerothermodynamics to solid, liquid and hybrid propellant rocket engines with chapter on electrical propulsion. Worked out examples are also provided at the end of chapter for understanding uncertainty analysis. This book is designed and developed as an introductory text on the fundamental aspects of rocket propulsion for both undergraduate and graduate students. It is also aimed towards practicing engineers in the field of space engineering. This comprehensive guide also provides adequate problems for audience to understand intricate aspects of rocket propulsion enabling them to design and develop rocket engines for peaceful purposes.

Propellants contain considerable chemical energy that can be used in rocket propulsion. Bringing together information on both the theoretical and practical aspects of solid rocket propellants for the first time, this book will find a unique place on the readers' shelf providing the overall picture of solid rocket propulsion technology. Aimed at students, engineers and researchers in the area, the authors have applied their wealth of knowledge regarding formulation, processing and evaluation to provide an up to date and clear text on the subject.

Developed and expanded from the work presented at the New Energetic Materials and Propulsion Techniques for Space Exploration workshop in June 2014, this book contains new scientific results, up-to-date reviews, and inspiring perspectives in a number of areas related to the energetic aspects of chemical rocket propulsion. This collection covers the entire life of energetic materials from their conceptual formulation to practical manufacturing; it includes coverage of theoretical and experimental ballistics, performance properties, as well as laboratory-scale and full system-scale, handling, hazards, environment, ageing, and disposal. Chemical Rocket Propulsion is a unique work, where a selection of accomplished experts from the pioneering era of space propulsion and current technologists from the most advanced international laboratories discuss the future of chemical rocket propulsion for access to, and exploration of, space. It will be of interest to both postgraduate and final-year undergraduate students in aerospace engineering, and practicing aeronautical engineers and designers, especially those with an interest in propulsion, as well as researchers in energetic materials.

The book is a treatise on solid propellants in nine chapters, covering the history, chemistry, energetics, processing and characterization aspects of composite solid propellants, internal ballistics, advanced solid propellants, safety, quality and reliability and homogenous or double base propellants. The book also traces the evolution of solid propellant technology in ISRO for launch vehicles and sounding rockets. There is a detailed table of contents, expanded index, glossary, exhaustive references and questions in each chapter. It can be used as a textbook for science and engineering students, as a reference book for researchers and as a companion to scientists and engineers working in the research, development and production areas of solid propellants.

Space Security involves the use of space (in particular communication, navigation, earth observation, and electronic intelligence satellites) for military and security purposes on earth and also the maintenance of space (in particular the earth orbits) as safe and secure areas for conducting peaceful activities. The two aspects can be summarized as "space for security on earth" and “the safeguarding of space for peaceful endeavors.” The Handbook will provide a sophisticated, cutting-edge resource on the space security policy portfolio and the associated assets, assisting fellow members of the global space community and other interested policy-making and academic audiences in keeping abreast of the current and future directions of this vital dimension of international space policy. The debate on coordinated space security measures, including relevant 'Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures,' remains at a relatively early stage of development. The book offers a comprehensive description of the various components of space security and how these challenges are being addressed today. It will also provide a number of recommendations concerning how best to advance this space policy area, given the often competing objectives of the world's major space-faring nations. The critical role to be played by the United States and Europe as an intermediary and "middle diplomat" in promoting sustainable norms of behavior for space will likewise be highlighted. In providing a global and coherent analytical approach to space security today, the Handbook focuses on four areas that together define the entire space security area: policies, technologies, applications, and programs. This structure will assure the overall view of the subject from its political to its technical aspects. Internationally recognized experts in each of the above fields contribute, with their analytical synthesis assured by the section editors.