Launch market: ISRO needs mid-course fix

In the last fortnight, there have been two developments related to space, namely the successful launch of a very heavy rocket and, on the other end of the spectrum, of a 'micro' rocket by Japan. The first was the February 7 launch by SpaceX of a Falcon rocket. It carried a mannequin wearing a futuristic space suit, at the wheel of a Tesla car.

Both Tesla and SpaceX are ventures of Elon Musk. Able to loft nearly 64 tonnes of payload into low-earth orbit, this launch vehicle, with multiple re-usable stages, is certain to ensure for SpaceX a large share of the global space launch market. In addition, it can herald the unexplored vistas of space tourism as well.

Four days before the launch of the world's heaviest rocket, we witnessed the successful launch of the world's smallest rocket with the ability to loft a satellite into orbit, this one by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

While the Falcon Heavy stood 70 metres tall, Japan's low-cost rocket was just 10 metres in height and 53 centimetres in diameter. It carried a micro-satellite, a 3-kg TRICOM-1R to capture images of the Earth's surface. This experimental launch by JAXA was to test its capability to put micro satellites into space at affordable rates to meet the growing demand from the private sector.

Undoubtedly, both these represent galloping advances in space-related technologies. They could also have a disruptive influence on the Indian space industry by weaning away the existing and potential customers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Modern satellites, used for such purposes as weather observation or military reconnaissance and surveillance, are generally large, weigh several thousand kilograms and are commissioned by governments.

But in recent years, private firms have gotten into the satellite business, developing smaller spacecraft for purposes such as traffic control or geographical studies. The conventional heavier satellites require larger rockets with greater thrust and commensurate infrastructure and financing, and therefore each launch is an expensive affair.

In contrast, the smaller satellites can be launched on smaller, cheaper launch vehicles and even in multiples. For instance, in February 2017, ISRO launched 104 satellites in one go, a world record.

There are an increasing number of applications for such small or micro satellites, which can be launched in constellations, such as spaced-based internet services, for which the large satellites may not be ideal. These small satellites can be launched 'piggyback', using excess capacity on larger launch vehicles and allow for cheaper designs and mass production of spacecraft.  

India's journey of space operations can be said to have begun with its first experimental satellite launch vehicle, SLV-3. It was an all-solid, four-stage vehicle capable of placing 40 kg-class payloads in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It was successfully launched in 1980 and it took the Rohini satellite, RS-1, from the Sriharikota launch pad to orbit. It brought honour to India as the sixth member of an exclusive club of space-faring nations.

The SLV success was followed by the development of the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), which was to be capable of hoisting payloads of up to 150 kg but which never quite really took off as a launch vehicle, and finally to the third-generation launch vehicle - the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

The PSLV can carry a payload of 1,750 kg into sun-synchronous orbit and has since 1994 registered 39 successful launches, an envious record by any standard, launching 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for foreign customers.

Commercial market

ISRO is also mastering launching heavier class payloads into geo-orbits with the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle series. But the PSLV is the space agency's workhorse for the commercial launch market for now. In view of its yet-to-be perfected technology for reusing its rocket stages, the cost of PSLV launches is higher in comparison to other launchers worldwide of comparable payload capability.

Now, the Falcon Heavy has both higher payload capability as well as reusable rocket stages, thus bringing down the cost per kilogram launched into space signficantly. Indeed, some estimates project that launch costs could be reduced to almost a tenth of current costs if reusable technology is perfected.

At present, ISRO may be an ideal choice as satellite launcher for small and medium satellites, but this is set to change adversely due to developments such as heavy, reusable launchers and Japan's micro-rockets. Without reusable technology, especially, the PSLV could get squeezed out of the market for both small and medium satellites.

Hence, ISRO should be given all possible assistance by the government to develop specialised expertise in launching small and micro-satellites as well as to launch heavy payloads to meet the challenges of emerging demands in this thriving sector.

(The writer is a student of aerospace engineering at Jain University, Bengaluru)