IIT-M, Isro to establish research centre to study thermal management of spacecraft

Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) and Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Monday announced the launch of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in fluid and thermal science that will focus on spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal management challenges. 

To be set up with a seed funding of Rs 1.84 crore by the Isro, the CoE’s projects will cover critical areas, including combustion instability in hybrid rockets, and cryo-tank thermodynamics, among others. 

The Centre will act as a nodal centre for spacecraft and launch vehicle-related thermal management research activities of ISRO. Thermal problems regarding design, analysis and testing of various components could be performed by leveraging the expertise of the IIT-M faculty.

A Memorandum of Understanding to establish the CoE was signed on November 11 in Chennai between officials from the IIT-M and Isro. 

The Centre will serve as a key research hub for ISRO, focusing on spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal management challenges, while Isro will provide an initial seed funding Rs. 1.84 crore to establish the Centre and for essential infrastructure and equipment, and additional funding for consumables, maintenance and for future projects in fluid-thermal sciences.

The projects will cover critical areas, including spacecraft thermal management, combustion instability in hybrid rockets, and cryo-tank thermodynamics and the Centre will enhance collaboration between ISRO scientists and IIT-M faculty, fostering innovation in fluid and thermal sciences.

“By addressing complex thermal engineering challenges, we aim to contribute significantly to the nation’s space program and strengthen India’s self-reliance in space technologies,” Prof. Arvind Pattamatta, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-M said.

IIT-M said it had proposed to establish the CoE for research in ‘Fluid and Thermal Sciences’, which will act as a nodal centre for spacecraft and launch vehicle-related thermal management research activities of ISRO. Thermal problems regarding design, analysis and testing of various components could be analysed by leveraging the expertise of faculty.

This proposal was assessed by ISRO and found that the proposed facility can support ISRO’s R&D activities in studies related to spacecraft thermal management, combustion instability in hybrid rockets and cryo-tank thermodynamics studies, among other fields.