Chennai, Jan 22
The recovery satellite put into orbit by the Polar Synchronized
Launch Vehicle PSLV-C7 12 days ago was brought safely back to earth
Monday, marking India's first attempt to test re-entry and recovery.
The Space Recovery Experiment-1 (SRE-1) splashed down in the waters
of the Bay of Bengal at 9.45 a.m., about 140 km from where it had
taken off into space at the Sriharikota launch station in Andhra
Pradesh.
"Its speed at the time was about 40 km per hour, the speed of a
car," said an official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
adding that it was located by a Coast Guard helicopter and recovery
efforts were in full swing.
The satellite will be towed first to an area off the Ennore harbour,
north of Chennai. The Coast Guard vessel will then slowly navigate
northward to Sriharikota and reach the station by night.
On Jan 10, the PSLV-C7 had put the into space four satellites. Three
of these were communication satellites - one Indian, one Indonesian
and one Argentinean.
The fourth satellite was the SRE-1, which weighed about 550 kg and
was shaped like a cone. It was placed 625 km above the earth.
Its re-entry is the first ISRO test of re-usable vehicles and
satellites before India launches its moon mission in February 2008.
The SRE demonstrates the technology of an orbiting platform for
doing experiments in micro-gravity conditions.
The SRE has an aero-thermal protection system and ISRO is testing
basic technology for protective outer jackets for satellites and
vehicles, mission director N. Narayana Moorthy had told reporters.
The SRE-1 also contained a spacecraft platform, a floating system, a
parachute to control its drop, and micro-gravity payloads to reduce
its plunge speed.
The decision to test the re-entry and recovery technology was taken
after 80 scientists from across the country gave their unanimous
consent to sending a manned mission to space at a conference in
Bangalore in November at the instance of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.
It had a floatation system and a parachute, which helped reduce its
velocity after re-entry into earth atmosphere.
Made of mild steel, the satellite's re-entry has also given ISRO
data on navigation, guidance and control, hypersonic
aero-thermodynamics, management of communication blackout,
deceleration and floatation system and recovery operations.
"We have been fully in control of the vehicle during its stay in
space," said S.K. Sivakumar, ISRO's telemetry chief.
Only countries like the US, Russia and China have successfully
mastered re-entry technology.
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