00:00India's space missions are often celebrated at the moment of success, but behind them are
00:08years of silent engineering and precision. Joining us today is Mr. J.A. Kamlakar, Senior
00:14ISRO Scientist who has worked for Chandrayaan-3. He has played a key role in shaping India's
00:20satellite capabilities. Welcome sir.
00:23So, India has launched plans for Bharti-Antharik Station. How will BAS be different from ISS?
00:31It will be different in the sense that ISS took many years to be built and it is much
00:37bigger. It has got modules both on the American side and the Russian side which are much more
00:43numbered. And many docking machines have gone and built over the years, replenished and that
00:50is a different, you know, size. Whereas, we are having our own limitations. So, we can
00:56carry at the present time, we can carry around 10 tons into low earth orbiting satellite using
01:02our own rockets. We are not planning to go and use foreign rockets for our station. That
01:08is very clear. So, what we will do is, we will build the station with only about 5 modules.
01:14So, the first module BAS-01, we are planning to build, we are using our LVM-3 capability which
01:21is around 10 tons. So, within that 10 tons, and orbit it around 450 kilometers, the station
01:30is going to orbit around 450. So, the station will be equipped only for the purpose of around
01:36two astronauts to be there. Not immediately, they will join much later when the station comes
01:42up. So, that is the capability. Subsequently, over the years, the second module also may
01:48be having similar capability of around 10 tons. The third, fourth, and fifth, hopefully, by
01:53that time, our parallelly, our designs and maturity is coming towards higher capability of the launch
02:00vehicles. In which case, we will re-plan the bus 3, 4, and 5 to a slightly bigger size. So,
02:07total, around 54 tons, we are trying to make the station right now. So, that way, compared
02:13to China and America, our station may be volume-wise, may be smaller, but it will have capacity to
02:21do all the laboratory work, to do assessment, multiple payloads, verifications, everything,
02:28provisions will be provided. And it will have power and other fuel supports required for the
02:36the maintaining of the station as well as the required provisions for the astronauts to
02:43be there for a period of 10 plus 7. 17 years is the targeted plan of today.
02:49So, sir, BAS is often described as a six-bedroom flat in space. Can you please describe what this
02:56means in practical terms, sir? It's definitely five modules. Each module will have crew stations
03:03where crew can do work and crew can sleep. And the crew has got whatever, you know, it's
03:11a, any bedroom in a hotel needs a, you know, supporting toilet and freshening up area. So,
03:18here also, we have to provide a PHMS system. And that is one of the critical designs compared
03:24to all others to maintenance, personal hygiene, that will be provided in each of these modules.
03:30So, a crew can stay. So, it is a five modules with the five capabilities of people to stay.
03:38So, you can call it a five-bedroom or whatever.
03:41So, after the success of Chandrayantri, what are the major upcoming ISRO missions in the pipeline?
03:49In the planetary explorations, we have a programs planned which, of course, some of them need
03:57formal approvals from the government and cabinet. Chandrayant 4 is in the pipeline which is the
04:03sample return mission which is much more complex and complicated compared to Chandrayant 3.
04:09Chandrayant 3 itself was a very critical mission where we needed to have the 14-day support of
04:14the Li power. So, we had to go on the day when the first light comes on that particular landing zone.
04:21So, the alignment had to happen one month before, at the time of the launch. So, we know, we want
04:27to launch at a given station. The trajectory and everything has to be planned one month in advance.
04:33So, even if you miss that, the moon will go away 15 degree per day. That means, your station will go
04:3915 and after one month only again that line will come in the orbit and our satellites will not sustain
04:45that much time. So, we have to plan accordingly. But Chandrayant 3 was successfully completed for all
04:53this. Chandrayant 4 is double that complication because not only landing, we have to drill and
04:59pick up some material and come back. Ascending module will be there which will lift from the descending
05:05module and it will dock to the transfer module which is orbiting moon. Then, the transfer module
05:11along with the ascending module will transfer whatever we picked up into the return module what
05:18we call which is part of the transfer module. Then, the ascending module will come out of detached.
05:24Then, the transfer module and the return module will come back to earth. Enter earth exactly a required
05:31location as to be planned the day we start from moon. Like, the way we plan from earth to land on moon.
05:38We know where we want to land on earth. It is in thaw desert. So, we have to accordingly plan the
05:44start point itself the trajectory. If you miss that, it can go anywhere in earth and we lose all the
05:50efforts. So, it is a very critical program and Chandrayant 4. Chandrayant 5 is another collaborative
05:56program program with Japan wherein partly we are sharing the resources. They are making the
06:05rover and the launcher is provided by them. The lander is provided by us and the payload capacity
06:12we are equally sharing on the rover as well as on the lander. That is 5. Subsequently, also if
06:19government approves we may have subsequent Chandrayaan programs. Bharati yantari station requires one
06:27type of docking. Docking there are two different versions. One is called autonomous docking with
06:33a petal based mechanism. Another is called berthing. So, we are launching after SPADX 1, 2 and 3.
06:40The 2 will more or less cover the requirements of Chandrayaan 4 as an advanced experiments.
06:48And SPADX 3 will cover requirements of BAS, Bharati yantari station. So, two more such programs.
06:56In also, the study program is going on for Venus to send a satellite to Venus. So, these are the things
07:03which are going on in the planetary. Otherwise, science and remote sensing as well as regular programs
07:11to support our resources as well as low earth orbiting satellites. Many are going on. So,
07:19whereas Chandrayaan 5 is something similar to Chandrayaan 3. We are just landing there will be a rover.
07:25A rover will do experiments but the only difference in Chandrayaan Lupex is they are going directly close
07:31to the pole. Almost in the dark zone where you are expected to have, you know, where sunlight is
07:38also very scarce and the deep craters do not have sunlight at all because the declination, the
07:43elevation angle of sun at that point is very, only about 1.5 degree. So, there are dark craters in
07:51moon which have never seen light. So, with this particular program is supposed to go very close
07:57to the pole, the Lupex 5. So, that is Chandrayaan 5. So, we are expecting a lot of science data from
08:05that zone in Chandrayaan 5. So, sir, how closely are ISRO's future missions aligned with BAS?
08:13BAS is a different, see, the requirements of BAS are different. BAS is only like launching a bigger
08:21satellite for us. It is only a circular orbit launching to a low-earbiting thing. So,
08:27launching and, you know, this is not so complicated as some of Chandrayaan's are known.
08:34So, BAS is a, as I now, after so many, we have launched in more than 200 satellites already.
08:41So, we have reasonably good expertise in maintaining and operating low-earth orbiting satellites,
08:46especially circular satellites. So, the other satellites don't have to be aligned to BAS. BAS only
08:53Gaganyan will give some inputs because Gaganyan will be in the similar orbits and Gaganyan crew,
09:00as in when they orbit and come back, their inputs will be useful in designing BAS.
09:05So, Gaganyan and BAS are aligned, not other satellites. Other satellites are much more complex.
09:11They may have to go to geostationary, navigation satellites need a different requirement,
09:18some strategic satellites need a different requirement. Those things are much more complex
09:24than, you know, this has got a different difficulties, maintenance of human beings,
09:30their life supporting systems and all. Whereas, other satellites for our own remote
09:36applications are very important. So,
09:41what I said is Gaganyan, yeah. So, we'll give some inputs to BAS, yes.
09:45So, Indian Air Force pilot Subhanshu Shukla was part of the Exeem 4 mission.
09:51Could you share some insights on his training?
09:53Yes, see, they had initially training at various places. Russia is one of them.
10:02And when they were about to go to Axiom and the International Space Station,
10:06two of them got trained in USA too. And apart from that, we have our own astronaut training
10:13center at Bangalore, wherein the astronauts, we are building a full-placed training facility,
10:20wherein they will have their own physical training and technical training.
10:24So, sir, what were his reflections on the experience of the mission?
10:27Yeah, yeah. We are take, see, he definitely had a very fruitful experience and really the flight,
10:34as well as ISS, everything, you know, he could do whatever suggested laboratory experiments,
10:41everything he has completed. And his return also was smooth. And then later, when our BAS
10:51committee, where I am chairing the committee, had to look after the design reviews of the systems.
10:58So, we have co-opted them as members, so that we can take their inputs,
11:03in case we need to correct something in our design. That way they are helping us to,
11:08you know, from the human approach point of view.
11:11So, thank you so much, sir, for giving us a glimpse into the engineering discipline.
11:14Thank you so much. Thank you.
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