Author: Yuri does not take revenge today, and it is forbidden to reprint without permission
In terms of high technology and comprehensive national strength, India has always wanted to compete with us. In their minds, the "dragon-elephant dispute" will extend from the ocean to space, and India announced in the past two days that it intends to build its own space station in 2030, and the reason they gave is also very strange: "China is ok, so we can also do it." ”
On January 17, India's Eurasian Times reported that India's Minister of Atomic Energy and Space Development, Jitendra Singh, announced in Parliament that India's first space station will be completed in 2030, and the first spacecraft of India's long-awaited manned space project "Gaganyaan" is scheduled to be launched this year, that is, to complete manned spaceflight in one step within 7 years: independent launch of spacecraft, construction of space station, long-term operation, and directly omitting the space laboratory stage.
Image: GSLV MKIII and the Gaganyan spacecraft
India's manned spaceflight program has a long history, but the real "launch" (approved project) is that since Modi came to power, it was officially launched in August 2018, code-named "Gaganyaan" (Sanskrit for "space flight tool"), costing 100 billion rupees (about $1.3 billion), if successful, India will become Russia (Soviet) and the United States, the world's fourth independent space power with manned space capabilities, the elite of the "Space Club" elite.
Image: "Gaganyan" is a 2-cabin spacecraft
Before it was officially approved, the "Gaganyan" program was already promoting development. In December 2014, the scale-up model of the Gaganjan spacecraft was tested for the first time using the GSLV MK3 rocket, and in July 2018, the launcher of the Satish Dawan Space Launch Center successfully conducted the "Gaganyan" spacecraft launch suspension test for the first time, verifying the reliability of the escape tower.
Photo: India shows an extravehicular spacesuit, presumably a Russian "sea hawk" bought directly
According to the configuration published by the Indian Organization for Space Research (ISRO). "Gaganyan" is an 8-ton spacecraft similar to "Alliance" and "Shenzhou", but it is a more popular 2-cabin layout instead of a 3-cabin layout of the new generation of spacecraft, that is to say, there is no orbital module, including a 5.3-ton return capsule and a 2.9-ton service module, which can allow 3 astronauts to fly in low orbit for 5 to 7 days.
Image: A miniature model of an Indian manned spacecraft, splashed down in the Bay of Bengal
Before actually carrying out manned flight, such a spacecraft must also undergo unmanned launch tests. Originally planned to carry out the first unmanned flight in December last year, but now it seems to be postponed to the year, after the first unmanned flight, will carry a humanoid robot codenamed Vyommitra (Space Friend) in the second unmanned flight test, programming can feel microgravity and cockpit air pressure changes, compared to the launch of 4 unmanned "Shenzhou" spacecraft in the same year, India only intends to launch 2 unmanned "Gaganyan" spacecraft, Indian astronauts have also been trained in Russia's "Star City", and Satish · The No. 2 launch tower of the Dawan Space Launch Center was modified.
Image: This "space friend" is a bit of a thriller
"Gaganyan" will be carried by India's most powerful launch vehicle available - GSLV MarkIII, its low orbit capacity is only 10 tons, and more importantly, GSLV MarkIII has only made 4 successful flights since it was put into use in 2014, which is actually extremely risky for manned spaceflight, and our Long 2F is developed on the basis of the Long 2E, which has 16 successful launch records, and the similar configuration of the Long 3 B has made more than 80 launches. It can be said that the "Shen arrow" carrying the "Shenzhou" into the orbit itself has nearly 100% reliability, and it has been tempered by thousands of hammers.
Image: GSLV MKIII rocket
Russia's "Soyuz" rocket has been launched hundreds of times, the "Falcon 9" carrier rocket used by the "Manned Dragon" spacecraft of the United States SPACEX Company, before being put into the manned space mission, also carried out 7 simulated payload flights in accordance with the certification requirements of NASA's manned space mission, and the "sample size" was at least used by the GSLV MarkIII to perform the manned space mission, which was indeed quite sweaty for them.
Photo: Russia's Soyuz rockets have been launched nearly a thousand times
Moreover, for the 20-ton space station that India plans to launch, the launch vehicle has only half the capacity. The general launch vehicle (ULV) that ISRO now plans to develop, in which the heavy configuration HLV, is said to have a low-orbit capacity of 20 tons, that is to say, close to our long 5B capacity, but the most critical SCE-200 liquid oxygen kerosene engine (sea level thrust of up to 182 tons, in fact, Ukrainian technology) has not been tested at all, the new rocket is still in PPT state, launching the space station, I am afraid it is just another mouth cannon.
Photo: India plans to use HLV for space launches and manned space missions, but the timeline is simply ignored
But the Indians' reasons remain strong. Nitin J. Ticku, defense analyst and editor-in-chief of Eurasia Info, wrote: "If you look at the historical records of China and India together, you will have a clearer understanding of India's space station (development process), which is also a fair idea." From nuclear tests to anti-satellite tests, India has been catching up with China very quickly. ”
Photo: The Chinese Space Station (CSS) is scheduled to be completed within this year
Or the logic: "China is good, I can also be", only follow the "laws of history", but do not follow the "laws of science", well, I can only wish you good luck.