India's Chandrayaan Blasts Off To The Moon!

Originally posted by zorgon

Originally posted by sentinel2107
According to the brochure, the 300x387,000 km orbit is supposed to be changed to 2000x384,000 km orbit in the next maneuver.

So they are going to do one orbit that is beyond the Moon then come back to Earth and shorten the loop?

Something is very odd here... No other ship has ever done this and the transit times make no sense

Here's the link to the brochure page, Zor -- Link...

Originally posted by sentinel2107
Here's the link to the brochure page, Zor --

Ah

In this orbit, the spacecraft makes one complete revolution around the Earth in about 11 days. During its second revolution around the Earth in this orbit, the spacecraft will approach the Moon's North pole at a safe distance of about a few hundred kilometers since the Moon would have arrived there in its journey round the Earth.

11 days once its in the last orbit the 387,000... then it does one more loop at 2000x384,000 that would be about another 10-11 days...

So this will be weeks away yet.

Thanks

[edit on 27-10-2008 by zorgon]

Check out the article "Much ado about nothing" in The Telegraph, India. Link..

Here are a couple of interesting bits:

Sandip Chakrabarti, the head of astrophysics, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences in Calcutta, doesn’t think there is anything great about the technology deployed in the mooncraft. “Apart from the ability to calculate and execute mid-course correction of trajectories of the launch vehicle, things are pretty routine,” he said. According to him, the best instruments in Chandrayaan-1 are either of US or European origin. “The images captured by the instruments will be used by them and India will play a minor role,” said Chakrabarti who had a stint in Nasa in the mid 1990s.

True, the US and ESA instruments would be better, but isn't this guys a victim of the self-denigrating nature of Indians vis-a-vis the West? It almost appears from this statement that ISRO has no instruments worth mentioning for the mission, while this is obviously not true. Check out this page and this

Upendra Desai, who had been an astronomer both at Nasa and Isro, too agreed that science output of such missions is meagre. “Except for the solar experiments in the initial few years, Isro’s ventures have little to do with physics and astronomy,” he said. Desai is also sceptical about the scientific implications of India’s proposal to explore Helium-3 in the regolith (moon’s dust) to fuel its nuclear power stations. Concurred Chakrabarti, “It’s an eyewash since tonnes of regolith have to be processed to get even a microgram of Helium-3.”

Throwbacks to popular "learned" perceptions when Edison demonstrated electricity, or when the steam engine was invented and tested on rail tracks, or even the great comment by an IBM honcho before the 1950s when he said that he did not foresee a world with more than 5 computers.?

It appears that the article author Prasun Chaudhuri just quoted only those sources relevant to his won "agenda" related to the article topic

[edit on 27/10/2008 by sentinel2107]

[edit on 27/10/2008 by sentinel2107]

[edit on 27/10/2008 by sentinel2107]

Originally posted by TruthTellist
What do you think of this idea Mikesingh - Do you think the Indian space program is more clean cut than NASA?

Do you think they will be more open in regards to releasing data and images from their moon probe?

I sure hope so. I'm glad for India. That's right - GLAD!

Hi TT. That's the zillion dollar question!! As I had mentioned earlier, I had asked an ISRO scientist I fleetingly met at Bangalore as to what would happen if images from the Chandrayaan showed any anomalies, Alien or man made, or vestiges of some ancient civilization. He just shrugged it off and said "No comments!" DARN!!

Does that answer your question? Looks like all these space agencies are in cahoots! But let's wait and see!

Cheers!

“The images captured by the instruments will be used by them and India will play a minor role,” said Chakrabarti who had a stint in Nasa in the mid 1990s.

Sounds like an escape clause

Mayby Mike can take his buddies on a road trip and barricade them till we get results




.-.

[edit on 27-10-2008 by zorgon]

Originally posted by zorgon
But I see India adopted NASA's favorite sport... slamming impactors into things

By the time we get back there the place will be a war zone of littered space debris

Add to that the tin-can you, Matyas and others are constructing for a trip to the Moon!! So, another would bite the dust, adding to the pile of garbage strewn on the Moon!! Lol!

Originally posted by mikesingh
Add to that the tin-can you, Matyas and others are constructing for a trip to the Moon!!

PPSHAA!!! tin can indeed I'll have you know the titanium sheets are already in my garage

BTW anyone have a plasma torch we can borrow? That stuff is darn tough to cut

[edit on 27-10-2008 by zorgon]

Originally posted by zorgon
“The images captured by the instruments will be used by them and India will play a minor role,” said Chakrabarti who had a stint in Nasa in the mid 1990s.

Sounds like an escape clause

Mayby Mike can take his buddies on a road trip and barricade the till we get results

[edit on 27-10-2008 by zorgon]

Isn't he probably referring to the instruments of NASA and ESA riding piggy-back on Chandrayaan? ISRO has its own set of instruments

The images captured by the instruments will be used by them

I don't see any other way to interpret that statement

Hey Mike... they better do a bang up job even with the weird orbits... because with all those years of NASA bashing under your belt...

Payback is a bitch

Originally posted by zorgon
The images captured by the instruments will be used by them

I don't see any other way to interpret that statement

Hope dwindles eternal!!

Originally posted by zorgon

Originally posted by mikesingh
Add to that the tin-can you, Matyas and others are constructing for a trip to the Moon!!

PPSHAA!!! tin can indeed

I'll have you know the titanium sheets are already in my garage

BTW anyone have a plasma torch we can borrow? That stuff is darn tough to cut

[edit on 27-10-2008 by zorgon]

Hey, what gives!! Get me into the loop guys!! I have a rusted shaving cartridge which might just work!

Ok guys! We’ve had enough of this tirade against poverty.

Never mind if gross unregulated crass capitalism run by the turds of American Industry have ground America’s economy and screwed up the worlds economy in turn.

Never mind if the guys out there live in their swanky fortresses with three swimming pools with another for their pet poodles.

Never mind if American and British CEOs are making a fool of the public who have been taken for a ride due to their gullibility.

Never mind if you guys have been made suckers by a few who are getting richer by the hour to obscene levels that boggle the mind.

Never mind if those affected by Katrina and the economic slump are now living in their cars in pay car parks using the gym toilets before sunrise and after sundown and making use of the available foliage in between.

Never mind if you guys are spending trillions of dollars in failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead of spending this on world poverty alleviation and education and health.

Never mind if India’s GDP growth today is zooming at 8.5% despite the recession whereas Britain is 0% and America has fallen to 0.5%.

Never mind the fact that as per Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) India is the fourth largest economy in the world.

Never mind if the 'coalition of the willing' killed 67,000 poor unarmed civilians including innocent children and babies in Iraq during Operation Shock and Awe that shocked the conscience of the world.

Never mind if the lives of 5000 U.S. soldiers have been unnecessarily sacrificed so far, and devastated their families, for trying to force Western style democracy in a faraway land which is turning out to be a pointless, unwinnable war for the devious aim of controlling Middle East oil. You see, soldiers are an expendable commodity in America. They don't matter. 'It's the oil that matters stupid' (As someone said). The CEOs and the super rich Americans need to be laughing all the way to the bank, what? Unbridled capitalism is the mantra. After all, gold plated toilet seats and Gulfstream luxury jets are the 'in thing'. But is anyone in the 'rich' west concerned by the human suffering, death and destruction being perpetuated by them on poor countries like Iraq that can't stand up to their military might? Trillions of dollars spent for a few barrels of oil. How much for poverty alleviation?

And lastly never mind if the British were kicked out unceremoniously from India by its lesser souls in spite of being out-gunned several times over.

As for unsafe drinking water in India, I was spending 10 Euros a day for drinking bottled water in Paris, which is normal for the average household.

Having said this can we PLEASE stop derailing this thread on poverty issues and the virtues of capitalism?

The topic of this thread, to remind those who are waffling and wasting everyone’s time by discussing poverty issues here, is:

India's Chandrayaan Blasts Off To The Moon!

So for Chrissake please stay on topic! THANK YOU!

And needless to say, apologies for being sarcastic. That's because I'm honestly pissed at where this thread is going. Jeeez!





[edit on 27-10-2008 by mikesingh]

reply to post by mikesingh


BRAVO MikeS!

This should have been sent inscribed on a gold plaque on Chandrayaan for any ET civilisation to retrieve and mull over. Will give Sagan's plaque a run for its money

Originally posted by TornPages
The country is bloody starving mate! These lads are pouring money into a space programme while their streets are fly infested, waters polluted, people dying and unemployed, and economy suffering? Get a damn grip on yourselves, what kind of government is this!?

[edit on 26-10-2008 by TornPages]

A democratic one.

In the words of Gandhi, "Quit India"... aka mind your own business. No country in the world can claim to have a supreme moral compass.

I agree with Mike, I think its time to just ignore those that are too myopic to understand how this mission will translate to increased GDP and prosperity. These "humanitarians" will never respond to logic.

On topic : A couple of days away from lunar orbit eh Mike?

Originally posted by 44soulslayer
On topic : A couple of days away from lunar orbit eh Mike?

More like a couple of weeks, 44SS!

reply to post by sentinel2107


Wow it takes longer than I expected; must be those ridiculously elliptical orbits! Im used to thinking that the moon is fairly close by in astronomical terms, but I suppose it isnt as easy as flying a ship from A to B!


Edit to add: NASA is freeloading on the Chandrayaan imagery that will be relayed back!

According to Ben Bussey, senior staff scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, Chandrayaan's imagery will be used to decide the future Lunar outpost that NASA has recently announced. Bussey told SPACE.com, "India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter has a good shot at further identifying possible water ice-laden spots with a US-provided low-power imaging radar." Bussey advised — one of two US experiments on the Indian Moon probe. "The idea is that we find regions of interest with Chandrayaan-1 radar. We would investigate those using all the capabilities of the radar on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter", Bussey added, "a Moon probe to be launched late in 2008."

What an error! India sends the most advanced remote sensing satellite to the moon and NASA plans on stealing the best spots for a lunar base! Could we be seeing a new space race in its infancy here? There could be a mad dash to try and get the best spot for a base, since there are no territorial rights to the moon.

Alternatively, as I much hope, there could be an international moon base with all countries contributing. After all, exploration of space is an endevour which benefits all mankind (as Chandrayaan proved by carrying satellites for others countries free of charge).



[edit on 27-10-2008 by 44soulslayer]

Originally posted by 44soulslayer
A couple of days away from lunar orbit eh Mike?

Yep! If three more firings of the LAM are successfully accomplished on Oct 29, Nov 03 and Nov 08, the spacecraft will reach its final orbit of 100 km around the Moon on Nov 14/15.

Commands would then be radioed from the Deep Space Network to eject the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) which is designed to crash-land on the Moon's surface. This by the way is a fore runner to India landing a rover on the Moon in 2012 (Chandrayaan-2).

The remaining instruments will then be operationalized sequentially.

Cheers!

Originally posted by zorgon
PPSHAA!!! tin can indeed

I'll have you know the titanium sheets are already in my garage

BTW anyone have a plasma torch we can borrow? That stuff is darn tough to cut

If you've outsourced your titanium sheets from China, then all you'll need for a cutter is a pack of Gillette Mach 3 shaving blades!! Lol!

Originally posted by 44soulslayer
Edit to add: NASA is freeloading on the Chandrayaan imagery that will be relayed back!

According to Ben Bussey, senior staff scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, Chandrayaan's imagery will be used to decide the future Lunar outpost that NASA has recently announced. Bussey told SPACE.com, "India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter has a good shot at further identifying possible water ice-laden spots with a US-provided low-power imaging radar." Bussey advised — one of two US experiments on the Indian Moon probe. "The idea is that we find regions of interest with Chandrayaan-1 radar. We would investigate those using all the capabilities of the radar on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter", Bussey added, "a Moon probe to be launched late in 2008."

As I much hope, there could be an international moon base with all countries contributing. After all, exploration of space is an endevour which benefits all mankind (as Chandrayaan proved by carrying satellites for others countries free of charge).

You're probably right. Just as in Antarctica, it's most likely that an international base would be established there. Though there's an existing 'Moon Treaty' it has not yet been ratified by any nation thus far.

The Moon Treaty

The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, better known as the Moon Treaty or Moon Agreement is an international treaty that turns jurisdiction of all heavenly bodies (including the orbits around such bodies) over to the international community. Thus, all activities must conform to international law (notably this includes the UN Charter).

In practice, it is a failed treaty since it was not ratified by any nation which engages in manned space exploration, and it has a negligible effect on actual spaceflight.— Excerpted from Moon Treaty on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

en.wikisource.org...