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posted by martyb on Sunday December 16 2018, @09:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the why-did-nobody-else-think-of-that? dept.

In a first, Isro will make dead rocket stage 'alive' in space for experiments (alt)

Can a dead rocket in space be anything but debris? Isro believes it might actually be useful. Feted for its frugality and tech savvy, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is working on a new technology where it will use the last stage of the PSLV rocket for space experiments. It will perform a technology demonstration of this new system when it launches the PSLV C44 rocket in January.

Talking to [Times of India] here, Isro chairman K Sivan said, "Normally, the last stage of a PSLV rocket after releasing the primary satellite in space becomes dead and categorised as debris. It remains in the same orbit as that of the released satellite. Now, we are working on a new technology where we will give life to this "dead" last stage of PSLV, also called PS4 stage, for six months after its launch. This rocket stage will double up as a satellite. This will be the most cost-effective way to perform experiments in space as we don't have to launch a separate rocket for the purpose." He said that "India is the only country in the world that is working on this new technology".

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by takyon on Sunday December 16 2018, @11:09PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Sunday December 16 2018, @11:09PM (#775217) Journal

    The correct solution to get more living space is known. Put up a Bigelow inflatable module.

    The largest design would have over double the volume of the entire ISS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA_2100 [wikipedia.org]

    The more modest design, which should be built around 2020, will be about 1/3 of the volume of the ISS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B330 [wikipedia.org]

    SpaceX's BFR upper stage (Starship) would have a bit more volume than the ISS [wikipedia.org]. If the crewed versions are built for travel to Mars, then it should be safe to live in one while in the relative safety of low Earth orbit.

    The Nautilus-X [wikipedia.org] concepts not only spin to create false gravity, but could also be combined with Bigelow inflatable modules. An $83-143 million demonstrator could have been sent to the ISS, but it hasn't happened. With the U.S. committed to ISS only until 2025, and other partners only until 2028, any such plans are not happening, unless everyone agrees to keep the ISS from crashing and burning. If we build the stupid LOP-G in lunar orbit, maybe some of these ideas could be used there.

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