Isro Working on Electric Propulsion System for Satellites

Efforts are on to put electric propulsion system for satellites to enable them to carry more payload, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director Dr. K. Sivan said in Hyderabad on Thursday.

"The efforts will help in cutting down fuel required for maneuvering the satellites in the orbit and more payload can be taken," Sivan said at the 10th International High Energy Material conference and Exhibits (HEMCE 2016) in Hyderabad.

He said GSLV Mark III will be launched in December this year.

The Isro scientist said efforts will be made to launch 'Chandrayan 2', the country's second lunar exploration mission after 'Chandrayaan-1', with a rover as soon as possible.

On manned space flight, Sivan said they are coming up with a project called "Abbot Machine".

Earlier, Dr. K.P.S. Murthy, Director, High Energy Materials Research Lab (HEMRL), spoke about the development of high explosive detective technology which is being developed for concealed explosives by their laboratory.

Observing that high energy material technology is a highly-guarded technology, Dr. Satish Kumar, Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems, DRDO, said, "scientists and technologists are moving forward and advancing towards total self-reliance in this critical area".

He said the high energy materials is a specialised field that "partly determines the status of the nation".

"For a given propellant energy level, there is a need to optimise the design to maximise the overall performance and minimise the losses in the futuristic aerospace mission," the Director General said.

He said the modular design and safer manufacturing techniques in high energy materials are the need of the day.

The conference was organised by the Hyderabad Chapter of the High Energy Material Society of India in association with the Defence Research and Development Laboratory and Advanced Systems Laboratory.