India to launch SRE-II in two years

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 28 (UNI) The Space Capsule Recovery Experiment-II (SRE-II) will be launched within two years once a co-passenger was found, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director B N Suresh said here today.

''The project has been approved and the module will also be ready soon,'' he told at a press conference.

''We are looking for a co-passenger and it is expected that the SRE-II will be ready in two years,'' he said.

On the SRE-I that came back successfully in January, he said it was a great success and studies were going on the recovered materials. ''The whole characteristic study of the material collected is not complete. The process is going on. Once the study is completed, it would be published.'' The project was developed without any data on anything like temperature, heating level, he said and added the calculations were decided by the scientists at the VSSC and ISRO and the model was based on certain modifications. And as such, it was a great success, he added.

SRE Project Director T S Subramaniam who was also present said the project was a great success and it was a launch pad for developing reusable launch vehicles.

The SRE-I, which was launched in January 19, had stayed in the intended orbit for 12 days and successfully conducted experiments under micro-gravity conditions. It was designed to demonstrate the capability to recover an orbiting space capsule, and the technology of an orbiting platform for performing experiments in micro-gravity conditions. It was also intended to test reusable Thermal Protection System, navigation, guidance and control, hypersonic aero-thermodynamics, management of communication blackout, deceleration and floatation system and recovery operations.

The recovered capsule was also displayed for the public viewing.

UNI