Weapontechno

Showing posts with label india. Show all posts

Nirbhay Missile launch next month :DRDO

India's Nirbhay cruise weapon will be tested in February, DRDO chief Dr V.K. Saraswat said at a press conference last week in Bangalore. This is the first time in over a year that a definite time-frame has been provided on the mysterious programme. Last checked, the missile was to have been tested in July-August 2012.

As I've earlier reported, this will be, without a doubt, the most significant weapon test since, perhaps, the Agni-III. The Nirbhay, shrouded in secrecy for long, is understood to be a two-stage high subsonic cruise missile with loitering capabilities. Sources suggest that apart from the engine (apparently supplied by NPO Saturn), the rest of the system is fully indigenous.

India launched K-15 SLBM

India's DRDO today conducted the 11th successful underwater test of the K-15 medium range subsurface-launched ballistic missile from the Bay of Bengal. Sources on board one of the Indian Navy ships monitoring the launch report that the launch was a successful one. The launch took place from a special R-glass cannister from a specially configured underwater pontoon launch platform. The K-15,officially designated B-05, with a range in excess of 750-km (its official range is classified) is the submarine-launched version of the land-launched Shourya that has been tested four times so far. The country's Arihant-class SSBNs will be able to deploy 12 K-15s or four of the much longer range K-4 missiles, still under development.

Official statement by DRDO: DRDO developed underwater launched missile B05 was successfully flight tested on 27 Jan 2013 from Bay of Bengal off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The missile launched from a pontoon, was tested for the full range and met all the mission objectives. All the parameters of the vehicle were monitored by the radar all through the trajectory and terminal events have taken place exactly as expected. Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri Dr VK Saraswat congratulated all the scientists, technicians of DRDO on the successful flight test. Defence Minister AK Antony congratulated all the scientists for successful launch of B05.

PHOTOS: First Ever India-China Naval Exercise

On completion of the four day visit to Shanghai, INS Shivalik and PLA(N) Ma'anshan conducted passage exercises comprising naval manouevers, communication exercises and cross deck helicopter landings.

Sunita Williams, 2 astronauts return to Earth from ISS

Record-setting Indian- American Sunita Williams along with two fellow astronauts safely returned to Earth on Monday from the International Space Station, touching down on the steppes of central Kazakhstan, after spending four months in orbit.

It was a perfect landing for Williams and two astronauts, Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide, as they touched down in the dark, chilly expanses of central Kazakhstan on board a Russian Soyuz capsule.

The three astronauts landed at 0726 IST in the town of Arkalyk.

Helicopters rushed with the search-and-recovery crew to assist them, as their capsule parachuted down some 35 kilometres from the planned touchdown site due to a procedural delay.

Another three astronauts remain on board the International Space Station (ISS) and will return next year.

Earlier, the trio bid farewell to their fellow astronauts at the ISS, Flight Engineers Kevin Ford, Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy.

The trio undocked from the Rassvet module of the ISS on Sunday.

The return of Williams, Hoshide and Malenchenko has wrapped up a 127-day space journey for them, since their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 15, this year, including 125 days spent aboard the ISS.

Williams, 47, now has spent a total of 322 days in space during her two long-duration missions. She previously served aboard the ISS as an Expedition 14/15 flight engineer from December 9, 2006, to June 22, 2007.

Williams now also holds the record for spacewalking time for female astronauts.

Williams has a total of 50 hours and 40 minutes of spacewalking time over seven spacewalks, including the three she conducted during Expeditions 32 and 33.

This was the second trip into space for Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who visited the station as an STS-124 mission specialist aboard space shuttle Discovery in 2008.

Russian Soyuz Commander Malenchenko wrapped up his fifth spaceflight for a total of 642 days in space, placing him seventh on the all-time endurance list.

NASA TV will air its post-landing video file, including interviews with the crew, later.

The undocking signals the end of Expedition 33 and the start of Expedition 34 under the command of Ford, who will remain on the station with Novitskiy and Tarelkin until March.

Williams transferred the helm of the orbiting laboratory to Ford during a change of command ceremony on Saturday.

Three additional Expedition 34 flight engineers -- NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Russian Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Roman Romanenko -- are scheduled to launch from Baikonur on December 19 and dock to the station two days later for a five-month stay.

Hadfield will become the first Canadian to command the station when Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin depart, marking the start of Expedition 35.

The Soyuz remains the only means for international astronauts to reach the orbiting laboratory since the decommissioning of the US shuttle fleet in 2011.

DRDO Statement: India today successfully test fired its most advanced long range missile system, the Agni-IV. The missile was launched from a road mobile launcher at 9AM from Wheelers’ Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile followed its trajectory, attained a height of about 900-km (??) and reached the pre-designated target in international waters of the Bay of Bengal. All mission objectives were fully met. All systems functioned perfectly till the end encountering re-entry temperatures of more than 3000⁰C.

This missile is one of its kind, proving many new technologies for the first time, and represents a quantum leap in terms of missile technology. The missile is lighter in weight and has two stages of solid propulsion and a payload with re-entry heat shield. The composite rocket motor which has been used for the first time performed flawlessly. The missile system is equipped with modern and compact avionics with redundancy to provide a high level of reliability. The indigenous Ring Laser Gyros based high accuracy INS (RINS) and micro-navigation system (MINGS) complementing each other in redundant mode have been successfully flown in guidance mode for the first time. The high performance onboard computer with distributed avionics architecture, high speed reliable communication bus and a full Digital Control System controlled and guided the Agni-IV to the target. The missile has reached the target with very high level of accuracy. Radars and electro-optical systems along the coast of Odisha tracked and monitored all parameters of the missile test. Two Indian Naval ships located near the target witnessed and recorded the final event.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony congratulated the DRDO team on its achievement. Avinash Chander, Distinguished Scientist & Chief Controller (Missiles & Strategic Systems) at DRDO and Programme Director, AGNI addressed his team after the launch, and called today's test the beginning of "a new era in modern Long Range Navigation Systems". He said, “this test has paved the way ahead for the success of AGNI-5 Mission, which will be launched shortly."

Agni-IV Project Director Ms Tessy Thomas and her team prepared and integrated the missile system and launched the Agni-IV successfully today. An ecstatic Ms Thomas said today that the DRDO had produced and proven many new state of the art technologies with the Agni-IV like composite rocket motors, very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System, Micro Navigation System, Digital Controller System and very powerful onboard computer system. The Agni-IV can deliver strategic warheads, and will be produced in large numbers for delivery to India's nuclear command.

India's Agni-II was launched successfully today at 9:30AM from the Eastern seaboard. According to a DRDO statement, "The successful launch once again proved reliability of the medium range surface to surface missile." The 2000-km range surface to surface missile, already inducted and part of countries arsenal for strategic deterrence, was launched as a training exercise by the country's nuclear command. The missile reached an apogee (peak altitude) of 220-km and hit the target. All the radar, telemetry systems, ectopic system tracked & monitored all parameters throughout the trajectory. Two ships located near the target point have tracked the missile in the final stage.