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India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

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Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such a poorly worded article, replete with grammatical errors. No close-up pictures of the "shuttle." Strange. (And I'm not talking about a generic long range picture of a rocket taking off either.) The episode has the smell of government propaganda.

I don't understand the downvotes. There's always a place for contrasting opinions, and /especially/ when they're expressed politely, they deserve a polite response. I have the same doubts. I'd love to see a picture of the real thing.

It's not really all that polite, it's dismissing it as propaganda. The article is quite clear that this is the very beginning of the programme.

Here's a picture from a link in this thread: http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusabl...

Remember, it's a scale model!

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#52

Uncle, this is not north korea or some bullshit US company. ISRO has sent missions to mars and moon. NASA works with them. Moreover, please open you eyes and check the first picture on the article.

It's a generic picture of a rocket. I want close up pictures of this so-called shuttle.

http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusabl...

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#53

Some news outlets have been calling it a "space shuttle", which is highly inaccurate considering that this has no plans of being for human use. I'm happy with the progress ISRO has made but lying/deception will not help anybody.

It looks superficially similar to the Shuttle, which is probably why people are happy with the term: http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Reusabl...

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#55

Some news outlets have been calling it a "space shuttle", which is highly inaccurate considering that this has no plans of being for human use. I'm happy with the progress ISRO has made but lying/deception will not help anybody.

If it shuttles things to and from space, doesn't that make it a space shuttle? I guess it depends on where you want to draw the lines between launch vehicle and shuttle.

The origin of the term shuttle is from weaving with back and forth motion carrying a payload, so something that is reusable can very arguably be termed a shuttle (especially if it can bring things back and forth to orbit).

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#56
post #46
post #6

'Everything went according to the projectory, he said adding that the winged space plane will not be recovered from the sea.' - Is that okay? Do a lot of missions around the world consider sea a dumping ground?

The ocean, for spacecraft first stages, yes. Rocket launches are so infrequent and the ocean so large that it seems irrelevant, and in any case there's no practical alternative for a nation that's just getting started with spaceflight.

India has been launching from 1960s. It is not "a nation that's just getting started with spaceflight"

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#57
post #25
post #19

"The final version will take at least 10-15 years to get ready." This was at the bottom of the Hindu article. How does this compare with SpaceX and Blue Origin's timelines ?

They're probably not trying to compete in the global market for space launches as much as simply reduce costs for the Indian national space program. Most people often forget that SpaceX is a US company, and hence the services it supplies are subject to US laws, specifically, export restrictions and sanctions.

Actually, they have a commercial launch arm and do compete in global market. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antrix_Corporation).

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#58
some people in india are saying this might be a lousy propaganda, no one knows what, you can never be 100% sure of what modi government says (or does).

But, let's say I have enough money and man-power to build a nintendo-ds and a hygienic toilet, moreover assume, I don't have either. Also assume, I go outside my home to take a dump on the street (or behind a bush), but I also want to play super-mario-bros on the nintendo-ds at the same time. which one should I build first? obviously the toilet, right?

before making a reusable spacecraft, we should spend some rupees on making some good toilets --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixJgY2VSct0

we should be more serious about prioritizing the issues that we want to spend the tax-payers' money on.

Re: India is set to launch a scale model of a reusable spacecraft on Monday

#59

some people in india are saying this might be a lousy propaganda, no one knows what, you can never be 100% sure of what modi government says (or does). But, let's say I have enough money and man-power to build a nintendo-ds and a hygienic toilet, moreover assume, I don't have either. Also assume, I go outside my home to take a dump on the street (or behind a bush), but I also want to play super-mario-bros on the nint…

Every country -- even the poorest -- can afford to do multiple things well at the same time. Both sanitation and space exploration have their own benefits.

As a Nigerian economist once said, "we are not a poor country; we are a poorly managed country".

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