Indian Space Program Discussions / ISRO Plans

[aaaditya]

hey guys here is an interesting article on the history of isro's indigenous gslv(geo stationery satellite launch vehicle) project.

here check out this link:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060722/saturday/main1.htm

 

[kams]

Faulty gadget brought down GSLV

A defective fuel-control device has been identified as the rogue component that propelled the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle), with Insat-4C communications satellite on board, off course and into the Bay of Bengal seconds after liftoff on July 10.

This has been confirmed by a team of 15 aerospace experts headed by K Narayana, former director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Range.

They have said that the flawed gadget, on board one of the four strap-on boosters of GSLV F02, let in more propellant than required into the engine, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in erratic propulsion. The thrust generated by this booster did not match that of the other three strap-ons, forcing the rocket off its trajectory.

The experts analysed a heap of data passed on by the rocket before its crash and simulated the conditions on a computer, sources in ISRO told HT.

But the team was unable to erecover the rogue device or other parts of the strap-on booster from the seabed or the vicinity of the launch pad. One of the three strap-ons that generated the set thrust was recovered from the Bay of Bengal.

The sources said the booster was manufactured at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Mahendragiri, but the manufacturing of most of the components had been outsourced to Indian companies.

They said the malfunctioning device on board the Vikas engine (strap-on booster) caught ISRO scientists by surprise because the engine had been proven in several PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and GSLV flights in the past.

According to the sources, the experts declared the GSLV's design "robust" and felt there was no need for a complete review of the rocket. The scientists would address the defect ahead of the next GSLV flight, scheduled in 2007, the sources said.

The GSLV's failure ended ISRO's run of 12 successful launches in as many years from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Faulty gadget brought down GSLV

 

[kams]

GSLV Failure analysis

ISRO has published a summary of the Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) report on it's website. The summary also includes series of launch photographs and flight parameters.

GSLV-F02 Failure Analysis Committee Report

FAC has concluded that the performance of all vehicle subsystems, except one strap-on stage was normal until 56.4 sec. The primary cause for the failure was the sudden loss of thrust in one out of the four liquid propellant strap-on stages (S4) immediately after lift-off at 0.2 sec. With only three strap-on stages working, there was significant reduction in the control capability. However the vehicle attitude could be controlled till about 50 sec. At the same time the vehicle reached the transonic regime of flight and the vehicle attitude errors built up to large values, resulting in aerodynamic loads exceeding the design limits thus leading to break up of the vehicle.

The thrust of the liquid engines used in the strap-on stages is precisely controlled by a set of regulators. Detailed analyses have indicated that in S4 engine the thrust control was not effective. Instead of stabilizing at 5.85 MPa (Mega Pascal) chamber pressure, it reached 7.11 MPa at 2.8 sec. This was much beyond the design limits and the engine failed at 0.2 sec after lift-off, that is 5 sec after its ignition.

Simulations and analyses of flight data and verification through calibration tests have led to the conclusion that the propellant regulator in the failed engine had much higher discharge coefficient in its closed condition. The reason for this could be an inadvertent error in manufacturing, which escaped the subsequent inspection, and acceptance test procedures. This regulator has functioned satisfactorily in all the previous 50 engines manufactured and tested so far.

The larger flow of propellant led to higher operating pressure in the gas generator (4.7 MPa against design specification of 3.6 MPa). Due to this higher operating pressure of the gas generator, the water flow rate into it got reduced. The combined effect of larger flow of propellants and reduced flow of water led to a very high gas temperature of 1823 K against design specification of 900 K and pressure of 4.7 MPa against the design specification of 3.6 MPa. The very high operating pressure and temperature resulted in the structural failure of the gas generator. The consequent abrupt stopping of the turbo pumps that feed propellants at very high pressures to the engines led to loss of thrust of S4 engine. The water calibration tests conducted simulating the malfunction of the propellant regulator hardware could closely reproduce the flight phenomenon thereby confirming the larger flow area.

FAC has concluded that the design of GSLV is robust and recommended implementation of strict control on fabrication, inspection and acceptance procedures. Among others, FAC has recommended fabrication processes to be critically reviewed and updated. It has recommended for independent inspection of all critical dimensions of components and subassemblies by in-house agencies. Further, long duration hot test on one out of every 20 engines fabricated has been recommended to ensure that production process is under control. In addition, FAC has recommended strengthening the process of clearance of launch during Automatic Launch Sequence (ALS) phase.

FAC conclusions and recommendations have been accepted and necessary action has been initiated to implement all of them.

 

[globaltracker]

So when are the proposed projects of ISRO are gonna take off. has any one ahs got anyother news about it. Its been quite a while someone has posted some fresh news over here.

 

[kams]

So when are the proposed projects of ISRO are gonna take off. has any one ahs got anyother news about it. Its been quite a while someone has posted some fresh news over here.

Any specific projects you had in mind?

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys great news ,the russian governement has unanimously voted for joint space cooperation ,including space exploration and transfer of technology with india,

here check out this link and article:

http://www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/$All/F9F6576A373EB24C65257214003A6C95?OpenDocument

Moscow, Oct 27 (PTI) Russian parliament today ratified the Indo-Russian space cooperation agreement by a unanimous vote, clearing the way for the joint space exploration and transfer of space technology to India.

The draft Indo-Russian space cooperation agreement ratified by Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russian Federal Assembly, had been signed in New Delhi during President Vladimir Putin's visit in December 2004.

The agreement sets a streamlined system and identifies the mechanism for enhanced cooperation in peaceful exploration of space, including the protection of secret information and intellectual property rights and settling disputes.

State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, had ratified the agreement on October 20.

Once signed into law by President Putin in the wake of parliament's nod, the accord would speed up the joint collaboration in completing and operationalising the Global Navigational Satellite System (GLONASS) to end the monopoly of the Pentagon-controlled US Global Positioning System (GPS), said sources at Russian Federal Space Agency 'Roskosmos'.

During the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Moscow visit earlier this year, Russian defence ministry had also agreed to give India access to GLONASS's military segment, used for guidance of smart weapons.

Under the GLONASS agreement, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Russian navigational satellites Glonass-M with the help of Indian space launch vehicles and jointly develop with Russia a new generation navigational satellite Glonass-K. PTI

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys ,bad news here,it seems that the launch of the cartosat 2 which is an advanced version of the cartosat 1 has been postponed till january due to monsoons and delay in carrying out some tests ,these satellites have secondary defence applications ,due to thei high quality panchromatic camera which gives them a resolution of less than 1 metre,i believe that the cartosat 2 will be used as a test bed for the future indian spy satellites very much like the current tes satellite.

the primary role of the cartosat would however be map generation for defence and civil authorities .

here check out this link and article:

http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=41144


ISRO postpones Cartosat-2 launch to January

Bangalore, Oct 26: Indian Space Research Organisation has put off this month's launch of Cartosat-2, the advanced remote sensing satellite, to January due to problems faced during the testing phase.

"There has been a delay in testing," an ISRO official told PTI here. "We have solved most of the problem".

"We have suspended the launch. We don't want to launch it at the middle of the monsoon. Launching will be a little risky during highly disturbed weather and cyclonic conditions. If at all we wanted to launch it this month, it should have been before October 22," the official said.

Carrying on board a single panchromatic camera capable of providing scene-specific spot imageries for cartographic and a host of other applications , the 650 kg spacecraft was slated to be launched this month by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

The panchromatic camera has been designed to provide better than one metre spatial resolution imageries with a swath of around ten km, ISRO sources said.

The satellite will have high agility with capability of steering along and across the track up to plus 45 degree, they said.

--- PTI

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys great news ,indian space research organisation is planning to launch a man into space,however i dont think that this is a priority project as of now ,right now chandrayaan is a priority project and the manned space mission is just a proposal.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/ISRO_Moots_Manned_Mission_To_Space_999.html

A "registration of intent" to send an Indian astronaut into space on a home-made space capsule using an Indian launch vehicle from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh was made before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on October 17. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair made a brief slide presentation on the possibility of sending an Indian astronaut into space.

"The Prime Minister did not say anything adverse. But no decision was taken at that meeting whether to go or not to go," said informed ISRO scientists. "We are yet to go through a presentation to members of the Space Commission or the scientific community. Things will be firmed up in another three to six months."
A press release from the Prime Minister's Office on October 18 said: "The Prime Minister reviewed India's space and atomic energy programmes on October 17. Detailed presentations were made by the Chairmen of the Space Commission and the Atomic Energy Commission... The possibility of the Department [of Space] developing a manned space programme was also discussed."
A small step towards sending an Indian astronaut into space on an indigenous space capsule will be taken in December 2006/January 2007 when a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota puts in orbit a recoverable satellite weighing around 550 kg. ISRO has named it Space Capsule Recovery experiment. After the SRE stays in orbit for some days, ISRO scientists will bring it back in a planned manner so that it enters the atmosphere without burning up and touches down in the sea with parachutes and flotation systems. In orbit, the SRE will perform experiments in micro-gravity.
The SRE will be an important step towards ISRO mastering the complex re-entry technology. "The re-entry technologyis a must for our manned spacecraft. When the SRE descends from space and re-enters the earth's atmosphere, how we are going to maintain the orientation of the spacecraft is important because we have to exchange speed for heat," said the ISRO scientists.
For, when a spacecraft bearing an astronaut re-enters the atmosphere, it will lose speed due to friction from the atmosphere but gain enormous heat. So the capsule should be plastered with composite-tiles to prevent it from burning up when it slices into the atmosphere.
The reliability rating has to be very high for a manned space mission. "We are sending a man into space and we have to bring him back safely. So you cannot afford to have any failure. If you lose a satellite, you can build another one. If you lose an astronaut in space, the country's prestige and confidence will be eroded," the scientists said
Key ingredients
Essential to a manned mission are the re-entry technology; life-support systems; an ejection system in case of an emergency; setting up facilities for training astronauts; creating a corps of astronauts; and building the recovery systems for the space capsule. The proposed manned mission may cost about Rs.20,000 crore. According to ISRO rocket engineers, the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) now available or GSLV-mark III under development will do for the mission. "If the Government gives the go-ahead and all the money needed, we can send an Indian astronaut into space in five to ten years," they said.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys great news,indian space research organisation has sucessfully tested an indigenously designed 25 ton thrust cryogenic rocket engine,another test is planned to be carried out in another 3 to 4 days after which the engine would be ready for integration with gslv mark3.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=7592

BANGALORE: In a major breakthrough in its space programme, India on Saturday successfully conducted the first test of its indigenously developed cryogenic rocket engine at a facility at Mahindragiri in Tamil Nadu.

"We had a very successful first cryogenic stage test at Mahindragiri at 6.20 pm. It is a major milestone in the development of rocket systems in the country," Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

The test at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Centre at Mahindragiri lasted 50 seconds, he said.

"Only developed countries have this stage. We have also qualified now," Nair said.

"We will go for one more long duration test in the next three or four days which will make it ready for flight."

The cryogenic rocket engine that ISRO successfully tested on Saturday was equivalent to the "Russian stage" supplied earlier, Nair said.

​

 

[aaaditya]

the next test of the cryogenic engine would be carried out in about four weeks time and it would be a full duration test of nearly 726 seconds,iam quite sure that the cryogenic engine would be ready for integration by next year.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys check out this article,it contains detailed information on the indian cryogenic engine and an image of the engine being fired.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Indigenous_Cryogenic_Stage_Successfully_Tested_999.html

ISRO has achieved a major milestone in the development of rocket systems for satellite launches. Cryogenic Upper Stage for GSLV was hot tested today (28th October 2006) at 6.20 pm for a duration of 50s. The test was carried out at the Liquid Propulsion Systems centre (LPSC) test complex at Mahendragiri. The performance of the test was as predicted. This test is first of its kind in the country.

ISRO has taken up indigenous development of cryogenic stage with regenerative cooled engine, which produces a thrust of 69.5 kN in vacuum, to replace the existing procured stage from Russia currently used in GSLV flights. As part of this effort, the cryogenic engines have been realized and tested earlier for a cumulative duration of 6000s.
In the stage level hot test all stage elements like engine, insulated propellant tanks, booster pumps, fill and drain systems, pressurization systems, gas bottles, igniters, cold gas orientation and stabilization system, etc as per flight standards are working in unison.
The stage uses the cryogenic propellants namely liquid hydrogen at -250C and liquid oxygen at -196C. The turbo pumps used for drawing the propellant from the tanks operate at the very high speed of 42,000 rpm. The materials used to operate at cryogenic temperatures, chilling processes, interplay of various critical engine parameters and a host of other technical aspects make the development of cryogenic stage a very challenging task.
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), the lead centre for Liquid Propulsion systems is responsible for the realization of the indigenous cryogenic stage and the associated test facilities with the support of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR. The Indian industries have significantly contributed in the realization of the cryogenic stage.
This hot test has demonstrated the design adequacy and performance of the integrated flight system, further tests for this flight unit are planned to validate robustness of the design. After completion of the qualification tests, the indigenous cryogenic stage is planned to be flight tested in GSLV- D3 mission next year.

 

[Rish]

basically the same info as above but some interesting info on isro plans..





An Indian will walk on the moon in 2020. Or so the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) maintains.

At a forthcoming meeting of the country's top scientists on November 7, ISRO will, for the first time, unveil two of its ambitious plans - to send an Indian into space around 2014 and then to have one walk on the moon about six years later. Both missions will be accomplished without any foreign assistance. ISRO will even find a Sanskrit word equivalent for the US's 'astronaut' and Russia's 'cosmonaut' to describe the Indian in space.

G Madhavan Nair, chairman, ISRO, said the proposed missions would be a national endeavour, with the best of the country's laboratories and research-and-development organisations chipping in with technical know-how. The November 7 meeting - which will be attended, among others, by CNR Rao, chairman of the prime minister's Science Advisory Council - will be followed by another in December. A formal project report will be submitted to the government before the end of the year and trials will start in early 2007.

ISRO will conduct a space-capsule-recovery experiment. A 600-kg module, which will be hoisted by a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket, will orbit the earth for a week and splash down in the Bay of Bengal from where it will be retrieved. The experiment will be repeated in 2008.

"The technology is within our reach," Nair told Hindustan Times. "Initially, the space journey will be for a week. The lunar mission will be for 15 days or a month."

According to the plan, a GSLV Mark II rocket will take off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, with a three-tonne space capsule and two people on board. About 16 minutes after liftoff, the rocket will eject the capsule into an orbit 400 km from the earth. The capsule will orbit the earth — for a day to start with, and for a week in subsequent flights — before its splash down. The voyage to the moon will mean a mission of longer duration.

But prior to that much needs to be done down on earth. ISRO will have to design and roll out equipment, including a space capsule. A training centre — with a zero gravity chamber- too has to be constructed.

Sources in ISRO said the space voyage had the backing of President APJ Abdul Kalam.

On ISRO's giant leap forward, Nair said, "If humans do not venture into space, the future will not be bright. I don't think we can lag behind in this race. We must be in the forefront."

While many like Nair's predecessors UR Rao and K Kasturirangan say there is a need for an Indian presence in space, there are differences of opinion in ISRO, with some scientists favouring a robot - rather than a man - in space. But Nair said, "I subscribe to the view that no robot or instrument can substitute the human brain."

The budget for the man-in-space project is estimated to be Rs 10,000 crore-15,000 crore. The moon mission will cost much more.



im indian and all and support indias aspirations and what not but what are the odds that they will keep on schedule? not sure how the ISRO works but if it is anything like the armed forces in planning and going through with a project it's going to take a lot longer then until 2020 to send a man to the moon

 

[aaaditya]

indian space research organisation has been working towards the man on the moon mission for quite sometime now but in a very quiet way.

the satellite capsule recovery experiment has already been carried out over the chilka lake,when a small capsule was launched and was recovered by a helicopter from the chlka lake.

besides chandrayaan ,the other dream projects of the isro are the man on the moon project,the avatar hyperplane project,the reusable satellite launch vehicle project and the indian regional satellite navigation project.

 

[vedang]

im indian and all and support indias aspirations and what not but what are the odds that they will keep on schedule? not sure how the ISRO works but if it is anything like the armed forces in planning and going through with a project it's going to take a lot longer then until 2020 to send a man to the moon

i believe ISRO is 1 of the few organisations delivering what it says..(probably sometimes late)...if they say they can do it..then they will do it for sure...looking at all the promises it has delivered over the years...

 

[Rish]

didnt know much about the isro in terms of staying on target, but thanks for the info

 

[aaaditya]

the reason for isro's success is that it enjoys greater autonomy than drdo which is more critical to the nations defence and hence is more interfered upon by the government.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys ,great news,russian president vladimir putin has signed the indo-russian space cooperation into the russian federal law ,thus finally formalising the agreement.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Putin_Clears_Space_Pact_With_India_999.html

Clearing the way for joint space exploration and transfer of space technology to New Delhi, the Indo-Russian space cooperation agreement has been signed into a federal law by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin signed the pact into a federal law after both houses of Russian parliament unanimously approved the pact last month allowing the transfer of sensitive space technology to India for the peaceful use of outer space, Kremlin press service on Monday said.

The agreement signed in New Delhi during Putin's visit in December 2004 sets a streamlined system and identifies the mechanism for enhanced cooperation in peaceful exploration of space, including protection of secret information and intellectual property rights and settling disputes.
By being signed into law, Indo-Russian space cooperation will acquire strategic character and would speed up joint collaboration in completing and operationalising the Global Navigational Satellite System (GLONASS) to end the monopoly of the Pentagon controlled US Global Positioning System (GPS), sources in the Russian Federal Space Agency Roskosmos said.
Then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Moscow visit earlier this year, Russia's defence ministry had also agreed to give India access to GLONASS's military segment, which is used for guidance of smart weapons.
Under the GLONASS agreement, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Russian navigational satellites Glonass-M with the help of Indian space launch vehicles and jointly develop with Russia a new generation navigational satellite Glonass-K.
The two countries would also jointly develop and market Glonass receivers for commercial use.
GLONASS's Russian segment would be available for use by the end of this year and globally it would be available in 2008.
On completion GLONASS will have 24-satellites in orbit.
Russia will also launch a small research satellite- YouthSat for India and an agreement on this could be signed later this month.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys ,i have finally managed to come through an article in the flight link about the indian gslv hot test.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/11/07/210438/India+boosts+GSLV+with+hot-fire+test.html

In a major boost to India's launch vehicle development programme, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully hot-fired its indigenous cryogenic upper stage for 50s on 28 October. This will replace the Russian-supplied upper stage on India's three-stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), writes Radhakrishna Rao.
ISRO says the test at its Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Mahendragiri, near India's southern tip, was the first of its kind in the country. The regeneratively cooled, liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen stage is designed to produce a thrust of 15,620lb (69.5kN) in vacuum. Sources say the cryogenic engine has so far been tested for a cumulative duration of 6,000s. The stage will be flight tested on a GSLV mission next year.
ISRO began development of a cryogenic upper stage in the early 1990s after Russia was coerced by the USA - citing the Missile Technology Control Regime intended to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles - into dropping its plan to transfer cryogenic engine technology to ISRO. The original Russian deal was then diluted to the supply of six upper cryogenic stages.
The Russian parliament, meanwhile, has ratified a new Indo-Russian agreement on space co-operation, signed in December 2004, clearing the way for joint space exploration and the transfer of technology to India. This will allow collaboration on completing and making operational the Russian Glonass navigation satellite system to help end the US GPS monopoly.
Russia is to provide India uninterrupted access to Glonass for both civil and military uses. As part of the agreement, ISRO is likely to launch a few of the Glonass satellites. India will also contribute a scientific payload to the Russian Coronas Photon solar-terrestrial probe.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys ,great news ,malaysia is considerably interested in indian satellite launch capability.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1837969,0008.htm

Malaysia will like to use launch facilities from India to launch its satellites into space in future ,said Malaysian Minister for Science,Technology and Innovation Jamaludin B Jarjis in the capital on Tuesday.
Malaysia's first astronaut will go into space in October next year from Russia and it would launch its satellite from the US, he pointed out.
JB Jarjis said traditionally ASEAN nations had never been looking towards India but always been looking towards the west Europe and US for technology.
That mindset was changing now with realization that the future growth lies in the east. With China, India, ASEAN half the world market is here, he said.
"Look at Bangalore for ICT, if you go the offices of Infosys, Microsoft there you seem to be not in India but in New York," he added.

"India has shown east can also prosper. Instead of sending our students to the west to get their PhDs from Indian professors why not we directly get it from professors in India?" he asked.
There is need for greater co operation and rapport between people of ASEAN countries and India.
"In Malaysia people stop watching football match to watch bollywood film" he added.
Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said that closer ties with ASEAN would mean opening up of large markets on both sides, India would be able to service a lot of Defence equipments and also fulfil huge requirements in the sector of drug industry .
He said Railways has a huge market in the ASEAN region.
India's Tsunami Early warning system will be connected with that of ASEAN, Sibal added.
He said they were also planning to develop alternative certification mechanism from guidelines for drugs in this part of the world which would be cheaper than nearly $ 20 million one has to spend to get FDA clearance and also of a high standard acceptable throughout the world
Heads of S&T agencies in India and ASEAN have signed a joint declaration calling for the creation of an Indo-ASEAN Science and Technology Development Fund to collaborate in areas like biotechnology, agriculture , advanced material, pharmaceuticals.
They have also urged for the creation of an Indo ASEAN Institute for Intellectual Property, for building human resource capacity; create a Knowledge Grid for free flow of knowledge design harmonized regulatory standards for Biotechnology products and the agricultural processing industry in the region; hold regular Technology Summits and interaction of youth in ASEAN region.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys ,great news ,lockheed martin is now talking of collaboration with the indian space research organisation for joint research and development of space technology.

here check out this link and article:

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=334834&ssid=53&sid=BUS

New Delhi, Nov 10: US aviation major Lockheed Martin on Friday said it was in talks to collaborate in India''s space programme and joint research on integrated weapons platforms to counter future security threats.

"We are exploring what desire there is on Indian side," Lockheed Martin''s CEO Robert J Stevens, who heads the company with a turnover of over 60 billion dollars, told a news agency here.

A number of meetings have been held with the top brass of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and more are slated, he said.

Lockheed Martin is one of the leading US companies involved in making space vehicles and recently won a multi- billion dollar NASA contract for producing follow-on spacecraft to the Space Shuttle.

On a "familiarisation" visit to India, Stevens today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He said the US industry had put its weight behind mobilising support for the passage of the Indo- US civil nuclear deal in Congress.

"I do see prospects of the passage of the agreement in the Senate even in a lame duck session as support for the deal is bipartisan," Stevens said.

The US industry is "actively canvassing" for the agreement with congressional leaders as it feels "the nuclear deal would open the doors for further Indo-US cooperation in other strategic sectors", he said.

Elaborating on possibilities for collaboration in space programmes, Stevens said his company could offer India its expertise in low earth orbiting vehicles, lunar exploration and manufacture of inter-planetary spacecraft for possible missions to Mars.

India is planning its maiden moon mission, Chandrayaan-I, in 2008 and a recent meeting of top scientists has suggested that the country should make a manned flight into space.

Noting that his company had advanced expertise in diverse areas, Stevens said Lockheed Martin is also prepared to offer India its expertise in missile defence, simulators and training, and building warships.

On its bid to sell its Super C-130J transport aircraft to India, Stevens said the offer to provide 10 aircraft for the special forces was in an advanced stage of negotiations.

Lockheed Martin also has plans to sell eight P3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft to the Indian Navy. "Both these sales are going to be government-to-government sales and are in an advanced state of talks," he said.

The company is also one of the frontline bidders for India''s plans to buy 126 multi-role combat aircraft with its F-16 jets.

Though there have been reports about the company planning to make heavy investments in India, Stevens refused to be drawn out on this issue. "We plan to make heavy investments. We will be making major announcements in the next four-five months," he said.

Lockheed Martin is a major supplier of military and civilian information technology systems to the US administration and is reported to be in negotiations with major Indian players in the field like Infosys, TCS and Wipro.