IIT Madras and ISRO join hands for Indigenous spacecraft thermal tech research

Hyderabad: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr V Narayanan inaugurated a new specialised research facility at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) on Monday. The centre is expected to aid and advance the capabilities of spacecraft thermal management technology.

Named after S Ramakrishnan, a distinguished IIT Madras alumnus and aerospace engineer who served as project director for PSLV and GSLV MK3, and as director of LPSC and VSSC, the ‘Shri S. Ramakrishnan Centre of Excellence in Fluid and Thermal Science Research,’ is housed within the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The centre will focus on critical advancements in thermal management for spacecraft and launch vehicles, the technology essential for India’s space program.

Technology achieved in record time

Inaugurating the centre, Dr Narayanan said, “The cryogenic engine technology was denied to India but today, we have three different such engines with the third one being human-rated. Only six countries in the world have this technology.”

Moreover, Dr Narayanan recalled the pace at which the ISRO has developed the technology. “We have made three world records regarding this technology. We got it right on our third attempt. From getting the engine test to flight, we got it done in 28 months. In other countries, it took between 42 months and 18 years. We conducted the test in 34 days which no other country had done as they took around 5 to 6 months,” he said.

Centre to be hub for ISRO scientists, IITM researchers

The new centre will serve as a collaboration hub where ISRO scientists and engineers will work together with IIT Madras faculty and researchers to address complex thermal challenges in space applications. Satellite longevity, spacecraft safety and mission success, particularly for upcoming lunar, Mars and deep-space missions depend on these technologies.

Extending support to the research activities of IIT Madras, the ISRO chief said, “The Department of Space will support IIT Madras completely in all these efforts.”

Key roles of the centre

The newly established centre will concentrate on four key roles while expecting medium and long-term outcomes.

The roles include spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal management to address heat dissipation challenges in satellites and launch vehicles, Experimental and numerical studies on cooling systems for developing efficient cooling solutions using micro heat pipes, spray cooling, vapour chambers and two-phase heat transfer devices.

Further, the centre will work on developing high-fidelity simulation and testing facilities for utilizing cutting-edge computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimental setups for real-world validation and capacity building and training for encouraging ISRO scientists to pursue advanced degrees at IIT Madras while fostering industry-academia collaborations.

Prof Arvind Pattamatta, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “In the medium term (3-5 years), we are hoping to achieve breakthroughs in advanced thermal management such as development of new active and passive cooling techniques for spacecraft electronics and prototyping and testing of next-gen heat pipes, which are innovative cooling systems for long-duration space missions. Further integration with ISRO’s space missions and incorporation of new research findings into upcoming ISRO satellite and launch vehicle projects will also be a focus area.”

Long-term outcome expected

Five years after its establishment, the centre is expected to revolutionise spacecraft design by laying the groundwork for high-performance, reusable space vehicles with superior thermal control.

The other two outcomes include enhancing India’s deep space exploration capabilities and boosting indigenous space technology by reducing reliance on foreign technology by developing cutting-edge thermal management solutions within India.