HIGH FLIGHT Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod The high untresspassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. -John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., an American, was 18 years old when he went to Canada in October of 1940, during World War II, and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Upon finishing his pilot training, he was deployed to England to participate in the Battle of Britain. On December llth, 1941, at 19 years of age, he was killed when his Spitfire collided with another aircraft inside a cloud while on a training flight. The fatal accident occurred near the airfield at Scopwick, Lincolnshire, England. Several months before his death, he composed his immortal sonnet “High Flight.” Fortunately, he mailed it to his parents in the United States on the back of a letter he had written to them. In the letter, he stated, “I am enclosing a verse I wrote the other day. It started at 30,000 feet and was finished soon after I landed.” http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/poetry/ john-magee.html
Aero Club of IIST
From the Director’s Desk
I
congratulate AeroClub for its successful completion of two years. In these years, AeroClub has served as a platform for students at IIST to try out various innovative ideas that involve application of the fundamental engineering concepts. It has conducted workshops, talks and competitions across various disciplines. By conducting the SpaceUp Unconference India 2015 with the IIST alumni, it has acted as a bridge between IIST and the outside industry. I hope the club will continue to engage the young and enthusiastic minds of IIST and provide them with a platform where they can discuss their ideas, work on them and come up with something innovative. It is good to see the senior students guiding the juniors while juniors reciprocating in terms of some excellent work, and in the process both of them learn something new. This what the club has achieved over last couple of years, be it in form of AeroClub summer projects, or various workshop that it has conducted. I must applaud the club members for having taken enough effort to organize many programmes to promote realization of creative talent and innovative learning. I am sure that the club would continue to flourish in years to come and bring name and fame to the institute. I wish the members and faculties associated with the club, all the very best!
Dr. K. S. Dasgupta Director Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
3
4 Aero Club of IIST
A message from Dean, Student Activities AeroClub sets out with an aim of creating a platform where students at IIST can come together, discuss and work on topics that they deem important and contribute to growth of the community while developing the necessary skills that will be useful for them in their future. As the Dean, Students Activities, I feel immense joy while looking at students putting in their extra energy for undertaking the club activities. The club has been successful in creating a platform for the innovative idea to rise and turn into a product. It brings together the young and the experienced, establishing a pool of knowledge and curiosity for the common good. AeroClub has been instrumental in making the campus vibrant by organizing various seminars, discussions, talks, competitions, workshops etc. It was good to see club engaging in organizing the SpaceUp event, where other students got a wonderful opportunity to interact with people from different Aerospace and satellite industries. Events like this should be organized more often. AeroClub summer project has successfully completed two years of its existence. It is one of its kind where students work on practical problems that not only give them an opportunity to experience the challenges involved while solving a problem but also prepares them for the mammoth task that they will be taking up in future. I must mention some of the projects that caught my eye this year, the most spectacular one being the Vertical Axis Wing Turbine. I was so amazed to see the students applying the concepts they learn in Aerospace Engineering to solve a problem of renewable energy. I was extremely happy to realise the possibility of implementing this and other similar works in IIST on a large scale. I once again appreciate the efforts of the AeroClub in bringing out different departments under the common roof of science. I wish the club all success for coming years and also want to express my sincere desire to see more projects that cater to the society being taken up and implemented. Dr. Kuruvilla Joseph Dean, Student Activities Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
Aero Club of IIST
From the desk of Dean, IPR &CE and HOD, Aerospace
AeroClub has been a very good platform for enthusing students to take up interesting problems related to Aerospace engineering. The competitions organized in the institute and the summer internship programme have been very useful. I advise students not to confine themselves with aerospace and related problems, instead look for numerous interesting problems from everyday life, like improving road safety, aids for handicapped, etc. which require solutions from the technical field. The work involved in understanding a problem well, thinking about solutions, selecting one from many possible solutions, and implementing it, leads to significant learning. Also, I would like to see student groups from IIST compete at national and international competitions like SAE Baja, ASME and IEEE competitions, etc. which are well structured. I believe that we have many creative and talented students who can perform very well in these competitions. This would need institute support and sponsorship. Good results would boost IIST student community’s profile. I would suggest that students to take up internship in outside industries during the summer vacation as this will boost their profile and also provide a good route for finding good jobs for students who have to build their career outside ISRO.
Dr. Kurien Issac Dean IPR&CE and Senior Professor, Aerospace Engineering
I
take immense pleasure in saying that it’s been more than two years for AeroClub and the Club is doing what it was meant to be, i.e. to use theoretical knowledge in making things and enjoy it while doing so. Dr. Pradeep and Dr. Bijudas as faculty mentors along with the student members are taking this club to greater levels into the new era of learning. The purpose of this club was to serve as a platform where students can enhance their talents and come up with innovative thoughts and ideas, and I can confidently say that AeroClub has been doing it in a very good manner since its birth. In the last academic year AeroClub has organised many sessions and worked on events such as SpaceUp unconference. I wish very best to all the endeavours to be taken up by the club in future.
Dr. A. Salih Head of Department, Aerospace Engineering
5
6
Aero Club of IIST
A message from Editors A little late though, but nonetheless the second edition of UDAAN, the annual magazine of AeroClub, IIST is in your hands. It has been a remarkable year, with few extradordinary feats being achieved in the aerospace sector in the recent times, and AeroClub along with IIST is proud to witness some of those. Reusable vehicle technology is on a boom, with private enterpreneurship rising contribution as compared to the government agencies. Noticeable efforts include those of SpaceX and Blue Origins. Einstein continues to amaze us till date, latest being his proposed Gravitational waves now finally detected by physicists at LIGO. Some quote it as the discovery of the century. Another buzz was created when Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko returned after their year long stay aboard the ISS, revealing the microgravity effects on humans in space, which could finally lead to Manned Mars missions. Coming to club activities this year, club sessions were held regularly. SpaceUp, IIST was jointly organized by IIST Alumni, AeroClub and Dhruva Aerospace. Workshops and competitions on hovercrafts, glider and water rockets were organized which saw large participation from the freshman and sophomore years. Innovative research work came from Summer Projects on Air Cushion Vehicle and VAWT during July 2015, with the participants being more enthused about engineering and it’s application. A farewell ceremony was organised for felicitating the retiring mentor and members. Summing up, it has been a good year for the Club, with the belief of spreading knowledge rooting among many of us. The Club looks forward to have such spirit maintained in the coming years. Editors: Mayank Kumar Priyanka Chaudhary Contributors: Aeroclub members. Design: Divesh Soni Rahul Ranjan
Content SpaceUp at IIST.............................8 Graphene unites us all.................10 Space Entrepreneurship..............12
14 New Space Era
New Space Era.............................14 The Cushion Effect.......................16 Sessions.........................................18 Summer projects...........................22 Airlines: How Safe? .....................28 Destino de la aviación................. 30 Freshers’ viewpoint......................32
24 Graphene unites us all
Human Life in Space....................32 Members speak..............................34 A Great Experience ......................36 The Entrepreneur from IIST........37 Future Plans..................................38 A concluding note by mentors.......39
32 Human Life in Space
8 Aero Club of IIST
SpaceUp at IIST
A
eroClub extending its reach beyond the existing boundary joined hands with IIST Alumni and Dhruva Space to organise the much-awaited third edition of SpaceUp in India 5th September 2015. Around 300 participants took active part in the discussions pertaining to Space Sciences. Event was one of its kind, bringing people from different area but having one thing in common, and that was their enthusiasm about space. Space law, space management, space consultancy, space biology or space fantasy, you name it and we had it. It was an amazing opportunity for participants to know about the massive opportunities in various fields pertaining to space sciences, to discuss ideas and most importantly it was an opportunity to become part of a huge network of space enthusiasts. The event kicked off with a skype session with Hemil Modi from NASA, Ames research centre, who talked about his journey to NASA. He pointed out the difference between the space industries in India and US. After the session, participants went to different rooms based on their interest. The discussion in seminar hall on black holes, white holes and supernovas was led by Dr. Umesh R. Khadane. At the same time, another guest session by Dr. Ranjana Kaul brought out the legal concerns of Space Technology. Demarcation of Airspace and Outer Space and the laws governing their use, the Moon Treaty, Anti-Satellite Weapons were discussed. The intriguing talk brought out the socio-political side of a branch considered completely scientific. Dhruva space, the co-organizers of SpaceUp, Trivandrum and one of India’s first space start-ups. Discussion dealt with developing infrastructure that would facilitate the private space industries. One of the many ideas discussed was about setting up a Space park, similar to IT parks we have. Mr. Narayan Prasad, Co-founder of Dhruva Space addressed the absolute need of exploiting the private space industries. Ventures between ISRO and private space companies was emphasized. Another guest session by Mark Barthelemy from National Space Society led to a discussion on outreach programs to inspire and encourage students to explore space education. Emphasis of the discussion was on the need of collaboration between NSS and IIST and ways through which it can be achieved. A Senior Analyst at Northern Sky Research, Mr. Prashant Butani talked about Business of Satellite Communication. The session emphasised on the advantages of
Aero Club of IIST
M
r Ramesh (VP, Engineering & Services, Aniara communications) discussed about commercialization of satellites. Aniara focusses mostly on business aspect of satellite. Aniara is based in the USA and operational in India as Indian policy is not encouraging for a group like them. Journey of Team Indus began with words Moon 2.0 and today they are India’s only team participating for the Google Lunar X prize. They plan to land a rover on moon by early 2017 and start the Apollo era of India. Team was represented by Mr Dhruv Batra and Mr Nakul Kukar (another IIST alumunus). They talked about future plans of Team Indus as a private space industry. Up next was Divyanshu Poddar, co-founder of ‘Rocketeers’ and an IIST Alumnus. Rocketeers conduct model rocketry workshops all over the country with an aim of helping students understand rocket science in an interesting way. Discussion focused on using model rockets as an educational tool, not only for school students but Aerospace undergrads as well. He talked about his journey of converting a hobby into a successful venture. Next guest session was a Skype session with Carolina from Thumbzup. An astrophysicist by education and a data analyst by profession. It was amazing to know how the theories she learnt in astrophysics and cosmos were applicable to big data analysis. The final guest event was by Ms. Joyeeta Chatterjee from SGAC. The discussion was regarding the work of the SGAC and its functioning. Scholarships provided by SGAC and conferences held were key points of discussion. Benefits of volunteering at SGAC and participating in its competition was also discussed. Overall, the participants were of the view that this was a unique and brilliant initiative that is definitely something that should be a regular feature. Quoting one of the participants, ‘we at IIST see the space industry as a very ISRO centric universe. SpaceUp helped us understand that there are so many more exciting areas of study related to Space and so much scope for a life beyond the government sector. Another participant was very enthusiastic about the opportunities and the ideas that SpaceUp helped realize. They found it wonderful that it was a forum where anybody could speak irrespective of qualification and just based on interest. Apart from these guest events, there were various other discussions initiated by the participants like Space Debris, future of Sounding Rockets etc. SpaceUp was an amazing event. Event was successful in realising participants about the vast opportunities beyond the government sector and showed how different fields like consultancy, law and management are no less part of this huge space industry.
9
10 Aero Club of IIST
Physicists, Engineers and Mathematicians: Graphene Unites all
H
ave you looked at the pavements on road and how they contain hexagonal patterns beautifully tiled. Graphene looks much like that. It is a 2D hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms which has been the most active research area in condensed matter physics. Let’s dive into a wonderful conversation between scientists from different fields. CERN and Graphene, if any may seem to represent the two extremes that we encounter in modern physics. One represents the physics at the high energy regime and the other in the low energy regime. What happens when two physicists, a high energy guy and low energy guy( donot for a moment doubt that “condensed matter physicists are low on energy”) meet in a conference. From now on the high energy guy is HEP and low energy guy is the LEP. Here is the conversation which takes place:
HEP: Hi, LEP. What’s the title, CERN at one’s desk? Really, we work in TeV and GeV of energy
scale at CERN and LEP at meV, what makes Graphene my lab at your desk? I am really fascinated by graphene. LEP: Hi, HEP , Graphene in a way represents the testing ground of many of your theories. The beauty of graphene arises from the typical band structure where the conduction and the valence band touch. HEP: Well, here you go !!! Bands, bands!! We have strings. LEP: Wait dear HEP, What if I say graphene is a hotbed for many of the predictions of String theory. HEP: Oh come on!! Now you are making things up. LEP: Not at all, scientists are to apply AdS/CFT correspondence to graphene. HEP: Really, what makes the physics so relevant to high energy. LEP: This is where the beauty comes. The band touching points are very special and are called “Dirac Points” because at that point the Hamiltonian looks exactly like Dirac equation which we use in quantum electrodynamics. HEP: Wow, but dirac’s equation is relativistic!! LEP: Exactly, and that’s what makes Graphene CERN at one’s desk. We see a plethora of quasi particles like Dirac fermions, weyl fermions in the system. Here comes an electronic engineer who intrigued by the discussion joins in. Let’s call him ECE. ECE: Hi LEP, silicon is my god. LEP: Not for long!! People around the world are making strides in graphene based transistors, which will be more powerful and robust than the ones we have. You can actually visit IIST’s solid state lab to see them in action (Yes, we do have all these!!)
Aero Club of IIST
ECE: Really, what effect will it have on the technology that we use? LEP: Sounds like a true engineer ECE. All the LEDs that we see on the computer use transistors in one
sense or the other. The use of silicon limits the quality of the picture, Graphene transistors will increase the quality by leaps and bounds. Why donot you talk to 2 of our 4th year PS guys who are actually working on graphene transistors. Seeing Avionics jump into the scene, How can Aero be behind. AERO jettisons to the spot and straightway bombs LEP with words like stress, strain, fracture and what not. AERO: But it’s just a 2D sheet right LEP? It can’t be strong enough for my purpose. LEP: Do not underestimate the power of a 2D sheet AERO. The same 2D sheet can be folded to give carbon nanotubes which can find many applications in the aviation industry. Graphene is extremely lightweight but very strong. It is much more flexible that your favourite material, Steel. AERO: That surely breaks the Ice!! LEP: It literally does, Do you know that scientists have been able to develop multilayed jackets based on graphene which can act as a temperature controller and its outer surface can be used to protect the aircrafts in snowy weather. Another person to arrive in the scene was a mathematician with a cup of coffee. His/Her name is TOPO. TOPO: Do you know LEP that a coffee mug and a “sambhar vada” are topologically identical? LEP: I do TOPO. Indeed the most active research field in graphene is the study of topological insulators which combine the beautiful ideas of mathematical topology and explains many relevant physical processes. TOPO: You physicists will never leave any area of mathematics untouched !! LEP: We owe you a lot TOPO, Your ideas of topology and differential geometry really helps us in the better understanding of the world aorund us.
The conversation ended with all of them walking on the pavement and gazing with amazement, the beauty that is hexagon.
The author can be contacted at vibhutibjha@gmail.com
11
12 Aero Club of IIST
Space Entrepreneurship & IIST – A Match Made in Heaven?
Prateep Basu Senior Analyst, Northern Sky Research
W
hen one thinks of space entrepreneurs today, the only names that comes to our minds are all American; be it Elon Musk, Richard Branson, or Jeff Bezos. Perhaps, if we try making an extended list, a few Europeans will also make it. But where are we Indians? How come that the 5th biggest space program in the world (by budget) has not produced a single notable entrepreneur in the space domain, despite reaching Mars and the Moon with aplomb? Is this an indication that we do not need fancy space entrepreneurs in India, a developing country with a burgeoning population of people living below the poverty line? Space being a high investment-high risk proposition was never an attractive proposition for the wannabe Indian entrepreneur, or the investors, who are as risk averse as my neighborhood middle-class uncle, who wants his kid to opt for medicine or engineering as soon as he or she passes the 10th boards. But let’s take a step back and figure out, how did the Americans and Europeans get it right when it came to space entrepreneurship? The answer, in my opinion, is because of their university education that sets them apart from the rest of the world. An Indian who aspires to become an entrepreneur takes up courses and examinations to study it, whereas the aspiring American entrepreneur first builds stuff (need not be hard-
Source: Start-up Space, Tauri Group, 2016
Aero Club of IIST
ware, can be services too!), fails at it, and then goes for the next iteration. To quote Seth Godin, ‘Studying entrepreneurship without doing is like studying music without appreciating it’. One can argue that failure is not an option when it comes to space business, but then the business itself has evolved rapidly over the last decade and it is no more the ‘old boys club’. Since the year 2000, $13.2 billions have been invested in various space companies across the globe. As per CB Insights, more money was invested in space startups in the year 2015 alone, than last 10 years combined. The financial community is not going gaga over space startups without a reason. There are success stories like the Surrey Satellite Technologies Ltd (SSTL), Skybox, Planet Labs, Spire, and Berlin Space Technologies to name a few, which have given investors the confidence to put their money with realistic expectations of near-time gain. One common thread in the examples stated above is that all these startups emerged from university backed programs. Be it University of Surrey or Berlin, Stanford or the International Space University (ISU), most of the well-performing space startups have their roots in universities, and follow the ‘NewSpace’ philosophy of low-cost and agile access to space. A university is a place where you have access to resources galore, and a built-in network of like-minded individuals. IIST scores in this aspect, particularly for breeding space entrepreneurs, as it is a place like no one else, packed with 600+ students who are studying some dimension of space and astronautics. Combined with the facilities like a good library, fast internet, and many places to discuss and organize meetups, it has the potential to create the first generation of real Indian space entrepreneurs. All one needs is the right attitude towards entrepreneurship. For example, if you have an idea that requires someone with knowledge of machine learning, do not hesitate and reach out to your colleagues who may be studying the subject as an elective. For coders who need to build hardware, your friends on campus should be the first people you approach! Taking classes of management or participating in business plans competitions will not teach you as much about management skills as working in a team and taking the hard decisions during a Conscientia or Dhanak will… There are many opportunities for space entrepreneurs to fill in India today, be it in Big Data analytics using satellite images for assisting the government for infrastructure projects or providing actionable intelligence to large industries, or innovatively connecting rural India using an integrated satellite and high altitude platform network, which will be resilient to disasters. IIST, as India and Asia’s only dedicated space university has the potential to become the epicenter for space entrepreneurship, which is much needed in India, if our burgeoning space program has to be supported in the future. We should be second to none in the applications and enterprise of space!
13
14 Aero Club of IIST
New space era
N
Manish Kumar Mishra 3rd Year Aerospace
ovember 23, 2015, we witnessed an historical event when Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket safely landed on the ground after a sub-orbital flight where it crossed the Karman line and reached an altitude of 100.5 Km. It came as a surprise for most of the people across the globe, especially to those anticipating that SpaceX would become the first organisation to do so. However, their wishes were fulfilled within a month on 21st December, 2015 when SpaceX successfully landed their rocket Falcon 9v1.1 on a land base and became the first orbital class rocket to be recovered. SpaceX had already attempted twice to land Falcon on an autonomous drone ship over the sea and failed both the times. So, this was nothing less than a Christmas gift for them! But surprisingly SpaceX attempted again to land on the drone ship and failed. Many around the globe didn’t quite agree with the approach of SpaceX. Yes, it will be a great achievement if we are able to land the rocket on the drone ship in sea, as this will provide us the flexibility to choose the landing site while planning the mission and save a lot of fuel and money. However, many still believe that approach followed by SpaceX should be a sequential one, where SpaceX must try to land on the ground again and probably, reuse the recovered rocket to prove the robustness of the technology before moving on to landing on the sea. Well, the truth is thatn nobody, except Elon Musk and his folks at SpaceX, knows why SpaceX is targeting sea again and again. One reason which many people speculate may be the low payload capacity of the older Falcon 9, that is, the rocket may not be carrying enough fuel to land back on ground. This makes a lot of sense too. Let’s see how? The only successful recovery was done using the new Falcon 9v1.1 launch vehicle, which has a higher payload capacity (certainly can carry more fuel). Every other attempt has been made to land on the sea and older Falcon 9 was used for these launches. So, it might be possible that the older Falcon may not be carrying sufficient fuel to land the rocket back on their ground base and sea is the only option for it. Meanwhile, Blue Origin reused their recovered rocket on Jan 22, 2016 and safely landed it back on ground for the second time becoming the first company to do so. “Launch. Land. Repeat,” company officials wrote in a statement announcing the epic space feat. If we carefully analyse, these missions have shaped the future of space industry. RLV tech-
Aero Club of IIST
nology can reduce the cost of launching a satellite into space by an order of magnitude, as said by Elon Musk in an interview. This will attract a lot of venture capitalists in satellite industry because of the lower cost of launches. Also, this has opened a way for a low cost Space tourism in future. It was not an overnight success for these companies, a lot of efforts went behind successfully developing the reusable launch vehicle technology, however the RLV concept in itself is not a new one. The concept can be traced back to the Space Shuttle era when people were looking for a cost effective way of sending humans and goods into orbit and beyond. In fact, Space shuttle can itself be called as a partial RLV as the main engine and the two boosters of the shuttle were reused. Many other space agencies including ISRO are currently developing Reusable launch vehicle systems. ISRO has a RLV-TD programme with an aim of developing a single stage to orbit vehicle by 2030. The programme has been divided into various parts, which includes hypersonic flight experiment (HEX), Landing Experiment (LEX), Return flight experiment (REX) and Scramjet Propulsion experiment (SPEX). HEX would validate the aerodynamic characteristic of vehicle during hypersonic flight. For landing experiment, a 4 Km strip is proposed to be built at SHAR. First launch of RLV-TD is expected by mid of 2017. People across India are waiting in anticipation for RLV-TD to reach the sky and start a new era of Space Programme. To end with, demonstration of RLV technology by Blue Origin and SpaceX was historic and I consider ourselves to be very fortunate to have witnessed these moments.
Falcon 9 landing on the drone ship. Source : SpaceX
15
16 Aero Club of IIST
The cushion effect
“
Swapnil kumar - final year Mariya Ratlami - third year
Workshop was very helpful, it brought out our creative and technical skills, such workshops should be conducted every semester and possibly on a larger scale.
H
�
- participant.
overcraft workshop organised by AeroClub was one of its kind in IIST. The club had worked on various designs of the Hovercraft and all the designs were demonstrated to the participants. A single propeller hovercraft design was chosen for the hovercraft but participants were encouraged to modify the design to test out any possible ideas that they may have. We saw some really good modification in the design. One of the innovative ideas was to design a duct that will allow gradual turning of flow reducing the pressure loss. We also saw a design with a cool feature of adjusting the duct area allowing the hovercraft to have different lift to thrust ratio based on requirement. We had numerous discussions with the participant on Wing in ground effect hovercraft and other amazing topics. It was fun organising this amazing workshop. The Hovercraft workshop was initiated with a small session, briefing the participants about the theory and principles behind the working of hovercraft. Since we had already made and tested several models of hovercraft before the workshop, it was interesting to put that experience into words. To supplement the session, a brief history about the development of hovercraft was given, along with characterization of different types of hovercrafts, giving an insight to the recent developments in this field.
Aero Club of IIST
A detailed discussion on propeller theory was held. The scene was a little ironical as the presenters, I being one of them, were totally unaware of the propeller theory until a day before the session. But, we made sure that we were prepared enough to hit back whatever questions were fired at us during the session. Undoubtedly, Swapnil Kumar and Raman Chawla deserve total credit for that. Hovercraft, being a multi-terrain transportation vehicle is used in numerous areas, which were discussed during the session. The fancy pictures of latest hovercraft designs by Volkswagen called ‘The Volkswagen AQUA’ and another startling model designed by Mercier Jones, being the world’s first ‘supercraft’, left our audience flabbergasted. We took full advantage of the hi-fi specifications of these models to fill the crowd with excitement. This was followed by our very own journey towards designing the most suitable hovercraft for the workshop. Around 4 different models were displayed and their pros and cons were discussed thereby completing the first step of the workshop. In the beginning, we weren’t expecting much participation, but to our surprise, more than 30 teams registered. We got some good feedbacks. One of the participant said, “Workshop was very helpful, it brought out our creative and technical skills, such workshops should be conducted every semester and possibly on a larger scale”. We hope to organise similar workshops in future. The author can be contacted at msgswapnilkumar@gmail.com
17
18 Aero Club of IIST
Sessions
Evolution of Fighter Jets - Pranjal Prateek, BTech. Avionics
F
ighter Jets have always stood for pinnacle of engineering. It is a marvel that so many complex components and software come together to form something which can not only fly but can change the face of wars. The session was aimed at creating a general awareness about the evolution of fighter jets and traces the complexity and development of engineering through the last 70 years. It started with the introduction and characteristics of all the 5 generations (also 4.5th generation) of jets. At least two aircraft from each generation were shown and audience was asked to identify them. Then we ventured into the cockpit and understood the equipment contained in it. The highlights were Heads Up Display (HUD) and modern Flight helmet which are the key technological developments in recent years. Fighter Jets are toothless and easy targets without a good radar system, so Low-Probability of Intercept (LPI) radar, Phased Array radar systems and airborne early warning and control systems were discussed in detail. Then we looked into the interesting question of how do the fighter jets track and destroy their targets with the help of onboard software, avionics and weapon systems. The concept of stealth was discussed in detail with the help of examples like B-52 bombers and F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. The future of fighter jets was also discussed which could include technologies like variable sweep wings and hypersonic speeds (SR-72 was taken as an example). So the session started with WWII legends like Spitfire and Me-262, flew with MIGs and F-series fighters, soared high with Mirage, Sea Harriers, Su-series, LCA Tejas, Rafale and Typhoon, and accomplished its mission with Raptor, B-series bombers, and SR- series concept jets. The message of the talk was loud and clear “Soar high and be an Ace, live the spirit of Fighter Jets�. The author can be contacted at ppshyamali@gmail.com
Aero Club of IIST
Aerospace and Related Mechanisms - Saurabh Chatterjee, Phd. Aerospace Engineering.
T
he ARMS ( Aerospace and Related Mechanisms ) conference was held at ISAC on 30-31 Jan 2015, and I was fortunate enough to be a delegate. This was a very interesting conference which brought together a large number of professionals from ISRO, Defence agencies, a few private players and academia. Many papers were presented, some being about mechanisms that are already designed and implemented, while some showcasing new designs for future missions ( like legs of a lunar lander for Chandrayaan 2 ), along with some futuristic concepts that might be possible someday in the future. The overall standard of papers was quite good and they were written in a way that even a person not belonging to that exact field could understand the problem, methodology and solution (which, in my opinion is the mark of a good paper). My presentation at AeroClub was an outreach activity attempting to give more access and exposure about the work that is being done in the Aerospace sector to my fellow mates. In this regard, four papers were presented. A 6-DOF manipulator for assisted docking experiment was proposed, with modelling and testing on air table. The stability of a “lunar lander” impacting the terrain was explored, along with experimental testing. The other two papers were on “ion thrusters pointing mechanism” and “manipulators for solar panels”. I hope such outreach activities will be organised in the future too, to share knowledge gathered at such conferences and other experiences.
Matlab Sessions
T
he session was aimed at initializing the students with this wonderful software package and was given by multiple members taking up different parts of the session. Initially the students acclimatized to the interface and to the fact that every operation is done with the help of matrices. Then arithmetic, logical, and relational operations were taught along with examples given at each stage. As the students became comfortable with simple functions, different plotting techniques were shown and they were taught how to play around with the graphs. Then they were taught programming essentials like ‘if-else’, ‘switch-case’, ‘while’ loop, ‘for’ loop etc. At every juncture, example problems were given to the students and AeroClub team personally helped and guided each and every individual to sort out their problems. The session was a hit and we hope to continue the string of Matlab sessions in the future with more advanced applications to share each other’s learnings of this diverse software package.
19
20 Aero Club of IIST
Interaction with Aditya Chaphalkar -Scientist SC at VSSC
T
his session was an interactive meet with one of the IIST’s gems – Aaditya Chaphalkar. Felicitated by our very own chancellor Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam sir, he pursued his MS from California Institute of Technology. Currently working in ISRO, he shared his post graduate experiences in Caltech. It was a thoroughly interactive session which helped the students to gain insights into the Ivy League academic excellence and proved to be highly inspirational for IIST students.
How you doing Venus ?
Mofeez Alam - IIST alumnus and Scientist, VSSC (ISRO), summer intern at University of Wisconsin.
I
nspite of being nearer to earth, Venus never really got much attention when compared to Mars. VEXAG group believes that Venus could be the place to get answers about what may happen to earth in future? Also, many people expect to find some sort of microbial life at high altitudes in atmosphere of Venus where temperature is similar to earth’s surface. Mofeez Alam and his team mate developed a blimplane, hybrid of a blimp (baloon) and an airplane for in situ Venus exploration. The UAV was designed for operation at 60-80 km altitude. It was capable operating with low power requirement which could be met with solar panels on surface of plane. Low power requirement could be ensured by using high speed jet flowing in Venus atmosphere and by using buoyancy as Venus atmosphere consists of high density gases like SO2, CO2 etc.
A
Demonstration of E-Glove - Gaurav vaibhav
new session included a gesture controlled pointing device similar to a mouse pointer. The details of sensors, microprocessor, actuators, batteries and software interface required to build this glove was discussed. A demonstration with the help of an E-Glove made by the speaker successfully followed the discussion. Students got a hands on experience of building and operating a gesture controlled device with the help of this wonderful session.
Aero Club of IIST
On board Stabilization Of RC Aircraft Using Ardu-Pilot
T
he session was aimed at the stabilization of Heli/tri/Quadcopter using Ardupilot. This answered basic queries like how a RC plane controls itself during gusty winds without human interference. The automatic control helps the vehicle to hover at a particular location and respond automatically in cases of transmitter failure. It also included brief discussion on recent trends in aviation.
A talk on engines
-Manish Kumar Mishra
A
eroClub is an amazing place to have discussions and I got an opportunity to talk about Engines, something which really fantasizes me. And let me tell you, what a great experience it was. People were enthusiastic and I started my talk with the working of two and four stroke engine and we discussed about the differences in them. The discussion became intense when I went on to talk about latest technologies like Fuel Injection, electric and hybrid engines, and Turbochargers. We also discussed about BMW i8 and the driverless Google car. The most important part of the session was the discussion on the rotary engine (Wankel engine). It was something I really wanted someone to work on. I believe AeroClub should hold these sessions regularly, focussing more on the discussion aspect and it will be even better if we can extract some meaningful solutions out of it or may be some could start working on a project after the discussion. Personally, it was an amazing experience, presenting a topic like this one, infront of such an amazing audience.
21
22 Aero Club of IIST
Summer Projects
A
fter a successful set of summer projects in 2014, AeroClub summer projects were back in 2015, with an aim of not only technical enhancement of a student but also contributing to the society we are part of. This year the projects were entirely different, more intensive and diverse and above all ACSP 2015 saw participation from students of all disciplines and years. There were a total of 5 projects with a total of 16 students (12 freshers and 4 sophomores). Students were guided by highly experienced faculties of IIST. AeroClub worked hard to ensure that everything was on track and moving smoothly. Senior members of the club were always there to help and a weekly meeting was organised by the club, where each team gave a brief overview of things they were working on, with emphasis on the problem faced by them. This ensured that everyone was aware about the other projects going on and anyone could pitch in ideas to solve the problem faced by a team, which he was not a part of. AeroClub had conducted a workshop on Hovercraft and a few curious students took up the project to study ‘Air Cushion Vehicles’ deeply and came up with an exciting design. It was beautiful and fast. They conducted various experiments and compiled them into a report. Another project was ‘Vertical Axis wind turbine(VAWT)’, where students designed and manufactured an airfoil based VAWT. They conducted various experiments using axial flow compressor in thermal lab and were successful in measuring the rpm of VAWT at different air speeds. Our vision for IIST is to be an example for other institutions and organisation by adopting renewable energy sources and this is our first step towards that vision. Other projects were ‘Design of a 3D printer’, ‘Design of spoilers for a F1 car’ and ‘Study on suspension system with emphasis on Rover suspension’. All these projects were challenging and provided the students with a unique learning experience. Students developed skills which will be useful in their future projects. ACSP took off from the runway last year and this year it went even higher, but we know that the ACSP program has a long way to go. We hope that the projects will become funded in years to come. We hope to contribute towards society using this medium. Enthusiasm shown by students inspires and motivates us to work harder. We hope to work on the feedback provided by the participants and improve, so that ACSP 2016 is an even bigger success.
Aero Club of IIST
Sabir Alam VAWT team
It was all fun and a great experience, applying the concepts of “Introduction to Aerospace Engineering� to a practical problem. Learning by doing is always pleasant. I got a good company and a dynamic mentor. I am really thankful to Aero-club for providing this wonderful opportunity. One of the best thing that happened to us was our mentor, Umesh Kadhane. I enjoyed his guidance. He got solutions to almost each and every problem we faced in manufacturing the VAWT. He is very optimistic and calm. I recommend you to work with him. Another memorable incident was when we heard Umesh sir reciting some Urdu couplets (Shayari) and poetry, and it was amazing to have a discussion with him on poetry and literature. No doubt that the ACSP organizers were quite concerned and helpful. I believe that the lack of budget is a serious issue that needs to be solved in order to make ACSP a better program. I am quite optimistic about Aero-club and hope that Aero-club will no more be confined to IIST. I am pretty sure that ACSP will grow out to other colleges in future. I will end by saying, Thank you AeroClub.
Vishwendra Pratap Singh VAWT team
It was an amazing experience as it was my first project. Also, our topic Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) was amazing as we got an opportunity to apply the basics of aerodynamics and physics we had learnt in our courses. Working with our mentor, Dr. Umesh Kadhane was the most amazing experience, it is because of him that we were able to complete our project. The best moment was when the VAWT model worked for first time in front of a table fan and we celebrated it with a cup of tea in modern physics lab. I suggest ACSP team to improve upon the project monitoring. I must admit that ACSP is an excellent initiative. I believe and wish that the ideas, solutions and the conclusions from the projects are not dumped, instead taken further. This way, we will be able to contribute towards the betterment of our institute, society and country.
23
24 Aero Club of IIST
Chandrakant Kaushal 3D printer team
End of the second year and we are half a way through to become engineers. ACSP 2015 was an opportunity to show and implement the engineering skills we had learnt till now. Last year (Summer 2014) AeroClub provided us the opportunity to work on a project right after completing our first year which shows their belief in us. I, along with my four colleagues worked on designing a RC ornithopter. To be honest, first year learning experience was the best. To make something and that too something which flies was fascinating and working upon it was an amazing experience. My project this year was the ‘Design of a 3D Printer’ and is currently under progress. The project really helped me in developing some of the skills which will be really crucial in my career and thus I would say it was summer well spent. The successful completion of the projects describe the success of ACSP. Thanks to AeroClub for giving us this wonderful experience. I only wish that this program continues taking up problems that are socially challenging and have wider impact, so that these projects can help the society along with enriching students.
Nikunj Gupta Suspension system team
The experience was wonderful. I had a really great time. I learnt a lot of things and couldn’t have utilised my summer in a better way. The best part of my experience was the long discussions we had with our mentor, Praveen sir. He is really amazing and the discussions with him were a pleasure. ACSP team did a great job. Though I suggest that the objectives should be clearly defined to the students and there should not be any gap between ideas given by the faculty mentor and the club regarding the project. I must say, many innovative ideas came up which can be put into practice by participating in national and international competitions.
Aero Club of IIST
Shivam Kumar Air Cushion Vehicle team
The experience of being a part of ACSP 2015 was wonderful and exciting. We got to learn a lot of new things along with an opportunity to apply what we had studied. AeroClub members and our mentor helped us a lot whenever we needed their help. Our first model was all about learning about things that should be taken care of while making the hovercraft. When we made the final model we were slightly in doubt whether our design would work or not, whether the skirt or bag would inflate properly? When we did the first test, the hovercraft lifted properly. Yet, the best part was the way it picked up speed. It was very fast and we were literally running behind it crazily. You will not believe if I say that I was running behind it because I don’t run at all and this thing made me run a lot. I would want with long term projects, preferably ones that could be implemented in IIST. I wish to see more students participating in ACSP. It teaches you to work in team, take responsibility, handle pressure and other important skills.
Malay Pushkar Sontakke F1 Spoilers team
The experience was great. I must say that project this year was very theoretical and it was really practical last year (Design and manufacturing of a Glider and measurement of trajectory). I personally enjoyed the experience last year. But both projects were good in their own way and I learnt new skills which are helping me in my course and will help me in future too.
25
26 Aero Club of IIST
Fresher’s say
Moon B. Hazarika 1st Year BTech Aerospace
Each one of us who joined the college in 2015 had had a dream: of making planes fly, of building rockets that soar in the skies, of our aspirations getting wings and reaching the zenith. These dreams had propelled us to take up the courses of our choices, Aerospace Engineering, Avionics and Engineering Physics in IIST, amidst jibes et al. But within a few days, the hopes of realizing our dreams immediately were replaced by doubts of ever achieving them. We wondered: what was the avenue to accomplish them? Who would guide us as to what to do and how to do it? Where were we heading? After all we are still ignorant of many things. Then in strode Aero Club in our college life. The club that literally made our jaws drop and eyes broaden in their first meeting with us! As a member controlled a hovercraft he had made during the summer, our lives were filled with a new energy and purpose. Here is something we all wanted to do. After all, this is what we had come for! Each session of the Aero Club began to grow on us. From workshops on water rockets and gliders to discussion sessions on SpaceX and Hyperloop, our understanding of the world of aerospace deepened and our interest grew. The workshops gave a handson experience of constructing aerodynamic systems, while helping us understand the principles behind it better. Reading something from a book is one thing, but applying it in real-life situations is a completely different matter. Aero Club helped us realize this and apply what we have learnt from books in real-life situations. The discussion sessions also gave us an entirely new look into the world of flight. We for once came to know about simple innovations, which were in fact a harbinger of advancement in air and space flight. This has enabled us to think out of the box, of ideas of our own, and not limit ourselves to what is already known. And how can one forget SpaceUp? An event of its kind, we were exposed to people from all over the world talking about the various faces of space that we hadn’t even imagined. The event
Aero Club of IIST
besides increasing our knowledge also broadened our horizon and filled us with a zest that we never thought even existed within us. Aero Club has been instrumental in helping us get out of our shells. While our wings have not yet fully grown, they are at least there now. We can now think of achieving our dreams of going beyond the skies, thanks to the Aero Club. We are indeed indebted to you. With high hopes and higher aspirations
Warris Khan 1st Year BTech Aerospace
B
efore coming to IIST, I had heard about clubs in colleges, but experience at AeroClub was quite new and beyond expectations. Being an Aerospace Engineering student, I developed an instant connection with the club, but soon enough I realized that AeroClub was devoted to the industry and not just the ‘Aerospace Engineering’ branch. The first session was introductory and the manner in which our seniors introduced the club was rather fascinating. Till then I knew conservation of angular momentum only on pen & paper but they breathe life into it. The presentation of projects like hovercraft and VWAT, inspired me to take up such innovative projects in future. Among the many vivid experiences I had here, the most extraordinary was SPACEUP held on Teachers day. SPACEUP 2015 enabled me to interact with some of the renowned space scientists, entrepreneurs, researchers and analyst. It was awesome. It also gave us a good platform to have healthy discussion of our crazy thoughts without any limitations with experts of those fields. Through the club, Suraj Kumar, final year Avionics shared his experience at JPL-NASA, which refuelled and ignited my dreams and also made me proud to be an IISTian. In coming years, I hope to learn and contribute significantly to the amazing and one of its kind the AeroClub.
27
Airlines - How safe ?
Aman Gupta, Manas Maral Shrestha B.Tech. Aerospace Engineering.
H
undreds of accidents happening on roads surely concern the authorities around the globe but a single failure of aircraft could be large enough to question the existence of the entire aviation industry. If we compare the data of these two modes of transportation, the aviation industry is much safer than it looks. It is estimated by the National Transport Safety Board for every 1x10^9 person-miles there is one fatality in aviation industry but in the case of automobile the rate is 1 for every 1x10^6 person-miles. Despite this large difference the aviation industry is continuously searching for a way to realise a world with no aircraft crashes at all. Whether it was the Tenerife disaster or the 1996 Charkhi-Dadri Mid-air collision, each and every accident was studied with the objective of not repeating the same mistake and improving the future of air-crafts. All the accidents in the past had been proved as turning points in the aviation history, directly affecting the aviation laws, technology and also the human psychology. Over the past few decades many new methodologies are being derived to improve the human skills, especially the pilots. Crew Resource Management (a training procedure which ensures minimum human error and better response in emergency) was the result of the air-disaster when United Airline Flight 173 crashed due to fuel scarcity. The session focused on some famous air crashes in history. It started with basic understanding of “Blackbox� which includes the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder which helps to identify the cause of the failure of a plane. The famous Gimli Glider incident was the first to make the audience applaud over how the pilot successfully landed the aircraft, when the fuel ran out mid air, just by side slipping the aircraft. It was followed by the plane crash of John F. Kennedy junior which had remained a mystery for almost a year in the eyes of America, putting immense pressure
Aero Club of IIST
on the air crash specialists of that time. Finally weather came out to be the main culprit. Even the most automated aircraft during 2010, ‘Airbus Qantus 32’ experienced a drawback in its manufacturing, blowing off one of the engines and forcing it to land back to its departure destination. The crash of Air France Flight 447 in Atlantic Ocean cost the air crash specialists a huge fortune in terms of money and manpower when after more than 2 years of tiresome work, the blackbox was found deep in the ocean. Other crashes that were highlighted included the mid air crash above the city of Uberlingan between Bashkirian Airlines and DHL flight, DC-10 232 crash, M1 plane crash just before the landing over the highway and the crash of Varig Flight 254. We are humans and for us the errors are inevitable but all we can do is to learn from the mistakes and take the lessons from the history(in this case the aviation history). The author can be contacted at amangupta0141@gmail.com
29
Destino de la aviación
Mariya Ratlami 3rd Year BTech Aerospace Engineering
I
n our dreams, the skies belong to airships and zeppelins. These classic vehicles are among the most elegant and beautiful modes of transport ever created.
From improving technology for kidney dialysis to opening of solar and wind powered green airports, aerospace and aviation industry is extending its wings to every potential area. And with such a flair, the day with ‘green aviation’ no more remains a distant dream and AIRSHIPS may be a GREEN answer to the future of aviation. Recently, a team of researchers in the University of Lincoln have completed their three year long investigation into stratospheric passenger airships as part of a multi-national engineering project designed to provide a future sustainable air transport network. Before proceeding, it is worth looking at the amazing evolution drive undergone by these blimps. The roller coaster starts with the first flight cross the English channel in a hydrogen balloon by inventors Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries in 1785, where to prevent crashing, they had to bid adieu to supplies, oars and even their pants . In 1852 came the first steam-powered Steerable airship. By 1895, rigid airships with a structural framework came into the scene. ‘ Then came 1937, when The Hindenburg, world’s largest passenger airship, exploded into flames while landing; A disaster that killed 36 people as well as the luxury airship travel industry. This could not stop the mind’s eye of humans, and thus televised sports in 1960’s, got a blimps eye view as the Goodyear blimp filmed its first game at Miami’s Orange Bowl. In chorus, the fiction world was awed by the ‘beauty of the blimps’. In 2009, In the Disney Pixar animated film ‘Up’ pictured an amazing flight with thousands of balloons tied onto a house.
Inspired by which, in 2012, Cluster balloonist Jonatahn trappe tried the stunt himself and flew 20,000 feet ‘Up’ in the air. These airships came to be used as a surveillance vehicles and with time, were improved to be quieter, faster and cheaper. And then comes the very day…i.e. Today. Projects to explore the area of hybrid passenger airships are being undertaken. The MAAT (multibody advanced airship for transport) aims to get a safe, economical and environment friendly solution for transport which efficiently trades speed for fuel consumption. MAAT depends mainly on solar energy by harvesting sunlight from the arrays mounted on the upper airship surface. This would provide sufficient energy for it to work during the day and provide life support and also store a considerable amount for continuous operation at night. It is being foretold that in the next 20 years or so, the movement of freight by air will increase by 340% along with a huge increase in the passengers seen by the aviation industry. The jamming may lead to squeezing out of cargo operations for obvious reasons. This will require a robust alternative to meet the international freight demands. Advanced airships would present an optimized solution in terms of investment, delivery times, environmental impacts and resources. They can be expected to provide a much needed alternative that do not require the large infrastructure investments typical of new airports, railways and roads. The author can be contacted at mariya.rtm@gmail.com
32 Aero Club of IIST
Human Life in Space
Rahul Ranjan 3rd Year BTech Aerospace
“IT’S BEYOND IMAGINATION UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY GET UP AND SEE IT AND EXPERIENCE IT AND FEEL IT.”
-Willie McCool
As we go up from the earth’s surface, a wide variation in the pressure and temperature is observed. At higher altitudes, the pressure is very low due to scarcity of air. The numbers of molecules per cubic centimetre of volume will become very low. If you put some water in such a hostile environment it will vaporize due to the low pressure, in conjunction, if you open your mouth in space your saliva can evaporate from your mouth! Many more unnatural phenomena like bleeding from nose, collapse of lungs (air is pushed out from them), vaporization of body fluids etc. will occur. Think of what will happen to your body due to lower pressure outside when there is blood pressure; your body fluid will evaporate through your skin and a dry chunk of mass will remain. At such heights, the exposure to solar radiation also increases and causes harmful effects. The body is exposed to all of the solar radiation, wherein the high frequency radiation can cause serious damage to human body. This is because, higher the frequency lower is the wavelength and thus, it can easily penetrate through the body cells; and since they have higher energy contents the effect of radiation absorbed will be high and it will cause fatal diseases such as cancer. Such is the environment in space. It makes “life” really difficult out there. And now think of how difficult the survival of an astronaut or cosmonaut in space becomes? To cater such problems as inadequate pressure, oxygen, temperature and other vi-
Aero Club of IIST
tal requirements, a space suit is used. Even though the space suit looks like a normal suit, it has got metallic structures and composites inside to support the human body and create adequate pressure within the suit. Usually in winters the fingers become the coldest, similar is the case in space. At heights such as 400km, typical height where the international space station revolves, the temperature in the sun active region goes up to 150°C and in the inactive region it is about -150°C. Thus, the space suits are equipped with small heaters at the finger tips to keep them warm for their proper functioning. The suit is a small atmospheric unit in itself which give humans the necessary environmental conditions there. Space suit is generally used for space walks, during lift off and re-entry. It has onboard communication system, thrusters for propelling from one point to another and many other important units. Thrusters are used because of thin environment which makes the movement difficult, as there is almost nothing on which force could be applied and thus in order to move one needs to throw something out in the opposite direction. The suit protects the body from dust particles and other such micro particles called micrometeoroids. As a matter of fact, if a particle has to stay at such altitudes, it must revolve around the earth, the necessary centripetal force being provided by gravity. Thus, both astronauts and the debris revolve and the velocity of their approach is as high as 500m/s. Think of what happens to a human body if such fast moving debris hits? Even the space suit will not be able to prevent its penetration through the body. There are other important effects which come into play such as drastic change of gravity. Zero gravity helps in conducting experiments where the gravity is not a concern. The gravity effects on human body cannot be avoided. The human anatomy is adapted to conditions of g=9.81m/s2. Joints and muscles thus behave accordingly and are adjusted to such conditions. If a person is exposed to such a change in gravity, the joints and muscles in the body get relaxed and thus their movement becomes difficult. Body fattens and becomes difficult to move. Thus, astronauts undergo tedious training procedure such as staying on centrifuge so that the body feels the gravity effect and adapts to it. Also, in order to keep them fit, with their joints and muscles functional, they have to exercise regularly in space. Every facility is designed so as to account for the change in gravity such as a special flushing mechanism in toilets, special pen for writing etc. With things strapped on to the walls, they swim in space. From mouth to leg, food to boot, screws to structure, everything should be well planned and managed for the human survival in space. So, is there any solution which can substitute the presence of humans in space so that there is no casualty? With the advancement in artificial intelligence, the time is not so far when humanoids will substitute astronauts. The development of humanoids will not only cut down the risk on human life but will also boost the efficiency of any space mission and give a profound success in deep space exploration. The author can be contacted at rahulranjan1000@gmail.com
33
34 Aero Club of IIST
Members speak
Pranjal Prateek 4th Year BTech Avionics Pranjal has worked on organic and dye-sensitive solar cells and multi layered RF circuits at SAC Ahmedabad. His primary interests include fighter aircraft and radar systems. Contact: pranjal26may@gmail.com
I
t has almost been a year being a member of this wonderful club which gets things done. My journey with this club started by giving a session on evolution of fighter jets and then getting recruited after which there has been no looking back. We have accomplished great achievements like talks by eminent scientists on exclusive topics, knowledge sharing platforms like Matlab sessions, Hovercraft workshop, summer projects, sessions on topics like Robotics, Venus exploration, etc. by people who have originally worked on them and more recently, organizing SpaceUp. It really thrills me to be a part of a group which not only shares a common philosophy of team before self, but also, acts as an incubator for interesting ideas. The senses of camaraderie and drive to create a legacy have been the hallmarks of Aero Club. This club has taught me team work, importance of execution of ideas, and work ethic, which I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Shivam Singh 2nd Year BTech Aerospace Engineering Shivam is curious and enthusiastic person who believes in learning by experimenting his interests. He was invited for the republic day celebrations at New Delhi by MHRD, India. His interest include RC systems and low speed aerodynamics. Contact: shivam.singh1506@gmail.com
W
hen I was introduced to aeroclub I was really fascinated by it. This club has provided us with an opportunity to learn what we really want to and not what we “have” to. It has provided us a new perspective towards learning. Here we are exposed to the reality, as in how to “make” things happen. This club has made our monotonous college life exciting and well, we finally do not study just for exams. We have learnt a lot and hope to learn a lot more. “We learn to enjoy and enjoy learning”
Aero Club of IIST
Chandrakant Kaushal 3rd Year BTech Aerospace Engineering He has interests in unmanned aero systems and non conventional manufacturing processes. He is highly skilled in CAD and takes keen interest in doing practical stuff. Contact: chandrakant.1595@gmail.com
T
o me, it is all about learning, and building stuffs. Since my school days, I’ve been involved in making many models and performingexperiments.Whengearedintoengineeringandespecially Aerospace, the life wanted a flavor of some flying skills too. Before and after induction, the significant change which I felt was the platform I got from Aero Club. In first year I was inspired by my seniors, who were also part of Aero Club, to do lot of stuffs in tech-fest apart from studies. Being part of Aerospace make you feel satisfied and gives you a feeling which I cannot explain in words. I assure you, if you need to make something, you only need three thing viz. will, idea and AeroClub.
Mudumba Srivatsa 2nd Year BTech Aerospace Engineering
He is an enthusiastic member of aeroclub. He did his summer intern in spoiler design for F1 cars as a part of ACSP-2015. He is extremely interested in aerodynamics. Contact: sri47vatsa@gmail.com
B
eing a part of aeroclub is an amazing experience. My motive to join the club was to actually get into “making” things which the club had helped me realise during the workshops it had conducted in my freshmen year. It has a fun filled environment with an amazing team. Every member is ambitious and bears a constant thirst of improvement. Being a member has been fun and informative at the same time. It is always encouraging to know that you have a platform to put forward your ideas and being backed up by a team that guides and as well as joins you in your journey. AeroClub exactly portrays that environment. Keeping larger targets for future and hoping for thrilling ‘FLIGHTS’.
35
36 Aero Club of IIST
A great experience
Divesh Soni Final Year BTech Aerospace Engineering
I
t was like a dream come true, even the thought of it gave me heavy chills. I was not sure that ever in my life I would work at any of the NASA’s laboratories. JPL or Jet Propulsion Laboratories is a federally funded research and development center managed by NASA in collaboration with California Institute Of Technology. It is located at Pasadena, California. I was preparing for my quizzes when we got a mail about the IIST-JPL educational intern program. With a rigorous series of events including presentation and report submission, finally three of us were selected. The journey in itself was exciting. Flying to the opposite part of the planet has quite a lot of benefits in the sense of exposure to ethinc variations, food, fashion and technology. I flew from New Delhi to LAX via Changi International at Singapore and Narita International at Tokyo. I could barely close my eyes when I had such beautiful landscapes right outside the window. The aircraft covered the vast Pacific within a day. The plane landed at California after a long flight and lo here I was almost on opposite side of my land. First day was like a marvellous interaction with JPL and its surroundings. Every corner I saw, was excellent mix of technology and dedication. After the check in and other formalities, I was introduced to my mentor and we had lunch together at a cafeteria. We had a walk together to the various buildings. They had this model of ‘Curiosity’ kept at the entrance of an administration building which was in itself exceptional even being a model. We finally landed at the Advanced Deployable Large Structures laboratory where I was supposed to model an active beam equipped with Macro Fibre Composites. My working schedule was 40 hrs a week. I used to commute daily from my apartment to JPL using the JPLCaltech shuttle. During off timings public shuttle was a good idea because Uber was a little expensive in that area. In the due course of internship, I attended many tours and trainings like Hazardous Waste disposal and Safety training, Pressure Safety training, a tour to Cryo-coolers lab, a tour to NDEAA (Non Destructive Evaluation and Advanced Actuators) etc. These were a great source of practical knowledge and experience as in working with real systems and following safety protocols. My co-workers were lovingly supportive and their imagination poweress had no bounds. They were passionate about what they did and were ready to provide any kind of help with instruments and tools. All in one , the best two months I ever lived. The author can be contacted at divesh.iist@gmail.com
Aero Club of IIST
The Entrepreneur from IIST
I
IST has been in existence for almost a decade now and has produced many brilliant scientist/engineers who are serving the country and making their mark on the society in their own way. However, entrepreneurship as a career path, was and still is one most the most unusual thing you will hear about IIST and IISTians. But as they say, sometimes you have to create your own path if you want to leave a trail. Divyanshu Poddar, CEO of Rocketeers, inspired by the amount of knowledge that can be imparted by means of a model rocket, decided to take his hobby of building a model rocket as his career and ventured into the unknown as model rocketry was something not so common in India. AeroClub takes this opportunity to bring forward the story of the first startup that emerged from IIST. The foundations for Rocketeers were kept when a small group of future scientist at IIST wanted to build a model rocket and realised that none of the technology, materials, equipment was available in India and imports were banned, and decided to design, build and fly their own model rockets. And they did. But that was not all, Rocketeers, a company that lead to inception of Model Rocketry in India and it’s education system had to face a plethora of legal, bureaucratic, technical, financial, societal issues. After a not-so-easy initial time, the company finally started its commercial operation in May 2015 and it was a moment of joy for the founders of the company and a proud moment for IIST which had produced its first entrepreneur. However, this was just the beginning and it was well known that the way ahead would not be easy as well. However, Rocketeers stood strong and today, a year since its inception, Rocketeers is already creating a huge positive impact on the society by not only getting students hooked to the world of Model Rocketry but also spreading awareness about Indian Space Program. They have interacted with over 1200 students by means of their workshop, which is designed to make science fun and impart a better idea about Rocketry and Space Science in general to the students. Model Rocketry Club of India is their initiative to connect with students post workshop where they can take our advice to pursue career in space sciences and keep up with Model Rocketry related activities at their institute level. I am pretty sure that this story will inspire and motivate a lot of IISTians and who knows we might see a few more entrepreneurs from IIST, creating an impact on the global space industry. I end with a message from the Team Rocket, ‘We are quite sure that a lot of IISTians, given their motivated background and love for rocket science, would be interested in our activities and have creative and innovative ideas to contribute. It can be in the form of articles, technical papers, model rocketry activities, etc.’ The author can be contacted at manish6016mishra@gmail.com For more information visit : www.rocketeers.in
37
38 Aero Club of IIST
Future Plans (Aeroclub)
I
t has been two years and we are extremely proud of what we have achieved. We have had two successful summer projects where students have worked on some wonderful topics and have come up with some extremely interesting work. Many of the work is being continued either by same team or new set of talented students. We have always aimed at making the campus vibrant in terms of activities and we have been able to achieve our objective by organizing various workshops, competitions, discussions, seminars. We also co-organised SpaceUp, which was a great success. It showed us that Space industry today is way bigger than just a bunch of engineers and scientists. So, what is next for AeroClub? We plan to increase the number of outdoor activities as part of our Go-Public initiative. The initiative has been there for a while now (you cannot possibly forget the hot air balloon event), but has failed to become a regular happening at club. We believe that there are a lot of activities going on in IIST and most of us remain unaware of them. We plan to create a platform for IISTians where all the work can be shared, also it will give a sense of fulfilment to students working on those projects. We believe that this will make college a more open place in terms of research\project work going on. We plan to work on topics that will lead to positive impact in society, one promising way to do so is to take up relevant problems like renewable energy or low cost prosthetic leg as part of summer projects and organizing a competitions, a design challenge, or a competition seeking solution to some problem can be another way of achieving this target. We plan to participate in national/international events like SAE, International Micro Aerial Vehicle Challenge, Fly Your Ideas etc. and also encourage fellow IISTians to do the same. This will not only be a wonderful opportunity for us to gain experience but also will be an important step in bringing IIST to the fore front in the international scenario. Efforts to collaborate with other student clubs of other prestigious colleges like IITs, NITs etc. are being taken in order to be in constant touch with them. It will make the students directly interact with the students of other colleges. This may act as a discussion forum where ideas, opinions, informa¬tion etc. will be exchanged. Collaboration with industries, especially in the field of aerospace like Airbus, NAL, HAL etc. will be a milestone for the club. To end with I quote Dr. Rajesh S, who mentored a group of students working on Hovercrafts as part of ACSP 2015, ‘…It is nice to see the interest students show in topics other than that is present in curriculum. In addition, I found it as a combined learning experience as I too learned a lot about topics which were new to me while working with students’.
Aero Club of IIST
A Concluding Note by Mentors
Dr. Bijudas C.R. Assistant Professor Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Pradeep Kumar P. Assistant Professor Aerospace Engineering
It’s been two years and we feel proud and happy to have seen this club growing infront of us with every passing day. AeroClub, initiated in 2013 to promote innovative learning through seminars, discussions, demonstrations, projects etc. has been successful in creating a unique learning environment for students at IIST along with other student clubs like Quiz Club, Astronomy club etc. Club has also conducted various workshops which helped students to learn and develop the understanding of the fundamental physics by practically working on things like Glider, water rocket and hovercrafts. Club has successfully organised AeroClub summer projects for two years now. The program is unique as it provides opportunity to both first and second year students to work on some practical projects under guidance of IIST faculties. The initiative helps the students to take their first step into building something and boosts their confidence. A lot of good projects like Vertical Axis wind turbine and Hovercraft have come out of the initiative. In the past year, club also organised SpaceUp along with IIST Alumni and Dhruva Space, a unique event where people from different fields, all related to space industry visited the campus and talked about various things spanning from science and technology to law and entrepreneurship. To end with, we would like to applaud the student members of the club and wish them all the very best for their future initiatives.
39
Collage courtesy : Shreeya Natrajan, 2nd Year
Aero Club of IIST
SpaceUpTeam 2015
(From L to R on row one) Paragjyoti Garg,Umang Rathi,Mridul Songara, Swapnil Kumar, Divesh Soni, Tejasmoy Saha, Partha Surve, Shreeya Natrajan, Rachna E. Reddy, Surbhi Bhagotia (From L to R on row two) Navjot Singh, Parth Sharma, Srivatsa Mudumb, Sagnik Garai, Mayank Kumar, Pranjal Prateek, Raman Chawla, Manish Kumar Mishra, Manas Maral Shreshta,Akash Yalagach, Prakhar Agarwal (From L to R on row two) Chandrakant Kaushal, Rahul Ranjan, Prachi Bisht, Priyanka Chaudhary, Chintan Panigrahi, Narayan Prasad, Joyeeta Chatterjee, Salil Bagai. Not in Photo: Mariya Ratlami Shivam Singh
42