The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history by commissioning the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram.
A wind tunnel is used to study the effects of air flowing past a solid object - in ISRO’s case, space vehicles.
With the space agency lining up big missions like the ‘Reusable Launch Vehicle’ (RLV), ‘Two Stage to Orbit’ (TSTO) rockets, air breathing propulsion systems, and the human space flight programme for the future, the aero-thermodynamic modelling of these in a hypersonic environment is vital for optimal designs.
These facilities, indigenously designed, developed and ‘Made in India’ with the support of Indian industries, are the third largest in terms of size and simulation capability in the world.
A few critical technologies, which are under embargo, have been jointly developed by Isro and industries for realisation of these facilities.
There is no replacement for wind tunnel testing for aerodynamic characterisation.
