SRE-1

SRE-1 was a 550 kg capsule intended to demonstrate the capability to recover an orbiting space capsule, and the technology of an orbiting platform for performing experiments in microgravity conditions. It was launched by PSLV-C7 into a 635 km polar sun sychronous on January 10, 2007 as a co- passenger with CARTOSAT-2. It remained in orbit for 12 days during which its payloads performed experiments in micro gravity conditions before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and splashing down into the Bay of Bengal on January 22, 2007. The SRE capsule has four major hardware, viz Aero Thermostructure (ATS), Spacecraft platform, deceleration and floatation system and two microgravity payloads viz Isothermal Heating Furnace (IHF) and Bio-mimetic experiment. SRE mission provided a valuable experience in fields like navigation, guidance and control during the re-entry phase, hypersonic aero thermodynamic, development of reusable thermal protection system (TPS), recovery through deceleration and floatation, besides acquisition of basic technology for reusable launch vehicles. The SRE-1 spacecraft was mounted inside the deployable module over which the CARTOSAT-2 spacecraft was mounted. For the first time, a Dual Launch Adopter (DLA) was used in PSLV to accommodate two primary satellites in tandem. A Video Imaging camera on-board imaged the deployment of the CARTOSAT-2, PEHUENSAT-1 and the SRE-1 from the launch vehicle. A highlight of the mission is that ISTRAC and the Mission Team from URSC managed two satellite missions operation simultaneously. The recovered hardware was found to be in excellent condition and valuable data returned from space have been analyzed for its scientific contents.