India’s first hypervelocity test facility

Source-This post on India’s first hypervelocity test facility has been based created based on the article “IIT Kanpur breaks ground with India’s first hypervelocity test facility, S2” published in “INDIA TODAY” on 5 February 2024.

Why in the news?

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) has successfully established and tested India’s first Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility recently.

About India’s first hypervelocity test facility

Location-The S2, nicknamed ‘Jigarthanda‘, is a 24-meter-long facility located at IIT Kanpur’s Hypersonic Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory (HEAL) within the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Designed by-It was indigenously designed and developed over three years by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and IIT Kanpur.

Funding-The development of the facility was supported by the Fund for Improvement in S&T Infrastructure (FIST) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) with a sum of Rs 4.5 Crores in 2018.

Speed range-It is capable of generating flight speeds between 3-10 km/s. It can simulate the hypersonic conditions encountered during the atmospheric entry of vehicles, asteroid entry, scramjet flights, and ballistic missiles.

Significance of India’s first hypervelocity test facility

1) It will be a critical asset for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

2) It will serve as a testing ground for ongoing missions of ISRO and DRDO like Gaganyaan, Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV), and hypersonic cruise missiles. This will enable the development of more advanced and reliable aerospace technologies.

3) It puts India amongst a handful of countries with this advanced hypersonic testing capability.

4) It is a major capacity boost for India’s space and defense sectors. It also puts India in a better position to develop advanced hypersonic technologies.

NOTE-Aeronautical Research and Development Board (ARDB)– It is the national body for coordinating and funding futuristic research/development programmes in Aeronautics.

It was established on recommendation of Subramanian Committee report and was constituted by the Government of India in 1971.

UPSC Syllabus-Science & technology.