India’s first high hypersonic test facility at IIT Kanpur to aid space and defence research

New Delhi: In what may aid in developing futuristic cruise missiles or space probes like the Gaganyaan, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur has come out with a testing platform for aerodynamic studies of space capsules and cruise missiles zipping through the Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speeds of up to 10 km per second.

The existing facilities at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram have a limitation – they can test only up to 4 km per second.

“Our facility can evaluate systems flying at a speed of 3-10 km per second, for which currently there is no test platform in India,” team leader Mohammed Ibrahim Sugarno, associate professor at the department of aerospace engineering at IIT Kanpur told DH.

The three-year-long development to create India’s first hyper-velocity expansion tunnel test facility was funded by the Department of Science and Technology and Aeronautical Research and Development Board under the Defence Research and Development Organisation presumably keeping upcoming space and defence projects in mind.

For instance at its reentry in the earth’s atmosphere, the Gaganyaan will have a velocity of around 7 kmps. The Indian Space Research Organisation currently depends on other agencies to gather the aerodynamic data for such hypersonic velocities. This can now be done at IIT Kanpur.

The 24-m long tunnel will for the first time enable simulations of hypersonic conditions that India’s Gaganyaan space capsule and cruise missiles will encounter during flights. “We have a sub-scale model of Gaganyaan fitted with sensors to collect aerodynamic flight data in such conditions,” Sugarno said.

Other future projects that may be benefited include the ambitious reusable launch vehicle programme and the India-Russia collaboration on developing a long-range version of Brahmos cruise missile.

"The successful establishment of India's first hypervelocity expansion tunnel test facility, marks a historic milestone for IIT Kanpur and for India's scientific capabilities. It will empower India's space and defence organisations with domestic hypersonic testing capabilities for critical projects and missions," said S Ganesh, director of IIT Kanpur.

Other IIT scientists also described it as a major boost for India's space and defence sectors. "With sophisticated hypervelocity testing capabilities now available domestically, India is better positioned to develop advanced hypersonic technologies and systems," the institute said in a press statement.