IIT Roorkee organized seminar on “Inflatable Structures and Materials for Space Applications”
Roorkee: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) has got an ISRO- IIT Space Technology cell this year to carry out advance research activities in the field of Space Science and Technology. The seminar on “Inflatable Structures and Materials for Space Applications” is the second seminar in the country that was held at IIT Roorkee Greater Noida Campus. It was organized by the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, IIT Roorkee and the Indian Space Industry Exhibitor, Ahmedabad (A micro venture under MSME to carry out Space Educational and Awareness activities in the country). The first seminar of this series was organized by IIT Kanpur in the year 2016.
The leading Space agencies in the world are looking for large size structures with ultra-lightweight solutions for their future missions. Inflatable Structures are the most suitable solutions. Many Defense organizations are also looking for Inflatable Structures for many applications.
Many Defense and Space Organizations worldwide needs Ultra-light weight structures for various advance application. The Inflatable structures Technology is the most suitable solutions today. The countries like USA, Russia, China and many European countries are already working in development of Inflatable Space Structures. “We are happy to be a part of a team that is organizing these dynamic solutions for our country. Today’s seminar by IIT Roorkee was much needed and it shows how the institute is a pioneer for such important pursuits” said Mr. A. C Mathur, Retired Project Director, Ahmedabad, ISRO.
In India, the Inflatable Structures Technology is at its infancy. There are a few companies that are making commercial products. There are a few organizations that have initiated engineering design, fabrication, and Manufacturing of scientific and Technical Structures.
There were 70 participants from Academic, industries, and R&D organizations attended the two days seminar. The experts from IITs, ISRO, DRDO and Industries delivered talks sharing their experiences and challenges on indigenous development of Materials and Inflatable Structures. A few industries also displayed the products and materials developed by them. This helped the young participants to get good knowledge and scope for the industry to grow in the country.
Shri Arun Kumar Saxena, Director, ADRDE/ DRDO, Agra delivered the inaugural address as chief guest on this occasion and Prof M Parida, Dy. Director, IIT Roorkee was the Guest of honor. He said “I am very thankful to IIT Roorkee for hosting this seminar. We have been tirelessly working on Inflatable Structures for several years now, and to have an institute like IIT Roorkee backing us is an absolute honor for us. It is important for laymen to know that several products that surround them such as the parachutes, that are used by Indian armed forces with different airplane. Several inflatable structures which are all Indian made have been discussed with seminar delegates. We hope to collaborate with IIT in the future as well and take this initiative forward.”
Speaking on the occasion Prof M Parida, Dy. Director, IIT Roorkee said “It is an honor that IIT Roorkee and the ISRO- IIT Space Technology Cell this year are coming up with cutting edge technology for Space agencies looking for large size structures with lightweight solutions. A number of faculty members at IIT Roorkee are working in the area of inflatable structures and we have adequate laboratory infrastructure to be a partner in evolving solutions for space and defense applications.”