Association for Machines and Mechanisms News Bulletin Volume 7, No. 2 April 2015 Message from the Editor-in-Chief With the scorching heat stepping in after the spring season, Volume 7, No. 2,, April 2015 issue of the Bulletin of the Association of Machines and Mechanisms (AMM) is being published in this late April. Objectives and Activities Dr. R. Ranganath, the Zonal Vice President (South), has taken the main The main objective of responsibility to bring out this issue of the Bulletin. His group has AMM is to contribute to contributed an interesting article on “Spacecraft Docking Mechanism‐ A mechanical design at all Brief Overview”. This article makes a review on the state‐of‐the‐art systems levels starting from regarding interplanetary exploration for landing on Moon, Mars and the most academic research to recent step to land on a Comet. This article is sure to enthuse not only members industrial initiatives, of the Association of Machines and Mechanisms, but also other readers who take thereby enhancing the due interest in space missions and related astronomical issues. quality and reliability of indigenous machines. With The iNaCoMM‐2015 and some other events associated with the Association this in view, AMM are being organised in the coming months. Interested persons may find the organises the International briefs about these events in this issue of the Bulletin similar to previous & National Conference on issues and can decide on sending articles and/or participate in the same. Machines and Mechanisms, iNaCoMM, Dr. G. Sarvana Kumar, the Secretary of the AMM, and other office bearers of and the workshops on AMM have taken due initiative to publish this issue. The Editor‐in‐Chief Industrial Problems on gratefully acknowledges the support exteended by the office bearers and Machines and Editorial Board members. Mechanisms, IPRoMM regularly. For bringing out July 2015 issue, AMM members are requested to contribute articles, technical briefs, etc. and send samme to the editorial team. Inside This Issue Constructive suggestions, comments towards improvement of the Bulletin 1. Message from the Editor-in-Chief of the AMM are most welcome. 2. About the AMM and IFToMM 3. Contributed Article 5. Forthcoming Events 6. Advertisement Prof. Santanu Das Editor–in–Chief Contact Details Dr. G. Saravana Kumar Secretaryy, AMM Tel: (044) 2257 4736 (O) Fax: (044) 2257 4732 E‐mail: [email protected] Web Site: http://www.ammindia.org About the Association of Machines and Mechanisms (AMM) The AMM headquarter is currently located at the Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras. A new set of office bearers have taken charge of the affairs of AMM. AMM invites both individual and corporate membership from Indian academia, research organizations and industry. Membership benefits and other information about AMM are available at www.ammindia.org. The body of Zonal Vice Presidents (ZVPs) is active over the past several years with representations from the four corners of the country. They are playing the role of nodal agencies so as to decentralise the AMM official activities and to organise workshops under the aegis of AMM to popularise the mechanism science in their respective regions. They also form the editorial team of this news bulletin. AMM invites contributory articles from its members and others working in the various fields of mechanisms science for this quarterly news bulletin. Interested people can contact the editorial team. Office Bearers of the AMM: Prof. C. Amarnath (President) Dr. G. Saravana Kumar (Secretary) Retired Professor, Department of Engineering Design, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Chennai 600036, INDIA. Powai, Mumbai 400076, INDIA Phone: + 91 (44) 2257 4736 Phone: + 91 80 2368 2151 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Web: http://ed.iitm.ac.in/~gsaravana Prof. Ashitava Ghosal (Vice President) Dr. Palaniappan Ramu (Treasurer) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Bangalore 560 012, INDIA. Chennai 600036, INDIA. Phone: +91 80 2293 2956 Phone: + 91 (44) 2257 4738 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Web: Web: http://ed.iitm.ac.in/~palramu http://www.mecheng.iisc.ernet.in/~asitava Editorial Team of the News Bulletin: Dr. Santanu Das (Editor-in-Chief, News Bulletin) Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering Kalyani Govt. Engineering College, Kalyani- 741235, INDIA Phone: +91 (33) 2582 1309 Email: [email protected] Dr. Shankar Sehgal, (Zonal Vice Dr. Ranjit Kumar Barai, (ZVP, East) President [ZVP] North) Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Control System Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical Engineering Department, Room No. 102, Block 2, U.I.E.T., Sector-25 Jadavpur University, Kolkata- 700 032, Panjab University, Chandigarh- 160 014. INDIA INDIA Phone: +91 (33) 24139270 Phone: +91 95010 24161 Email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Shital S. Chiddarwar (ZVP, West) Dr. R. Ranganath, (ZVP, South) Assistant Professor, Spacecraft Mechanisms Group, Dept of Mechanical Engineering ISRO Satellite Centre, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Bangalore-560017, INDIA Technology, Nagpur, INDIA Phone: +91 (80) 25082417 Phone: +91 9561050130 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Education is basic to the creation of an atmosphere in which human beings can meet one another on a plane of friendship and equality. --- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad About the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM) 4 Bodies of IFToMM conferences, summer schools, Design, Dynamics, and and meetings. Control (ROMANSY) General Assembly The General Assembly is the Member Organizations Mechanical Transmission supreme body of the ARMENIA AUSTRALIA Applications (MeTrApp) Federation and determines its AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN Symposium on Robotics policy. It is composed of the BELARUS BRAZIL & Mechatronics (ISRM) Chief Delegates of IFToMM BULGARIA CANADA European Conf on Members and members of the CHINA-BEIJING Executive Council. CHINA-TAIPEI Mechanism Science CROATIA CZECH (EUCOMES) Executive Council REPUBLIC Asian Conference on The Executive Council DENMARK EGYPT MMS (ASIAN MMS) manages the affairs of the FINLAND FRANCE Summer Schools Federation between the GEORGIA GERMANY sessions of the General GREECE HUNGARY Assembly. It is elected every INDIA ISRAEL Conferences under four years, meets annually, and ITALY JAPAN IFToMM patronage is composed of the President, KAZAKHSTAN KOREA (selection) Vice- President, Secretary- LITHUANIA MACEDONIA Local conferences of the General, Treasurer, and six MEXICO ordinary members. NETHERLANDS IFToMM Members PERU POLAND Symposium on Theory Commissions and PORTUGAL ROMANIA and Practice of Robot and Committees RUSSIA SERBIA Manipulators (SYROM) Each Permanent Commission SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA IFToMM-FeIbIM Int. and Technical Committee is SLOVENIA SPAIN composed of a Chairperson, SWITZERLAND TUNISIA Symposium on Multibody appointed by the Executive TURKEY UKRAINE Systems and Council, a Secretary and UNITED KINGDOM USA Mechatronics (MUSME) members, nominated by the VIETNAM Chairperson and appointed by Joining IFToMM the Executive Council. A Welcome to Taipei, Chairperson shall not serve for Member Organizations more than two terms China-Taipei, venue of gives the following consecutively. The general the 14th IFToMM World benefits: goals for the work of the Congress, 25-30 October, international contacts for Commissions and Committees 2015, potential developments of are aimed at promoting their fields of interest by attracting www.iftomm2015.tw joint projects; researchers and practitioners, IFToMM supported reduced registration fees including young individuals, in Conferences (selection) for IFToMM order to: supported conferences; - define new directions in Int. Symposium on History of Machines and participation and research and development contribution in IFToMM within their technical areas; Mechanisms (HMM) - establish contacts between Workshop on activities and researchers and engineers; Computational publications; - initiate and develop bases and Kinematics (CK) flow of information on procedures for IFToMM activities. modern problems; Rotordynamics - promote the exchange of Conference information; CISM-IFToMM You are kindly invited - organize national and Symposium on Robot to join IFToMM and its international symposia, activities. 5 Contributed Article Spacecraft Docking Mechanism‐ A Brief Overview Anoop Kumar Srivastava1 and R Ranganath2 Spacecraft Mechanisms Group, Indian Space Research Organisation, Satellite Centre, Bangalore 1Email: [email protected], 2Email: [email protected] 1 Introduction Present day scenario in space exploration has matured much beyond the aggressive competition among select nations towards proving technical superiority of the early 60s. It now touches each and every aspect of life tending towards finding ways of survivability of humans in space. Giant steps have been taken towards interplanetary exploration from landing on Moon to landing on Mars with the most recent one being landing on a Comet. Time has come when joint collaborations in the field of space exploration is becoming a necessity for realising an alternate habitat to mankind. Extending space exploration beyond the limits of earth observation could not be done without the development of some