5-Jun-2017: ISRO launched its most powerful and heaviest rocket
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its most powerful and heaviest rocket, sending a communications satellite into orbit in a successful debut flight.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III), lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, successfully delivering the massive GSAT-19 communications satellite into orbit.
Weighing 3,136 kg at lift-off, GSAT-19 is the heaviest satellite launched from the Indian soil. India's GSLV Mk III rocket is an upgraded version of the country's GSLV rocket. The new version stands 141 feet tall (43 meters) and weighs 705 tons (640 metric tons) at launch liftoff. While it is slightly shorter than its predecessor — the 160-foot (49 m) GSLV Mark II — the new version is 200 tons heavier and can deliver satellites weighing up to 8,818 lbs. (4,000 kilograms) to a geostationary transfer orbit. That's nearly double the lift capacity of its predecessor.
GSLV Mk III is a heavy-lift rocket that weighs as much as 200 elephants, or five Boeing jumbo jets. It is powered by a liquid-fueled core stage, two strap-on solid rocket motors and a liquid-fueled upper stage.
This was the first orbital mission of GSLV Mk III which was mainly intended to evaluate the vehicle performance including that of its fully indigenous cryogenic upper stage during the flight. Both the GSLV Mk III and the GSAT-19 launch have been successful.
In 2014, ISRO launched an experimental version of the GLSV Mk III to test a prototype of a space capsule built to carry three astronauts into space. That mission was successful, but it was a suborbital test only and not intended to reach orbit.
Monday's GSLV Mk III launch isn't the only big first for India's space program this year. In February, ISRO launched a smaller Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle packed with 104 satellites, setting a new record for the most satellites launched on a single rocket.
27-Jan-2017: ISRO Successfully tests Cryogenic Engine for Upper Stage of GSLV Mk III.
Cryogenic upper stage, designated as C25, was tested successfully on January 25 for 50 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu, demonstrating all the stage operations. Cryogenic engines are used in the upper stage of a rocket launch as they provide the maximum thrust to a launcher vehicle.
The performance of the stage during the test was as predicted. This was the first test in a series of two tests. The next one is planned for a flight duration of 640 seconds.
The 50 second test is a significant milestone in the development of indigenous cryogenic propulsion technology and the successful hot test of the stage in the first attempt itself demonstrates the agency's ability to work in new areas like cryogenic technology.
The development of C25 cryogenic stage began with the approval of GSLV Mk III, the next generation launch vehicle of ISRO, capable of launching 4 ton class spacecraft in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
The vehicle consists of two solid strap-on motors, one earth storable liquid core stage and the cryogenic upper stage. The C25 stage is the most powerful upper stage developed by ISRO and uses Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen propellant combination.
The stage carries 27.8 tons of propellants loaded in two independent tanks.
The first flight stage for 'GSLV MkIII-D1' mission is in an advanced stage of realisation and it is scheduled to launch GSAT-19 during first quarter of 2017.
The flight engine has been successfully tested in the High Altitude Test facility and integrated with the flight stage, ISRO said. ISRO said the C25 stage was conceptualised, designed and realised by Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), ISRO's lead Centre for Propulsion, with support from various System Development Agencies from other three Centres of ISRO - Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) and Sathish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC).