ISRO GSLV MK III Launch of GSAT-19 Satellite
courtesy: isro.gov.in
Government of India - Department of Space - Indian Space Research Organization
India’s GSLV Mark III rocket successfully made its first all-up launch and first attempt to reach orbit Monday in a late afternoon liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The launch was on schedule at 17:28 local time (11:58 UTC), with the mission tasked with lofting the GSAT-19 satellite.
The first orbital launch of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk.III) marked a milestone in India’s space program, with the more powerful rocket allowing the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to begin launching heavier payloads aboard its own vehicles – both for spaceflight applications such as communications and in support of the country’s nascent manned space program.
Monday’s launch came two and a half years after the GSLV Mark III’s maiden flight, a successful suborbital test for which only the rocket’s lower stages were live.
The test flight, conducted on 18 December 2014, carried a prototype crew capsule and also served to validate the rocket’s design and demonstrate the stage performance and operation of the rocket’s solid-fuel first stage and liquid-fuelled second stage.
As a result of the test flight, ISRO has refined the GSLV Mk.III’s design. The nose cones of the vehicle’s two large solid rocket motors now taper towards the core and the rocket will fly with an ogive-shaped payload fairing instead of the more cylindrical fairing that was used on the 2014 launch.
GSLV Mk.III, which ISRO has also previously referred to as LVM3 – although that name now seems to have been phased out – marks the beginning of a third generation of rockets for India’s orbital launch capabilities.
India made its first orbital launch in July 1980, with a four-stage Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) rocket orbiting the Rohini, or RS-1, satellite. This was India’s second launch attempt – a previous launch in August 1979 failed after the thrust vectoring system on the second stage malfunctioned. Following the RS-1 launch, SLV made two further launches, with one failure and one success.
GSLV Mk III is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.
GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of GSLV Mk II.
The two strap-on motors of GSLV Mk III are located on either side of its core liquid booster. Designated as ‘S200’, each carries 205 tons of composite solid propellant and their ignition results in vehicle lift -off . S200s function for 140 seconds. During strap-ons functioning phase, the two clustered Vikas liquid Engines of L110 liquid core booster will ignite 114 sec after lift -off to further augment the thrust of the vehicle. These two engines continue to function after the separation of the strap-ons at about 140 seconds after lift -off.
The first experimental flight of LVM3, the LVM3-X/CARE mission lifted off from Sriharikota on December 18, 2014 and successfully tested the atmospheric phase of flight. Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment was also carried out in this flight. The module reentered, deployed its parachutes as planned and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.
The first developmental flight of GSLV Mk III, the GSLV-Mk III-D1 successfully placed GSAT-19 satellite to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on June 05, 2017 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
Height: 43.43 m
Vehicle Diameter: 4.0 m
Heat Shield (Payload Fairing) Diameter: 5.0 m
Number of Stages: 3
Lift Off Mass: 640 tonnes
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
GSLV Mk III will be capable of placing the 4 tonne class satellites of the GSAT series into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits.
The powerful cryogenic stage of GSLV Mk III enables it to place heavy payloads into Low Earth Orbits of 600 km altitude.
Cryogenic Upper Stage : C25
The C25 is powered by CE-20, India's largest cryogenic engine, designed and developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
Cryo Stage Height: 13.5 m
Cryo Stage Diameter: 4.0 m
Fuel: 28 tonnes of LOX + LH2
Solid Rocket Boosters : S200
GSLV Mk III uses two S200 solid rocket boosters to provide the huge amount of thrust required for lift off. The S200 was developed at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
Fuel: 205 tonnes of HTPB (nominal)
Core Stage : L110 Liquid Stage
The L110 liquid stage is powered by two Vikas engines designed and developed at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
Fuel: 110 tonnes of UDMH + N204
Posted by Jai Krishna Ponnappan
