Fwd: India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) finally launched

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: January 5, 2014 10:10:16 AM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) finally launched

 

The Times of India

 

Isro successfully launches indigenous cryogenic engine-powered GSLV-D5

Arun Ram,TNN | Jan 5, 2014, 04.11 PM IST

 

SRIHARIKOTA: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Sunday successfully launched GSLV-D5 rocket, which is powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

 

Seventeen minutes after liftoff at 4.18pm, the rocket successfully injected GSAT-14 communication satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

 

Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan declared the mission a success. He said, "This shows the maturity of the team. We dedicate the proud moment for the country."

 

"The launch has been so precise that the satellite was put just 40 metres within the 179km perigee and only 50km of the 36,000km apogee," mission director K Sivan said.

 

Isro achieved the feat after two failures earlier. While India has mastered the PSLV range of rockets with a string of 25 consecutive successes, GSLV, which can carry heavier payloads including humans to space, has remained a challenge.

 

In April 2010, Isro tested its first indigenous cryogenic engine, but it failed a little less than a second after the cryogenic stage ignited. A refurbished GSLV-D5 was to be launched in August 2013, but a leak in the liquid fuel tank forced the mission to be aborted two hours before the rocket was to lift off.

 

India had got seven cryogenic engines from Russia, and Isro has used six of them. With no affordable supply coming from abroad, India felt the necessity to develop its own cryogenic engine, which uses liquid hydrogen as fuel and liquid oxygen and oxidizer.

 

Cryogenics, the science of extremely low temperatures, has posed a challenge to rocket scientists across the world.

 

Copyright © 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. 

 

 

Updated: January 5, 2014 18:19 IST

GSLV-D5 with indigenous cryogenic engine launched successfully

 

In a new year gift to the nation, ISRO on Sunday successfully launched a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with an indigenous cryogenic engine from the spaceport of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, entering a select club of nations.

 

With this launch, ISRO became the sixth space agency in the world after U.S., Russia, Japan, China and France to have tasted success with an indigenous cryogenic engine.

 

"I am extremely happy and proud to say team ISRO has done it. The Indian cryogenic engine and stage performed as predicted, as expected for this mission and injected precisely the GSAT-14 communication satellite into intended orbit," a jubilant K. Radhakrishnan, ISRO chairman said from the Mission Control Room soon after the launch vehicle placed the 1,982 kg GSAT-14 satellite into the intended orbit.

 

Launching a GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic engine has been a major challenge for ISRO since 2001 after multiple unsuccessful attempts. Only four of earlier seven attempts have succeeded.

 

GSLV-D5's scheduled launch on August 19 last year was called off in the eleventh hour after a fuel leak, following which ISRO moved the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and rectified the defect.

 

Sunday's launch is India's eighth flight of GSLV and also the fourth developmental flight of GSLV. During this flight, the indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) was flight tested for the second time.

 

GSAT-14 is India's 23rd geostationary communication satellite, as four of GSAT-14's predecessors were launched by GSLV during 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007, respectively.

 

GSAT-14 would join the group of India's nine operational geostationary satellites. The primary objective of this mission is to augment the in-orbit capacity of extended C and Ku-band transponders and provide a platform for new experiments.

 

The GSAT-14 will be positioned at 74 degree East longitude and co-located with INSAT-3C, INSAT-4CR and KALPANA-1 satellites.

 

The 12 communication transponders onboard GSAT-14 will further augment the capacity in the INSAT/GSAT system.

 

ISRO's Cryogenic Upper Stage Project envisaged the design and development of the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage to replace the stage procured from Russia and used in GSLV flights, according to ISRO.

 

ISRO officials had been extremely vigilant in tightening loose ends this time around to avoid an unsuccessful attempt.

 

Design modifications were implemented wherever required in the launch vehicle along with thorough ground testing and improvements.

 

The modifications included redesigning of Lower Shroud, which protects the cryogenic engine during atmospheric flight of GSLV-D5 and redesigning of the wire tunnel of the cryo stage to withstand larger forces in flight.

 

The national space agency also performed two 'Acceptance Tests for flight unit of Fuel Booster Turbo Pump (FBTP), High altitude tests to confirm the ignition sequence in flight under vacuum, to validate design improvements and Cryogenic Main Engine (200 sec) and Steering Engine (100 sec) acceptance tests at Main Engine Test and High Altitude Test.

 

Copyright© 2014, The Hindu

 

 

 

05 January 2014

IANS 

 

Rocket carries India into select space club

By Venkatachari Jagannathan

 

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) Jan 5: India on Sunday joined the select league of space-faring nations with indigenous cryogenic engine technology, successfully launching its rocket that put a communication satellite in orbit.

 

The mission's success not only paves the way for the Indian space agency to save launch costs paid to foreign space agencies but also to launch more communication satellites augmenting the transponder capacity to earn more revenue.

 

The Indian space scientists' toil of around two decades in conceiving the more efficient cryogenic engine technology, which provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant, spending around Rs.400 crore seems to have come to fruition with the delivery of the GSAT-14 in the outer space.

 

At precisely 4.18 p.m., the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Development 5 (GSLV D5) with a deep roar rose into sky with a thick orange flame at its tail, breaking away from the second launch pad here at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

 

Around 17 minutes into the flight, the 49.13-metre tall, 414.75- tonne GSLV-D5 rocket slung the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 in the intended orbit.

 

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was to launch this rocket last August but aborted the blast-off just hours before the deadline as fuel started leaking from its second stage or engine.

 

ISRO's scientists at the mission control centre were visibly happy with Sunday's blast-off. They back-slapped and hugged one another once the rocket ejected the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 into the intended orbit.

 

ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishan said: "The Indian cryogenic engine and stage performed as predicted and as expected for the mission and injected GSAT-14 in its intended orbit."

 

He added: "We have paid back all our debts to the country."

 

Radhakrishnan described it as an important day for Indian science and space technology.

 

"Twenty years of efforts and toil in developing cryogenic engine and stage has paid off. The extruciating efforts of the past three years has been realized," he said.

 

An ecstatic S.Ramakrishnan, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said: "At ISRO we used to call GSLV as naughty boy. But today the naughty boy is a very obedient boy."

 

The Sunday launch success is sweet for the Indian space fraternity as it comes after successful launch of Mars Orbiter last year.

 

For Radhakrishnan, this is the first successful GSLV rocket launch as ISRO chief.

 

This was the first mission of GSLV during the last four years after two such rockets failed in 2010.

 

One of the GSLV rockets was fitted with Indian cryogenic engine and the other one with a Russian engine.

 

The GSLV is a three stage/engine rocket. The core of first stage is fired with solid fuel while the four strap-on motors by liquid fuel. The second is the liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine.

 

For the country, ISRO perfecting the cryogenic engine technology is crucial as by launching communication satellites by itself it can help the country save precious foreign exchange.

 

Currently ISRO launches its heavy communication satellites by hiring the services of the European space agency Ariane.

 

Radhakrishnan has told IANS that the country pays around $85-90 million or around Rs.500 crore as launch fee for sending up a 3.5p-tonne communication satellites. The cost of satellite is separate.

 

He said the cost of GSLV is Rs.220 crore.

 

The ISRO can send smaller communication satellites - weighing around two tonnes - till such time it gets ready an advanced GSLV variant - GSLV-Mark III - that can lug satellites weighing around four tonnes.

 

While that is for the future, Radhakrishnan said ISRO has lined up several satellite launches for the current GSLV rocket version.

 

"We will be launching satellites GSAT-6, 7A, 9 using GSLV. We will also be using this rocket for our second Chandrayaan mission and for the launch of GISAT," he told IANS.

 

According to him, another communication satellite, GSAT-15, will be launched using the Ariane rocket.

 

Other than the flight testing of cryogenic engine, 2014 will be an important year for ISRO.

 

Radhakrishnan noted that in September, the Mars Orbiter will be injected into the Mars orbit while the test flight of GSLV-Mark III version will also include a crew module for characterisation of re-entry from the space.

 

"The GSLV-Mark III experimental mission will be in April this year. The rocket will have a passive cryogenic stage/engine. The main purpose of the mission is to study the aerodynamics and stability of the rocket," he said.

 

Radhakrishnan said the cryogenic engine for the next GSLV version will take around three years for being flight ready.

 

According to ISRO, several design changes were incorporated in Sunday's rocket after studying the past GSLV rockets and the issues faced in them.

 

ISRO officials told IANS that though the rocket's rated carrying capacity is around 2.2 tonnes, it was decided to carry a sub-two tonnes satellite with minimum number of transponders (receivers and transmitters of communication signals).

 

ISRO's earlier attempts to fly a GSLV rocket carrying slightly over two tonnes satellites have ended in partial/total failures.

 

The cuboid shaped Rs.145 crore GSAT-14 is India's 23rd geostationary satellites built by ISRO. It has a life span of 12 years.

 

It carries six extended C-band and Ku-band transponders (receivers and transmitters of signals), and two Ka-band becons. The satellite will be used for telemedicine and tele-education services.

 

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