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ISRO to take giant leap with jumbo rocket
The heavy-lift GSLV Mark III rocket, slated to be launched by space agency ISRO on Monday, would open up opportunities for India to launch 4-ton class of satellites of foreign countries, according to a senior space scientist.
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Monday’s scheduled launch of the first developmental flight of the rocket from Sriharikota is a “great milestone” as ISRO is almost doubling the capacity to launch satellite from 2.2-2.3 tons to 3.5-4 tons, former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said. The rocket will ferry a giant satellite – GSAT-19 – weighing 3,136 kg. “Today if India has to launch communication satellites beyond 2.3 tons, we have to go abroad (to launch them).
We (will) have self-reliance in launching communication satellites (once GSLV Mk III becomes operational), and also we will be able to attract foreign customers,” he said. “It’s rather a simpler vehicle, and a vehicle with better payload fraction. And it’s going to be future workhorse vehicle (of ISRO),” he said. Radhakrishnan was closely associated with the GSLV Mk III programme, approved in 2000, as director of VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) and then chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He is now an adviser to ISRO. “We are getting into the next level of capacity. PSLV is a stable line at the moment. GSLV is better than that. Here we are getting into a vehicle which is going to be more cost-effective. “And there is a lot of opportunity to launch communication satellites of India as well those of other countries because 4-ton is a good range for communication satellites,” he said. “It should open up (international market for ISRO). After a couple of developmental flights to establish, I am sure there will be opportunities for launching even foreign communication satellites,” Radhakrishnan said.
GSLV Mk III can launch normal communication satellites. “If you look at the global communication satellite scenario, it has gone up to 6 to 6.5 tons at the moment. If the satellites switch over to electric propulsion from chemical propulsion, the mass could be kept at 4-ton level. From that scenario, GSLV has a long operational life,”he noted.
GSLV MK III ROCKET
- The first test launch of GSLV Mk III rocket scheduled on Monday evening.
- The 640-ton rocket weighs as much as the total weight of 200 adult Asian elephants or five fully- loaded Boeing Jumbo Jets
- The 43-m rocket is taller than a 13-storied building.
- The indigenous rocket can place payloads up to 8 tons in a low-earth orbit
GSAT-19 SATELLITE
- The GSLV Mk III rocket to ferry a giant satellite called GSAT-19
- GSAT-19 satellite is the heaviest satellite to be made and launched from India
- It weighs 3,136 kg and is equal to the weight of a single elephant
- GSAT-19 is as effective as 6-7 older communication satellites
- GSAT-19 will be powered by indigenously made Lithium-ion batteries
BENEFITS
- India will be self-reliant in launching communication satellites, which normally weigh 4 ton, when GSLV Mk III becomes operational.
- Successful GSLV Mk III programme will enable India to launch foreign communication satellites too.
- GSLV Mk III could become India’s launch vehicle to carry astronauts into space.
- GSAT-19 to boost India’s communication programme
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