GSLV Mk III

Second successful static test of solid booster S200 conducted at SDSC, SHAR on September 04, 2011.
( five different camera angles )
The GSLV-III or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III , is a launch vehicle currently under development by the Indian Space Research Organization. GSLV Mk III is conceived and designed to make ISRO fully self reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class, which weigh 4500 to 5000 kg. It would also enhance the capability of the country to be a competitive player in the multimillion dollar commercial launch market. The vehicle envisages multi-mission launch capability for GTO, LEO, Polar and intermediate circular orbits. GSLV-Mk III is designed to be a three stage vehicle, with 42.4 m tall with a lift off weight of 630 tonnes. First stage comprises two identical S200 Large Solid Booster (LSB) with 200 tonne solid propellant, that are strapped on to the second stage, the L110 re-startable liquid stage. The third stage is the C25 LOX/LH2 cryo stage. The large payload fairing measures 5 m in diameter and can accommodate a payload volume of 100 cu m. The development work on Mk III is progressing as per schedule for a launch in 2012.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• rockets
• space
• center
• PSLV
• GSLV
• S200
• SHAR

[kalkibhagwan]

hindi countdown would have been better =)

[SheikhRajaBinDas]

@artofnick Thanks! I too hope for the same and all indications are that there is no retreat. If anything, there is a better understanding of the areas which need more attention.

[artofnick]

@SheikhRajaBinDas Best of luck over there. I just hope your politicians have the foresight to continue to fund more science programs.

[KarthikSoun]

@pogularocky I agree on what you say about resources and money but innovation is also stuck in limbo if we give job garuntees to scientists and we hire book worm type guys for scientists who lack creativity, while the best of our brains go abroad to US or Europe and work for them. We need a structural overhaul becoz our public ventures are stuck in the Socialist era of reward and no punishment. We r just holding on to bad scientists.

[KarthikSoun]

@pogularocky UEO is not any orbital term i aware of. Also we cant get over the GSLV threshold if we just strap on huge boosters to hide the fact that our primary engines have very less power to weight ratio. The west only uses boosters to send payloads upwards of 20,000kgs. We r useing the worlds largest boosters to just lift 4,000kgs? Just to hide the short comings of primary engine. I am not bashing ISRO but Gov PSU type organizations r bad for innovation, they should overhaul the structure.

[pogularocky]

@KarthikSoun

Yep, UEO and GTO are the same. Also, Space-X uses a hybrid cryogenic stage. It is not comparable to PSLV. Once we get through the GSLV threshold, we can start our comparisons to Space-X. Until then, let us do an apple-to-apple comparison here :)

Let me make this very clear. No American non-cryogenic launch platform can put any extra payload in LEO or UEO than our PSLV platform already can. So, I do not understand your point here.

[KarthikSoun]

@pogularocky What is UEO? u mean GTO? It lifts 10tons to LEO and 4.5tons to GTO... Dude what they are doing is takeing the easy way out by adding massive solid booster. The problem with that idea is that its a dead end, useing a huge booster means your primary engines are all under powered and not evolving, so u compensate by useing large solid fuel boosters. That is a dead end when it comes to the next level, the Space-X rocket with boosters takes up 50,tons to LEO and 20tons to GTO.

[pogularocky]

@KarthikSoun

The only reason why we are playing catch up today in many fields is because we are still poor and we lack the money to fund all the needed scientific projects at once. Compare the money ISRO gets from GoI annually, to what NASA gets. It is infuriating, to say the least, on how scientific institutions get treated in India.

[pogularocky]

@KarthikSoun

By the way, I carefully worded my CL-20 claim. Read that again. I said "Desensitized CL-20" which is what DRDO did. They re-engineered CL-20 in such a way that it is desensitized to handling, while retaining its 60xRDX rating in explosions. The Americans tried and failed in desensitizing it for mass-weaponization, even though they had a very good head-start with the material.

[pogularocky]

@KarthikSoun

What efficiency are you talking about? The only efficiency that matters is $/Kg ratio. How much will it cost me to launch my X Kg satellite. I don't care how much the launch platform weighs or how much fuel it guzzles. It's all about cost efficiency. ISRO can launch payloads up to 5 tonnes (LEO) and 3.5 tonnes (UEO). We need cryogenic systems for payloads beyond 5 tonnes. Can you show me one American launch platform that can handle 6 tonnes payload without cryogenic systems?