Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

GSLV

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
Function	Medium Lift Launch System
Manufacturer	ISRO
Country of origin	India
Size
Height	49 m (160 ft)
Diameter	2.8 m (9.1 ft)
Mass	402,000 kg (886,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO	5,100 kilograms (11,000 lb)[citation needed]
Payload to GTO	2,500 kilograms (5,500 lb)[1]
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Sriharikota
Total launches	5
Successes	3
Failures	1
Partial failures	1
Maiden flight	18 April 2001
Boosters (Stage 0)
No boosters	4
Engines	1 L40H Vikas 2
Thrust	680 kN
Total thrust	2,720 kN
Specific impulse	262 sec
Burn time	160 seconds
Fuel	N2O4/UDMH
First stage
Engines	1 S139
Thrust	4,700 kN
Specific impulse	166 sec
Burn time	100 seconds
Fuel	HTPB (solid)
Second stage
Engines	1 GS2 Vikas 4
Thrust	720 kN
Specific impulse	295 sec
Burn time	150 seconds
Fuel	N2O4/UDMH
Third stage
Engines	1 ICE (GSLV-II)
Thrust	73.5 kN
Specific impulse	460 sec
Burn time	720 seconds
Fuel	LOX/LH2

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (usually known by its abbreviation, GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites into geostationary orbit and to make India less dependent on foreign rockets.

History

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) project was initiated in 1990 with the objective of acquiring launch capability for Geo-synchronous satellites. Until then, India depended on the former Soviet Union for the launch of heavy satellites.

GSLV uses major components that are already proven in the very successful PSLV launchers in the from of the S125/S139 solid booster and the Vikas L40/L35.5 liquid fuel motors. The first development flight of GSLV-Mk1 (GSLV-D1) was successfully launched on 18 April 2001.^[2]

Vehicle Description

The GSLV improved on the performance of the PSLV with the addition of liquid strap-on boosters and a cryogenic upper stage. It is a three-stage launch vehicle with the first stage being solid-propelled, the second liquid-propelled and the final stage being cryogenically propelled. The solid first and liquid second stages are carried over from the PSLV. Early GSLV launches used cryogenic upper stages supplied by Russia. India originally tried to buy the technology to build a cryogenic upper stage from Russia, but under pressure from the United States, that technology was not provided. ^[3]. Therefore, ISRO developed the cryogenic engine used in the GSLV indigenously.

The GSLV can place approximately 5000 kg (11,000 lbm) into an easterly low Earth orbit. Using the Russian 12KRB upper stage, with KVD-1 cryogenic rocket engine, GSLV can place 2200 kg (4,850 lbm) into an 18 degree geostationary transfer orbit.

Liquid boosters

The GSLV uses four L40 liquid strap-on boosters derived from the L37.5 second stage, which are loaded with 40 tons of hypergolic propellants (UDMH & N₂O₄). The propellants are stored in tandem in two independent tanks 2.1 m diameter. The engine is pump-fed and generates 680 kN of thrust.

First stage

S139 stage is 2.8 m in diameter and is made of M250 grade maraging steel and it has a nominal propellant loading of 139 t.

Second stage

The second stage is powered by the Vikas engine. It has 2.8 m diameter and uses 37.5 metric tons of liquid propellants with UDMH as fuel and Nitrogen Tetroxide (N₂O₄) as oxidizer, in two aluminium alloy compartments separated by a common bulk head. It delivers 720 kN of thrust.

Third stage

The third stage is a Cryogenic Rocket Engine, 2.8 m in diameter and uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) in two separate tanks of aluminium alloy interconnected by an inter-stage. Propellant loading is 12.5 t. ISRO plans to use its own cryogenic engine from the fifth planned GSLV flight. On November 15, 2007 the indigenously developed "Cryogenic Upper Stage" was tested for 720 seconds, its full flight duration. The test was conducted at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO's rocket engine test facility in Tamil Nadu. The testing qualified the flight stage for use on the next GSLV launch (GSLV-D3), scheduled to take place in 2009.^[4]

Variants

One of the strap-ons of GSLV-F04 being brought to the Vehicle Assembly Building

GSLV Mk.I (a)

This variant had a 125 t (S-125) first stage and was capable of launching 1500 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.

GSLV Mk.I (b)

This variant had 139 t (S-139) first stage and improved fuel in the strap-on boosters & second stage. This variant can launch 1900 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.

GSLV Mk.II

This variant uses an Indian cryogenic engine and is capable of launching 2500 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.

Launches

GSLV-F04 lifts off from the Second Launch Pad carrying INSAT-4CR

The first two flights of the GSLV were developmental. The first, partially successful, flight was on 18 April 2001 which launched GSAT-1. The second, which was fully successful, was on 8 May 2003 launching the experimental communication satellite GSAT-2. The first operational flight (GSLV-F01) was the launch of the EDUSAT communications satellite on 20 September 2004.

The fourth flight (GSLV-F02) on 10 July 2006 was unsuccessful in launching the 2168 kg (4,780 lb) communications satellite INSAT-4C as both rocket and satellite were remotely destroyed over the Bay of Bengal after the rocket's trajectory veered outside of permitted limits.^[5] A defective propellant regulator of the fourth strap-on motor caused asymmetric thrust on the vehicle, steering it off course and consequently the self destruct feature was deployed as a safety measure. The fifth flight of GSLV (GSLV-F04), carrying a replacement for INSAT-4C was successfully completed on 2 September 2007, carrying the INSAT-4CR satellite ( a payload of roughly 2160 kg carrying 12 KU band transponders capable of reaching across India) into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.^[6]

ISRO preparing for the launch of the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MK II towards the end of December-2009 that will have an indigenous cryogenic engine. The rocket will carry the GSAT-4 communication satellite.^[7]

Launch history

GSLV-F04 at Vehicle Assembly Building

Vehicle	Variant	Date of Launch	Launch Location	Payload	Payload Mass	Mission Status
D1	GSLV Mk.I(a)	18 April 2001	Sriharikota	GSAT-1	1,540 kg	Success, Developmental Flight[8]
D2	GSLV Mk.I(a)	8 May 2003	Sriharikota	GSAT-2	1,825 kg	Success, Developmental Flight[9]
F01	GSLV Mk.I(b)	20 September 2004	Sriharikota	EDUSAT	1,950 kg	Success, First operational flight[10]
F02	GSLV Mk.I(b)	10 July 2006	Sriharikota	INSAT-4C	2168 kg	Failure. Both rocket and satellite had to be destroyed over the Bay of Bengal after the rocket's trajectory veered outside of permitted limits.
F04	GSLV Mk.I(b)	2 September 2007	Sriharikota	INSAT-4CR	2160 kg	Partial launch faliure, Apogee lower and inclination higher than expected, due to carrier rocket underperformance,[11] lifespan further reduced by drift following tracking failure. 5 years of operational life lost.[12] Eventually the 2160 kg payload reached the designated geostationary transfer orbit.[13][14]
Planned launches
D3	GSLV MK.II	January, 2010	Sriharikota	Healthsat TAUVEX-2
F06	GSLV MK.II	2009	Sriharikota	Insat-3D
F??	GSLV MK.??	2012	Sriharikota	Aditya (space craft)

Comparable rockets

• Delta III
• Ariane 4
• Delta II
• Soyuz-U

See also

• GSLV-Mk III the planned successor to this rocket, scheduled for 2010 with an indigenous cyrogenic stage
• ISRO Orbital Vehicle
• Comparison of medium lift launch systems

External links

• [1]
• ISRO GSLV Page
• INDIA in Space - GSLV Page
• 12KRB (KVD-1) upper stage at Khrunichev Space Center

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

• [2]

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