This story is from September 8, 2016

GSLV-F05 lifts off from Sriharikota on Sept 8, 2016 (TOI pic by B A Raju)

INSAT-3DR

Mastering cryogenic technology

SRIHARIKOTA: More than two decades after the Indian cryogenic engine programme was formalised, an indigenous cryogenic engine developed by Indian Space Research Organisation successfully propelled for the first time an operational flight of GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) lifting into space the country’s third exclusive meteorological satellite on Thursday evening.INSAT-3DR, an advanced weather satellite , was placed in orbit around 17 minutes after GSLV-F05 took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 4.50pm. The launch was originally scheduled to be held at 4.10pm. However, it was delayed by 40 minutes as scientists were “rechecking observations made during propellant filling." INSAT-3DR is the second heaviest satellite placed in orbit by an indigenous cryogenic engine propelled GSLV. The 2,211kg satellite, which will provide meteorological and search and rescue data services to the country, was injected into the geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite, with the help of its propellant, will be raised to the final geostationary orbit after two days. Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar said, “The launch vehicle has performed extremely well.”It was GSLV’s 10th flight. It was GSLV’s fourth flight with the desi cryogenic engine CE-7.5, with the first three being developmental flights. “This is the third successful launch with the indigenous cryogenic engine in GSLV. It has demonstrated its consistent performance and proved to be an operational launch vehicle of India,” said director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre P Kunhikrishnan.Isro called the present one an operational flight as the space agency was confident about the technology and its success. GSLV is a three-staged vehicle and cryogenic engine is used in the third and final stage.“The GSLV rocket has carried the highest mass satellite into orbit. However, the biggest achievement this year will be the launch of GSLV Mark-III with indigenous high thrust cryogenic engine [CE-20] carrying the highest mass satellite,” said Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director K Sivan, director. GSLV Mark-III will be launched in December.INSAT-3DR, configured with an imager and two transponders, will continue the services rendered by previous satellites and further augment the capability to provide both meteorological and search and rescue services. A data relay transponder will provide meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data from remote uninhabited locations through automatic weather stations, rain gauges and agro met stations. The other is a satellite aided search and rescue transponder that will pick up and relay alert signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land based users.The imager in the satellite will generate images of the Earth disk from an altitude of 36,000km once in every 26 minutes and provide information on various parameters including radiation, sea surface temperature, snow cover, cloud motion and fog.India has six meteorological satellites out of which three -- Kalpana-1, INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR -- are exclusively for providing weather services.Isro had conducted three developmental flights with the indigenous cryogenic engine, which it was forced to develop after it used up all the Russian-supplied engines. However, the maiden flight with the desi engine carrying a 2,220kg GSAT-4, an experimental advanced communication satellite, plunged into the Bay of Bengal minutes after it took off from Sriharikota on April 15, 2010. A study conducted later revealed that the turbo pump supplying fuel to the engine had stopped working. Since then, critical modifications were made to both the engine and the rocket before its first successful flight in 2014 and later in 2015.Isro had faced several challenges during the development of the engine. Cryogenic engines were basically essential to put satellites in geostationary orbit, but the technology was quite sophisticated. The reasons were obvious - burning a super-cooled fuel at extremely high temperatures. Isro was faced with the task of developing a material that can withstand the high temperature and pressure during combustion.Even while its first 7.5-tonne engine, capable to carrying two-tonne payload, developed in 2000, blew up during a test, Isro began a project to develop another engine that could carry double the weight.With a CE-20 engine, Isro is not just aiming at launching satellites weighing up to four tonne, but also a possible future manned mission.In Video: ISRO launches weather satellite </s> Launch delayed by 40 minutes; lift off expected at 4:50 p.m.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSLV-F05 rocket, carrying the INSAT-3DR advanced weather satellite, will lift off from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 4.50 p.m. on Thursday.

The rocket, with the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage as its fourth stage, will place the satellite, weighing 2,211-kg, in the Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

On being placed in the intended orbit, INSAT-3DR would use its own propulsion system to reach its final geosynchronous orbital home and be stationed at 74 deg East longitude, ISRO said.

The satellite is expected to provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.

3.43 p.m.: GSLV F05 launch has been delayed by 40 minutes, our correspondent T.K. Rohit reports.

3.37 p.m.: The country started on the GSLV rocket plan in the late 1980s and early 1990s so as to be able to put its 2,000-kg communication satellites to geosynchronous orbits at 36,000 km in space from its own soil. It suffered a setback from geopolitics combined with high-technology commerce: Russia, at the behest of the USA, went back on a deal to transfer critical cryogenic technology for the last and crucial stage of the rocket. Starting in the mid-1990s, ISRO has developed its own cryo engine and has tested it on three vehicles since 2010.

Twenty years on, that old dream vehicle is about to become ready for regular work. On the eve of its flight carrying the weather satellite INSAT-3DR, A.S.Kiran Kumar, ISRO Chairman and the fifth to preside over the GSLV programme, speaks to Madhumathi D.S. about what it means to our country. Full interview here </s> The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully tested its scramjet engine on Sunday in Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

The rocket took off at 6 am after reports confirmed that the wind speeds were conducive for the launch.

The scramjet engine, used only during the atmospheric phase of the rocket’s flight, will help in bringing down the launch cost by reducing the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel.

Meanwhile, the launch of the Indian weather satellite, INSAT-3DR, which was slated for Sunday has now been postponed to September 8.

Queried about the change in launch plan Krishnan said: "While carrying out the tests there was a technical issue found with a satellite component. It has been sorted out now and hence the delay."

He said the GSLV rocket that would carry the weather satellite INSAT-3DR is fully assembled.

The weather satellite will be mounted on to the rocket in three to four days.

According to officials, the ISRO will launch ScatSat -- a weather monitoring and forecasting satellite -- with polar satellite launch vehicle end of next month.

The Indian satellite will be a co-passenger to an Algerian satellite.

Both the satellites will be put into different orbits. So the fourth engine of the rocket will be switched off after ejecting ScatSat first. Then after a gap of around 30 minutes, the engine will be switched on and put the Algerian satellite into its intended orbit. </s> Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday launched the South Asian Communication Satellite or GSAT-9 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

 

 The satellite, which has a mission life of 12 years, will provide communication and disaster report to the South Asian countries. While, initially, all eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries were meant to be part of the project, Pakistan opted out claiming it had its own space programme. 

 

 ISRO's GSAT-9 satellite cost over Rs. 200 crore has been been carried by the rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09), which is a three stage rocket weighing 450 tons.

Congratulating the ISRO team who worked on the satellite, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the successful launch was a historic moment and that It opened up new horizons of engagement.

"This will greatly benefit South Asia and our region’s progress," PM Modi tweeted. </s> India has launched its Resourcesat-2A imaging satellite on Wednesday morning via its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. The ISRO launch, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, occurred on schedule at 10:24 India Standard Time (04:54 UTC) from the center’s First Launch Pad.



Indian Launch:

Wednesday’s launch, India’s seventh and final of 2016, caps what was already the country’s busiest year for space launches.

Including Wednesday’s, six of India’s launches this year were made by the workhorse PSLV rocket, with the seventh using the larger Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk.II.

It is the third year in a row that India has increased the frequency of its satellite launches; making four launches in a year for the first time in 2014, and beating this with five in 2015. All six of India’s 2016 launches to date have been successful.

ISRO began 2016 with a salvo of three launches to complete the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), a constellation of geosynchronous navigation satellites. Made by PSLV-XL rockets, these launches took place in January, March and April. A further PSLV-XL launch in June deployed the Cartosat 2C reconnaissance satellite along with a cluster of secondary payloads.

Early September saw the GSLV Mk.II rocket record a third consecutive successful launch, deploying the INSAT-3DR communications satellite. India’s most recent launch, at the end of September, used a PSLV-G rocket to deploy the SCATSAT-1 ocean research satellite and seven small satellites.

*Click here for ISRO coverage*

The payload for Wednesday’s launch was Resourcesat-2A.

A replacement for the five-and-a-half-year-old Resourcesat-2, this is a 1,235-kilogram (2,723 lb) remote sensing satellite that is expected to provide data to help monitor natural resources. Designed for a five-year mission, the spacecraft will operate in a circular sun-synchronous orbit, 817 kilometers (508 miles, 441 nautical miles) above the Earth at an inclination of 98.718 degrees, completing one revolution every 101 minutes and 21 seconds.

The Resourcesat spacecraft, along with the Cartosat and Oceansat programs, are the successors to ISRO’s Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) series of satellites which began launching in 1988. The first two satellites, IRS-1A and 1B, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soviet Vostok-2M rockets making the antepenultimate and final flights of the Vostok series.

A third satellite, IRS-1E or P1, was constructed from an engineering model built alongside the original satellites and intended as a relatively low-risk payload for the PSLV’s maiden flight in September 1993. IRS-1E was lost when the PSLV failed to achieve orbit.

The IRS-P2 satellite, launched successfully on the PSLV’s second mission, in October 1994, as a demonstrator ahead of a second-generation pair of satellites. These – IRS-1C and 1D – were launched in 1995 and 1997, the former aboard a Russian Molniya-M/2BL and the latter atop India’s own PSLV. During the IRS-1D launch the PSLV’s fourth stage underperformed, leaving the satellite in a lower-than-planned orbit.

Another experimental IRS satellite, IRS-P3, was launched by a PSLV in March 1996. The IRS-P4, P5 and P6 satellites, launched by PSLVs in May 1999, May 2005 and October 2003 respectively, began the Oceansat, Cartosat and Resourcesat series of spacecraft.

Resourcesat was the direct successor to the primary IRS satellites. Despite being designed for a five-year mission, it remains operational after thirteen years in orbit alongside its replacement, Resourcesat-2, which was deployed in April 2011.

Resourcesat-2A has been built to similar specifications as Resourcesat-2, and carries the same instrumentation as both Resourcesat-2 and Resourcesat-1 before it.

The primary imaging payload is the Linear Imaging Self Scanner 4 (LISS-4), a high-resolution visible and near-infrared camera with a resolution of 5.8 meters (19 feet).

A medium-resolution instrument, LISS-3, will produce images at a resolution of 23.5 meters (77.1 feet) while the lower-resolution Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) can image a 740-kilometre (460-mile) swath at resolutions of up to 56 meters (184 feet). The swath width for LISS-4 is 70 kilometers (43 miles), while for LISS-3 it is 141 kilometers (87.6 miles).

All three cameras can operate in multiple spectral bands; all three can capture green, red and near-infrared light, at wavelengths of 0.52-0.59 nanometres, 0.62-0.68 nanometres, and 0.77-0.86 nanometers respectively. LISS-3 and AWiFS have an additional short-wave infrared band, at 1.55-1.70 nanometres.

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was used to place Resourcesat-2A into orbit. The rocket used for Wednesday’s launch flew in the PSLV-XL configuration, and had flight number C36.

It was the thirty-eighth PSLV launch since the rocket was introduced in 1993; thirty-five of its previous launches have been successful; its maiden flight failed and another early launch – with the IRS-1D satellite, a predecessor of the Resourcesat series – was a partial failure due to upper stage underperformance. Since the IRS-1D launch the PSLV has achieved thirty-three consecutive successful launches in nineteen years.

PSLV C36 launched from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) on Sriharikota, an island on India’s east coast about 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of Chennai.

Formerly known as the Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR), the facility was renamed in 2002 following the death of former ISRO chairman Satish Dhawan. All of India’s orbital launches have been made from the site.

The First Launch Pad was constructed ahead of the PSLV’s début launch in 1993, replacing the launch pads to the south which had been used for the earlier Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV).

Both the First Launch Pad, and the nearby Second Launch Pad, can accommodate the PSLV and the larger Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), although since the second pad became operational in 2005, it has been used for all GSLV launches; with the PSLV continuing to use both pads. At the First Launch Pad, rockets are integrated at the launch pad within a mobile service tower; in contrast to the Second Launch Pad where assembly takes place in a separate integration building with the rocket being transported vertically to the pad for final preparations.

PSLV is a four-stage rocket, using a mixture of solid and liquid-fuelled stages. The first and third stages use solid propellant, as do the six strap-on boosters which augment the first stage as the rocket climbs through the lower regions of Earth’s atmosphere, while the second and fourth stages are liquid-fuelled.

The first stage, or PS1, uses an S-138 motor. The six boosters which provide additional thrust during the early stages of flight are PS0M-XL rockets, powered by S-12 motors. The PSLV-XL uses PS0M-XL boosters in placed of standard PS0M motors used on the rocket’s standard, or PSLV-G, configuration.

First stage ignition occurred at the zero mark in the countdown. Four of the strap-on motors are ground-lit, igniting in pairs 0.42 and 0.62 seconds after the first stage, while the final pair are air-lit. These are started twenty-five seconds after liftoff.

The ground-lit solids were jettisoned at the end of their burn; with the first pair separating 69.9 seconds after liftoff and the second pair following two tenths of a second later. The air-lit motors separated 92 seconds into the flight.

Burnout and separation of the first stage occurred one minute and 50.48 seconds after liftoff. Two tenths of a second later the second stage’s Vikas engine ignited, beginning an approximately two-minute, 30-second burn.

Vikas burns a mixture of hydrazine hydrate and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) – designated UH25 – oxidized by dinitrogen tetroxide. It is a license-built version of the Viking engine that was used by Europe’s Ariane family of rockets prior to the introduction of the modern Ariane 5.

Forty seconds into the second stage’s burn, the payload fairing separated from around Resourcesat-2A at the nose of the rocket. At this point the vehicle was at an altitude of around 126 kilometers (78 miles, 68 nautical miles) and the fairing was no longer be needed to protect the satellite from Earth’s atmosphere.

Two minutes and 31.28 seconds after the second stage ignites, it shut down its engine and separated. The third stage – or PS3 – ignited its S-7 motor 1.2 seconds after stage separation, burning for around 70 seconds.

Once the third stage burned out, the vehicle coasted towards the apogee of its trajectory. The spent third stage remained attached during this coast, separating at eight minutes, 41.72 seconds mission elapsed time. The fourth stage, PS4, ignited ten seconds later.

The PS4 uses monomethylhydrazine (MMH) propellant, oxidized by mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON). It burned for eight minutes and 16.54 to establish a circular deployment orbit at an altitude of 827 kilometers (514 miles, 447 nautical miles) and an inclination of 98.719 degrees; slightly above what will become the satellite’s operational orbit. Forty-seven seconds after the end of the fourth stage burn, Resourcesat-2A separated from the PSLV.

The launch of Resourcesat-2A concluded India’s scheduled launches for 2016. ISRO’s next launches are scheduled for January; with 18 January a possible date for the first orbital launch of the new Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.III. A PSLV launch with the Cartosat-2D imaging satellite is also scheduled for the start of the year.

(Images via ISRO). </s> Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its historic 100th Satellite PSLV-C40/ CARTOSAT-2 SERIES from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on Friday. The 30 other satellites include two satellites from India and 28 others from six countries United States, Canada, Finland, France, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. The mission is unique one with satellites being launched in two orbits. </s> The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that its scientists launched 104 satellites on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37 at 928 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2017.

ISRO said that it was the highest number of satellites launched in a single mission.

The launch was at Satish Dhawan Space Centre located in Sriharikota, a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located in Andhra Pradesh.

In addition, 101 foreign Nano Satellites from six countries were also launched, each weighing between 1.1 kg to 4.7 kg. Of these, 96 were from the United States, and one each from Israel, Kazakhstan, UAE, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

“Indian CARTOSAT-2 series satellite weighing 727 kgs was launched along with two are national Nano Satellites INS -1 and INS-2. CARTOSAT-2 series has been designed for high-resolution earth observation. It has advanced cameras for cartographic applications,” the ISRO statement added.

With this launch, ISRO has further bolstered its impeccable scientific prowess and reinforced its credentials as a reliable partner for space initiatives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the space scientific community and the nation for this proud feat. </s> The 28-hour countdown has begun for Friday's launch of India's GSAT-9, the South Asia Communication Satellite that will boost connectivity among nations in the region.

The Geostationary Communication Satellite, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, about 135km from Chennai.

GSAT-9, considered as a 'gift' to its South Asian neighbours, is all set to ride piggyback on the space agency's rocket GSLV-F09 with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage.

ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said, "We have the launch tomorrow at 4.57pm IST in the evening... All activities are going on smoothly."

The GSLV-F09 carrying GSAT-9 will blast off from the second launch pad at the the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

"The 28-hour countdown operations of GSLV-F09/GSAT-9 mission started at 12:57pm IST [Thursday]," the ISRO Chairman said.

Seven of the eight SAARC countries - India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives, are a part of the project. Pakistan had decided to opt out, stating "it has its own space programme."

The satellite, costing around Rs. 235 crores, is meant for providing communication and disaster support, connectivity among the countries of South Asia region. Its mission life will span 12 years.

After coming to power in May 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ISRO scientists to develop a SAARC satellite that can be dedicated to neighbouring countries as a "gift from India."

On his 'Mann ki baat' programme on Sunday last, PM Modi had announced that the South Asia Satellite would be India's "priceless gift" to its neighbouring countries.

"On May 5, India will launch the South Asia Satellite. The benefits of this satellite will go a long way in meeting the developmental needs of the countries participating in this project," PM Modi had said.

On future launches, Kumar said, ISRO would launch the GSLV MK III variant which would be followed by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in the coming months.

Further, ISRO would launch Chandrayaan-II in the beginning of next year, he added.

The previous launch of communication satellite GSAT-8 was on May 21, 2011 from Kourou, French Guiana. </s> The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle Mark-III, carrying communication satellite GSAT-19, from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Monday evening. The mission is important as it is the “heaviest-ever rocket and satellite” to be launched from India, Isro chairperson AS Kiran Kumar said.

The rocket was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The GSLV Mk III is scheduled to launch the satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit after 16.20 minutes following the lift-off. The rocket weighs 640 tonnes and is 43.43 metres tall.

The vehicle, which has an indigenously developed cryogenic engine, can lift payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the GTO and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit. The GSLV Mk III, which has two solid strap-ons, a liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage, will be carrying the 3,136 kg GSAT-19 satellite.

The GSAT-19, which has a lifespan of 10 years, will help monitor and study the nature of charged particles and influence of space radiation on spacecraft and electronic components, Hindustan Times reported.

The satellite is equipped with advanced spacecraft technology, including indigenously developed Li-ion battery and bus bars for power distribution.

Former Isro chairperson K Radhakrishnan said the successful launch would open up the international market for Isro and that foreign satellites can also be launched from here in future. “If today India has to launch communication satellites beyond 2.3 tonnes, we have to go abroad,” Radhakrishnan told PTI. “We will have self-reliance in launching communication satellites, and we will be able to attract foreign customers.”

This launch will also prove to be cost-effective for India in the future. Launching heavy INSAT-class satellites of 3.5 tonnes from the European Space Agency currently incurs a cost of Rs 800 crore each, GSLV Mk III Vehicle Director J Jayaprakash told The Times Of India. “At one third the cost or at about Rs 350 crore, India can launch heavier satellites on GSLV Mk III,” he added.

In 2014, Isro had flown a similar rocket, without a cryogenic engine but with a 3.7-tonne payload. The launch was simply meant to test the rocket’s structural ability and aerodynamics while in flight.

Moreover, Isro has asked for Rs 12,500 crore from the Indian government to put an astronaut in space, said a report in NDTV. Isro has already developed critical technologies for a human space mission. The newly launched rocket is expected to be able to take Indian astronauts into space.

At present, India has two rockets – the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and GSLV-Mk II – with a lift-off mass of 415 tonnes and a carrying capacity of 2.5 tonnes. The GSLV-Mk II, at 49 metres, is slightly taller than the Mk III, which stands to a height of 45 metres.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launches its meteorological satellite INSAT-3DR into a geostationary transfer orbit atop its GSLV Mk II launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.