The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is expected to launch a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) in July this year, using an indigenously developed cryogenic engine. The flight that is likely to launch the GSAT-4 into orbit will mark the end of India's dependence on Russia, which had been supplying the cryogenic engines since 1991. India has so far launched five GSLV rockets.
The launch vehicle is capable of placing a 2-tonne satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit, uses all the three kinds of propellants — solid, liquid and cryogenic. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) uses only solid and liquid propellants and is capable of carrying payloads less than 2 tonnes.
"All the previous GSLV flights had cryogenic engines procured from Russia. For the first time, indigenously developed cryogenic engines will be used. This is a development started almost parallelly to procurement from Russia. We have completed all the tests, including qualification and flight acceptance. Now the engine is fully qualified and will be used in the next flight of GSLV," a highly-placed source in Isro told Business Standard.
Work on developing India's own cryogenic engine was started by Isro shortly after the project to develop the GSLV was initiated in 1986. However, failing in the initial attempt to develop the highly complex cryogenic engine on its own, Isro inked a $120 million contract with Soviet space enterprise Glavkosmos in 1991 for supply of two KVD-1 cryogenic engines. India has so far procured seven Russian-built cryogenic engines, of which five have been used during the previous GSLV launches of Isro.
With an initial project cost of about Rs 235 crore, the work for the development of India's own cryogenic engine was jointly carried out by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Trivandrum, Material Development and Research Centre at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Liquid Propulsion Test Facility (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. Isro conducted the flight acceptance test of the indigenous cryogenic engine on December 18 last year at the LPSC, which was found to be quite satisfactory.
"The flight acceptance hot test of the cryogenic engine was carried out at the liquid propulsion systems centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. This engine will be used in the next GSLV launch in April 2009 for carrying the 2.3-tonne geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT)," the space research agency had stated at that time.
GSAT-4, the communication satellite that Isro intends to launch using the indigenous cryogenic engine powered GSLV, will provide internet connectivity in remote villages. "We are going to launch GSAT-4 which will have digital connectivity on board. It's meant for data transfers from computers at remote villages," says Isro Chairman G Madhavan Nair.
Isro is planning to use the GSLV for the Chandrayaan-II mission scheduled for 2012 as opposed to PSLV that was used to launch Chandrayaan-I.
