Tags: ISRO, Satellite Launch, GSLV, Cryogenic Engine
Publication: AviationWeek.com
Publication Date: 12/10/2012

GSLV-D3 being transported to second launch pad with the vehicle assembly building in the background in April 2010. Flight testing of the Indigenous Cryogenic Stage was unsuccessful. Image credit: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organization announced its plans to launch its heavy-lift Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The organization has performed most of the necessary tests already but the high altitude test, which will validate the mission. All tests are expected to be successfully completed by April 2013, when the ISRO has scheduled the liftoff.

The vehicle is 161 feet tall, has a 414-ton liftoff weight, and a maximum diameter of 11 feet at the payload fairing. It will feature an Indian-built cryogenic third stage, which will replace the Russian hydrogen-fueled engine used in the previous GSLV model.

The first time ISRO used the Indian cryogenic engine in April 2010, the mission failed because of a malfunction of a fuel booster turbo pump. ISRO said it was able to identify the problems and correct them through some necessary redesigns.

GSLV is capable of placing the INSAT-II class of satellites – which weight between 4,500 and 5,500 pounds – into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

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