This story is from June 5, 2017

(TOI photo)

01:14GSLV Mk III launch: 'Fat boy' to pave way for manned mission

GSLV Mk III-D1 carrying communication satellite GSAT-19

The nation is proud of this significant achievement #PresidentMukherjee — President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) June 5, 2017

first flight for CE-20 engine

The GSLV – MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission takes India closer to the next generation launch vehicle and satellite capability. The nation is proud! — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 5, 2017

GSLV Mk III

PSLV C38 launch

SRIHARIKOTA: Indian Space Research Organisation on Monday successfully launched its most powerful rocket GSLV Mk III nicknamed ‘Fatboy’ , by firing a high thrust indigenous cryogenic engine in the first developmental flight and placed the country’s heaviest satellite in orbit With the launch, Isro has demonstrated its mastery in developing a cryogenic engine, a technology denied to it years ago. The launch proves the homegrown launch vehicle's capability of hurling up to four tonne payload into higher orbits.It has also laid a strong foundation for its ambitious future projects, including Chandraayan-II and a manned mission, besides venturing into the global heavy payload market.lifted off from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5.28pm. Around 16 minutes after takeoff, the vehicle placed the satellite in the geosynchronous transfer orbit.Congratulating the scientists and others who worked for the successful mission, Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar said: “It is a historic day. The entire team has worked since 2002. The vehicle carried the next generation satellite. We are looking forward to getting the satellite operational.”Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director Dr K Sivan said, “It is the commencement of two complex technologies – a vehicle that can carry twice the payload weight and a high throughput satellite. It is the continued efforts of the team and industry contribution.”The three-stage vehicle was propelled by an indigenously designed and developed cryogenic engine -- CE-20 -- in its upper stage (C25 stage) before it ejected the satellite into its orbit. GSAT-19’s propulsion system will be later used for the satellite to reach its geostationary orbital home.The launch is also the, which was under development since 2002. The engine, which runs on a less complex technology compared to its Russian design predecessors, has undergone more than 200 tests in the last few years.Satish Dhawan Space Centre director P Kunhikrishnan said, “Isro has made it a habit to execute complex jobs in the most professional way. This has culminated in yet another successful event in Sriharikota.”Kunhikrishnan said integration for the next launch PSLV C38 is going on in the first launch pad simultaneously. “It is planned in the next half of the month. The next GSLV Mk III will be integrated in the new vehicle assembly coming up which will be three times bigger,” he said.The GSAT-19 carried transponders and a geostationary radiation spectrometer. The instrument will monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.In December 2014, a miniature version ofcarried a 3,775kg experimental crew module. The vehicle did not have the cryogenic engine as it was only to demonstrate the design.It took five years for Isro to taste its first success with GSLV Mk II after the engine failed 800 milliseconds into ignition in its first flight on April 15, 2010. The vehicle was carrying GSAT-4 satellite.The first successful flight of indigenously made cryogenic stage powered GSLV Mk II was on January 5, 2014 when it carried GSAT-14. Since then, Mark II has seen four successful flights including the launch of South Asia Satellite on May 5 this year.Isro chairman Kiran Kumar said PSLV C38 would be launched on June 23.In Video: Isro successfully launches India's heaviest rocket GSLV Mk III-D1</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.</s>ISRO launches its most powerful rocket GSLV Mark III carrying GSAT-19 communication satellite from Sriharikota. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its most powerful rocket GSLV Mark III carrying GSAT-19 communication satellite from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Former ISRO Scientist, Nambi Narayanan said, "We are glad on its launch. It is a three stage vehicle and has four tones of capability and post 10 tonnes in lower orbit. It's a big milestone for all of us and we also wish for more clients to come.”

ISRO Chief Kiran Kumar also lauded his entire team who worked on the project.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed ISRO for the historic achievement.

GSLV-Mark III was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Center at 5:28 pm.

The rocket is carrying 3,136-kilogram weighed GSAT-19 communication satellite and will place it a distance of 36,000 km from earth.

The rocket was developed for 15 years at a cost of around Rs. 300 crore.

Dubbed by the scientists as the "Monster Rocket", it has the capability to launch satellites as heavy as 4 tonnes, i.e. 4000 kilograms.

Currently, India has to take the help of foreign countries if it wants to launch communication satellites beyond 2.3 tons.

With this, India will be in the elite club of launching a heavy satellite. So far, the United States, Russia, Europe, China and Japan have achieved this feat.

The rocket is powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants.

The flight's launch is expected to boost India's assertions of putting humans into space.

Reportedly, the ISRO has asked Rs. 12,500 crore from the Centre for its mission to place humans in space. If approved, the work is expected to take roughly seven years.

The premiere space agency has already developed critical technologies for a human space mission. The space suit is ready and a crew module was tested in 2014.</s>NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) - India will launch a communication satellite on Monday using its most powerful rocket, in a further advance of its space programme aimed at winning a bigger share of the $300 billion global space industry.

The rocket, named Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III, will lift off from the Sriharikota space centre in southern India at 5.28 pm local time (1158 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on its website.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been promoting the home-grown space programme as a demonstration of low-cost technology and in February it launched 104 satellites in a single mission, most of them for foreign customers.

At 3,136 kgs (6914 lb) the GSAT-19 satellite will be the heaviest India has attempted to put in orbit, the space agency said. The United States, Russia, China, Japan and European Space Agency have launched satellites weighing over three tonne.

ISRO hopes that if Monday's launch is successful, it will help it attract more foreign business in the lucrative heavier segment of the satellite business. (Reporting by Vipin Das M; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Michael Perry)</s>Indian Space Research Organisation, today, launched its monster rocket, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III), with 3,136 kg communication satellite GSAT-19 from the spaceport of Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh. The launch will give India self-reliance in delivering large payloads and also prepare the country for its attempt to put astronauts into space.1. The GSLV MkIII-D1 carried payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit. The rocket was developed for 15 years at a cost of around Rs 300 crore.2. The GSLV Mk III D1 was a three-stage vehicle with indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine designed to carry heavier communication satellites into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).3. The GSLV MkIII , which was earlier known as Launch Vehicle Mark-III or LMV Mark III, could be India’s first vehicle to ferry people into space.4. The rocket’s main and bigger cryogenic engine was developed by space scientists indigenously. It will help India get a greater share of the multi-billion dollar global space market and reduce dependency on international launching vehicles.5. GSAT-19 is be powered for the first time with indigenously-made Lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have been made so that India's self-reliance quotient can increase. In addition, similar batteries can then be used to power electric vehicles like cars and buses.6. The 43.43 metre tall, 640 ton rocket, will, just over 16 minutes into its flight, sling the GSAT-19 at its intended orbit at an altitude of 179 km.7. The satellite, which has a life span of 10 years, also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including miniaturised heat pipe, a fibre optic gyro, micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer, Ku-band TTC transponder, as well an indigenous lithium-ion battery.</s>India's brand new and heaviest rocket - the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) - with the 3,136 kg communication satellite GSAT-19 on board, blasted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Monday.

Precisely at 5.28pm, the GSLV-Mk III rocket, on its maiden flight, began its ascent towards space from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC).

The 43.43 metre tall, 640 ton rocket, will, just over 16 minutes into its flight, sling the GSAT-19 at its intended orbit at an altitude of 179 km.

The GSAT-19, as per the Indian Space Research Organisation is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka and Ku band forward and return link transponders and geostationary radiation spectrometer (GRASP) to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.

The satellite, which has a life span of 10 years, also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including miniaturised heat pipe, a fibre optic gyro, micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer, Ku-band TTC transponder, as well an indigenous lithium-ion battery.

The GSLV-Mk III is a three stage/engine rocket. The core of first stage is fired with solid fuel and its two motors by liquid fuel. The second is liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine.

"The rocket's design carrying capacity is four tonnes. The payload will be gradually increased in future flights," Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director K. Sivan had told IANS.

The Indian space agency had flown a similar rocket without the cryogenic engine but with 3.7-tonne payload in 2014 mainly to test its structural stability and aerodynamics.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre Director S. Somanath, told IANS that the inputs of the 2014 mission enabled the ISRO to reduce the rocket load by around 20 per cent.

Interestingly, GSLV-Mk III at around 43 metres is slightly shorter than Mk-II version that is around 49 metres tall.

ISRO officials told IANS that due to the increase in the diameters of various stages, the height got reduced despite a drastic increase in the weight - from around 415 ton of GSLV-Mk II to 640 ton in GSLV-Mk III.

"The new rocket may be slightly short but has more punch power," said an ISRO official.

India presently 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.</s>The first developmental flight (GSLV MkIII-D1) of India’s heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III was successfully conducted today (June 05, 2017) evening from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota with the launch of GSAT-19 satellite. This was the first orbital mission of GSLV MkIII which was mainly intended to evaluate the vehicle performance including that of its fully indigenous cryogenic upper stage during the flight. Weighing 3136 kg at lift-off, GSAT-19 is the heaviest satellite launched from the Indian soil.

After a twenty five and a half hour smooth countdown, the mission began with the launch of the 640 ton GSLV Mk-III at 5:28 pm IST from the Second Launch Pad as scheduled with the ignition of its two S200 solid strap-on boosters.Following this, the major phases of the flight occurred as scheduled. The upper stage of GSLV MkIII vehicle is a new cryogenic stage (C25) indigenously configured, designed and realised by ISRO.

The cryogenic stage used liquid Hydrogen and liquid Oxygen as propellants with a total loading of 28 tons. The stage is powered by a 20 ton thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) operating on ‘gas generator cycle’. The performance of the engine and stage during the mission was as predicted. About sixteen minutes after lift-off, GSAT-19 satellite was successfully placed in orbit.

Soon after its separation from GSLV, the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka assumed control of the satellite. GSAT-19 is a high throughput communication satellite.

In the coming days, GSAT-19 orbit will be raised from its present Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) to the final circular Geostationary Orbit (GSO) by firing the satellite’s Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) in stages. During the final phase of this operation, the solar panels and antenna reflectors of the satellite will be deployed. The satellite will be commissioned into service after its positioning in the designated slot in the GSO following in-orbit testing of its payloads.</s>New Delhi: India will on Monday launch communication satellite GSAT-19 using its heaviest rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III), that weighs equivalent to five fully-loaded Boeing Jumbo Jets or as much as 200 fully grown elephants.

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle is scheduled to be launched on Monday at 5.28 pm.

(GSLV Mk-III) is India's rocket of the future as it will undoubtedly be human-rated to carry Indian astronauts likely to be named 'gaganauts or vyomanauts'.

ALSO READ | ISRO Leads The Way; Eyes Record-Making Launch With 103 Satellites

Former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan, the man who conceived the GSLV Mk-III, confirms it will be India's vehicle to ferry Indians into space.

The GSLV Mark-III is intended to launch satellites into geostationary orbit and as a launcher for an Indian crew vehicle. It features an Indian cryogenic third stage and a higher payload capacity than the current GSLV.

On this maiden mission, the GSAT-19 satellite this monster rocket will ferry is in a technological class that has no parallels in the country.

The satellite weighing 3,136 kg is equal to the weight of a single elephant being lofted into space, but this novel satellite promises not to be a 'white elephant in space'.

At over three tons, the GSAT-19 satellite will the heaviest satellite made and to be launched from India and is a voluminous animal. The satellite is indeed a test bed for many new technologies.

Tapan Misra, director of the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, where the GSAT-19 satellite has been designed, calls it "a game changer communications satellite for India".

GSAT-19 is going to be powered for the first time with indigenously-made Lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have been made so that India's self-reliance quotient can increase. In addition, similar batteries can then be used to power electric vehicles like cars and buses.

ALSO READ | How ISRO And NASA Achievements Have Shaped 'Space Exploration' Over The Years

According to ISRO, the GSAT-19 "carries a Geostationary Radiation Spectrometer (GRASP) payload to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components".

ISRO says GSAT-19 also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including "miniaturised heat pipe, fibre optic gyro, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometer". These are all important developments being tested so that they become mainstay systems on future missions.

The most innovative development on GSAT-19 is that for the first time there will be no transponders on the satellite.

In fact, the word 'transponder' will not be associated with this new bird in the sky, says Misra. Instead for the first time, ISRO is using a whole new way beaming data down using multiple frequency beams and hence it is dubbed "a high through put satellite".</s>India launched a communication satellite using its most powerful rocket on Monday, improving its prospects of winning a bigger share of the more than $300 billion global space industry and its hopes of a manned mission.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III, or 'Fat Boy', lifted off from the Sriharikota space centre in southern India at 5.28 p.m. (1158 GMT) in clear blue skies.

At 3,136 kg (6,914 lb), or more than three tonnes and the height of a 13-storey building, the GSAT-19 satellite is the heaviest India has tried to put in orbit, the space agency said.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is a three-stage rocket that has a liftoff mass of 414.75 tonnes. On June 5, it launched a satellite weighing 3,136 kg (6,914 lb) - the heaviest India has tried to put in orbit. The vehicle is capable of carrying 2,500 kg to geostationary orbit, and 5,000 kg to low-Earth orbit. It’s hoped the rocket will carry humans to space in future manned missions.

The United States, Russia, China, Japan and European Space Agency have the capability to launch satellites weighing more than three tonnes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists behind the launch and said it took India closer to the next generation of launch capabilities.

'The nation is proud,' he tweeted.

Modi's government has been promoting a domestic space programme as a demonstration of low-cost technology and in February it launched 104 satellites in a single mission, most of them for foreign customers.

The Indian space agency has also considered a manned space mission involving sending astronauts into a low-Earth orbit, but the programme has not yet been cleared by the government.

In 2014, scientists first flew the GSLV Mk III and ran checks on an unmanned crew module on board, suggesting that it would be the launch platform for a manned mission in future.

'GSLV Mk III has put GSAT 19, which is a next generation satellite, into orbit,' Indian Space Research Organisation chief A.S. Kiran Kumar said.

'It is a perfect launch. The information from the satellite is being tracked. And it is good.'

The rocket used a cryogenic engine, developed in India after the United States leaned on Russia in the 1990s not to supply such a powerful engine in case it was used for missiles.

In May, India launched a communications satellite for its smaller neighbours to share, part of its efforts to build goodwill in the region.

India´s share of global launch services industry is about 0.6 percent, government data shows.</s>New Delhi: The countdown for the launch of Indian Space Research Organisation’s monster rocket, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III), has begun and it is scheduled to lift off at 5.28pm on Monday. The space agency’s heaviest rocket will give India self-reliance in delivering large payloads and is also the preferred vehicle when it comes to carrying astronauts into space some day.

Here are a few facts you need to know about the rocket:

- The GSLV MKIII-D1 rocket will carry the GSAT-19 communication satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Monday.

- It is capable of lifting payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit, enough to carry a manned module.

- Termed as a monster rocket, it weighs 640 tonnes, equal to the weight of 200 Asian elephants.

- It is also the country’s shortest rocket with a height of 43 metre, roughly as high as a 13-storey building.

- The development of the rocket had started in earnest in 1994. It took about 25 years and more than 11 flight tests to operationalise.

- It is India’s first fully functional rocket to be tested with a cryogenic engine that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants.

- The GSLV-Mk III-D1 is a three-stage vehicle with indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine designed to carry heavier communication satellites into the GTO.

- The rocket launch would augment India’s communication resources as a single GSAT-19 satellite will be equivalent to a constellation of six to seven of the older variety of communication satellites.

- Apart from the cryogenic engine, designated C25, carrying about 28 tonnes of propellants, it has two solid strap-on motors (S200) and a core liquid booster (L110).

- If successful, the GSLV-Mk III could be India’s vehicle of choice to launch people into space. ISRO has asked the Centre for Rs 12,500 crore for a manned mission seven years from now.
Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches communications satellite GSAT-19 through its heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III.