Payload to LEO: 8,000 kgThe powerful cryogenic stage of LVM3 enables it to place heavy payloads into Low Earth Orbits of 600 km altitude.
This is the general discussion (not any mission specific) thread for the launcher. Launcher specs, capabilities, upgrades everything goes here.Let me start with a puzzling spec on ISRO's new webpage for LVM3QuotePayload to LEO: 8,000 kgThe powerful cryogenic stage of LVM3 enables it to place heavy payloads into Low Earth Orbits of 600 km altitude.Seems very less! Even the earlier reports of 10,000 kg to LEO was considered less by some accounts. Or do they mean a sun synchronous 600 km orbit?
Quote from: johnxx9 on 12/20/2014 08:04 pmSeems very less! Even the earlier reports of 10,000 kg to LEO was considered less by some accounts. Or do they mean a sun synchronous 600 km orbit? 10 tonnes is to a 200 km x 45 deg orbit. Since the rocket (whatever it is really called) is supposed to lift 4 tonnes to GTO using a high-energy upper stage, it seems possible that 10 tonnes is about right for LEO. Titan 3C, a similarly sized rocket with "zero stage" solid boosters, but with more efficient core stage engines, could only lift about 12 tonnes to LEO. - Ed Kyle
Seems very less! Even the earlier reports of 10,000 kg to LEO was considered less by some accounts. Or do they mean a sun synchronous 600 km orbit?
It seems glaringly sloppy of ISRO to not keep absolute clarity on the name. Even on their own website, they refer to the same vehicle as both "GSLV Mark III" and "LVM 3" The ambiguity on even something as simple and basic as a name doesn't project ISRO in a positive way, and instead makes them look schizophrenic, or even cavalier and ad-hoc in their thinking. No other country's national space agency exhibits these kinds of eccentricities.
A few pretty basic questions in my mind. Considering that the planned Kerolox stage for LVM3 is ground-lit, what was the reason behind ISRO not making the current L-110 ground-lit too? Does the increase in propellant weight and dead stage weight negate any payload advantages of an additional 1600 kN thrust at lift off? Would the rocket be hauling too much of dead weight when S-200s have burned out? And, if these are indeed the reasons, would these problems be significantly lesser in the planned SC-160 Kerolox core? Due to higher Isp?
One straightforward configuration would have been to upgrade the GSLV, by replacing the solid 1st stage with a liquid one. All they would have needed to do is cluster 3/4 Vikas instead of the current 2 on LVM3 and put it on the first stage (not easy as it sounds, but still at first though sounds better than developing a whole new rocket). Seems pretty straightforward considering they had all the other stages as its from the GSLV.
I admit ISRO isn't alone here, but going by the success that Falcon 9 had so far, has ISRO's design philosophy for LVM3 and ULV already become obsolete? Or is it too early to say?
I'm quite intrigued by the difference in design philosophies of ISRO (and probably many old-school space agencies/enterprises) and SpaceX about what constitutes reliability and cost savings in a rocket design. For LVM3 and its successor ULV designs, ISRO has zeroed on less number of propulsion stages (but of different types - solid, liquid/kerolox, hydrolox) and use of massive solids as the key. While in case of Falcon 9 which has a similar payload capability and objective, SpaceX has chosen a design based on the use of more number of moderately powerful propulsion units of similar types, geared towards lowering costs through mass production and increasing the reliability through redundancy of numbers.
Isn't SpaceX itself moving away from this model? Their next gen methox Raptor engine will generate around 5-6 MN of thrust. I guess they will replace the 9 engine cluster with this single engine.
I'm quite intrigued by the difference in design philosophies of ISRO (and probably many old-school space agencies/enterprises) and SpaceX about what constitutes reliability and cost savings in a rocket design. For LVM3 and its successor ULV designs, ISRO has zeroed on less number of propulsion stages (but of different types - solid, liquid/kerolox, hydrolox) and use of massive solids as the key. While in case of Falcon 9 which has a similar payload capability and objective, SpaceX has chosen a design based on the use of more number of moderately powerful propulsion units of similar types, geared towards lowering costs through mass production and increasing the reliability through redundancy of numbers. Even considering the fact that ISRO is yet to develop a kerolox engine for its use, I feel the major driver in this difference of approach could be that one is a government agency that relies on public funding and is consequently not too worried about costs (as a private company would), while the other is a start-up private enterprise that *has to* aim for reduction in production costs to ensure its success and long term viability. I admit ISRO isn't alone here, but going by the success that Falcon 9 had so far, has ISRO's design philosophy for LVM3 and ULV already become obsolete? Or is it too early to say?Any thoughts?
Hangover @isro.org
The next flight of GSLV Mark III, currently scheduled for December 2016, is to go the full distance and put a four-tonne satellite into geostationary orbit. The first two stages of the vehicle are ready, but the upper stage has to wait for the cryogenic stage that is now being developed at the Liquid Propulsions Systems Centre near Thiruvananthapuram.
IPRC Director D. Karthikesan said as part of an important milestone in developing a heavy lift launch vehicle, GSLV MK-3, for the next generation, a major milestone was achieved when the cryogenic CE-20 engine was hot tested.It was successfully tested for 20 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex(IPRC), Mahendragiri on Saturday.
Various subsystems of CE-20, such as injector, thrust chamber, gas generator, LOX and LH2 turbo pumps were tested earlier at IPRC, Mahendragiri.
The engine tested today will enable us to put satellites of up to 4 tons in geostationary orbit. A proud accomplishment.@narendramodi
Congratulations to our space scientists for the successful testing of our indigenous cryogenic engine. @narendramodi
In a silent operation at the Mahendragiri test facility, Isro successfully test-fired the indigenous cryogenic engine CE-20 for 645 seconds. This marks a milestone in the country's effort to develop a big cryogenic engine to fly the ambitious GSLV-Mark III by the end of 2016.
A major milestone in the development of ISRO’s next generation launch vehicle, GSLV MkIII, was achieved on successful long duration hot test (635 seconds) of high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) on 28-04-2015 at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The CE20 cryogenic engine is being indigenously developed by ISRO to power the cryogenic stage of GSLV MkIII launch vehicle.The completion of successful long duration hot test has once again proved ISRO’s capability in mastering the complex cryogenic technology. All subsystems of this engine such as Thrust Chamber, Injector, Gas Generator, LOX & LH2 Turbopumps, Control Components, Pyro systems etc., and the ground Test Facility systems performed very well and the parameters are well within the prediction.A series of development tests on this engine are being carried out to validate the performance and to prove the design of the engine. Two cold start tests and four short duration hot tests were already carried out on this engine at IPRC, Mahendragiri.
High Thrust Cryogenic Engine (CE20) DevelopmentISRO is developing a high thrust cryogenic engine to be used for the upper stage of its heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III. This high thrust cryogenic engine produces a nominal thrust of 196.5 kN in vacuum with a specific impulse of 434 seconds. The engine works on “Gas Generator Cycle” which has flexibility for independent development of each sub-system before the integrated engine test, thus minimising uncertainty in the final developmental phase and reducing development time. This engine generates nearly 2 MW power as compared to 1 MW generated by the engine of Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) engine of GSLV. The high thrust cryogenic engine is one of the most powerful cryogenic engines of upper stages in the world.ISRO has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting the ground test of Indigenous High Thrust Cryogenic Engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri on April 28, 2015 at 1657 Hrs for a duration of 635 seconds. All the propulsion parameters during the tests were found satisfactory and closely matched with predictions. This ground test was preceded in the last few weeks, by four short duration tests of 5.5, 7.5, 20 and 30 seconds.The high thrust cryogenic engine is designed and realised by Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala with the support of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram. The engine assembly, integration and testing is carried out by ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri. Indian Industries have significantly contributed in the realization of the cryogenic engine.While ground tests conducted so far validate this the design adequacy and performance of the integrated engine, further demonstration tests are planned at engine and stage level to characterise the different performance parameters under various operating conditions. After completion of the tests, the indigenous high thrust cryogenic engine and stage are planned to be flight tested in GSLV Mk- III-D1 mission.
A Heavy lift Launch Vehicle capable of placing up to 10 ton class of spacecrafts into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit is currently under study by a project team. This new generation launch vehicle will derive its propulsion modules from LVM3 as well as from new developments, which include :1) semi cryogenic booster stage, SC2002) larger solid strap on boosters as compared to S200 strap on motors used in LVM3 (S250) and 3) a larger cryogenic upper stage (C50). The Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle will have an optimal and robust design incorporating the latest technologies.
Awesome find! But the question is anyways this core isn't the same as the ULV CLC (160 tonnes of prop), then ISRO should have attempted putting 2 SC200 engines on this core. Still believe, using CLCs as boosters is the right way to go (similar to Angara) for ISRO heavy lift vehicle, as it'll have commonality with rest of ULV family hence reducing costs and complexity.
Quote from: antriksh on 05/08/2015 10:54 amA Heavy lift Launch Vehicle capable of placing up to 10 ton class of spacecrafts into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit is currently under study by a project team. This new generation launch vehicle will derive its propulsion modules from LVM3 as well as from new developments, which include :1) semi cryogenic booster stage, SC2002) larger solid strap on boosters as compared to S200 strap on motors used in LVM3 (S250) and 3) a larger cryogenic upper stage (C50). The Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle will have an optimal and robust design incorporating the latest technologies.Antisksh, where did you got that info? I don't see the programmatic requirement for such a beast in the future, and it sort of goes against the ULV concept, while ignoring any reusability chances. Is ISRO planning on doing 6+ tonne GTO birds? Or are they needing 20tonnes to LEO?
Well, then it makes me wonder what the purpose of this proposed HLV would be. Would something that could place 10 tons into LEO be meant for lofting space station modules? Otherwise, how many satellites are above 10 tons?
Maybe it's just another powerpoint rocket.
Antisksh, where did you got that info? I don't see the programmatic requirement for such a beast in the future, and it sort of goes against the ULV concept, while ignoring any reusability chances. Is ISRO planning on doing 6+ tonne GTO birds? Or are they needing 20tonnes to LEO?
He said, the next focus after the Mars mission was towards exploration of the solar system and deep space astronomy. As new applications are being developed, the size of satellites had to be increased and ISRO was planning to develop 10 tons satellites soon.
Quote from: baldusi on 05/09/2015 06:35 pmAntisksh, where did you got that info? I don't see the programmatic requirement for such a beast in the future, and it sort of goes against the ULV concept, while ignoring any reusability chances. Is ISRO planning on doing 6+ tonne GTO birds? Or are they needing 20tonnes to LEO?HLV to me is a recent development (2014 onwards). the attached article in this post http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=36389.msg1371968#msg1371968 mentions that ISRO is conducting studies on HLV. The source of HLV imgae is http://www.vssc.gov.in/VSSC_V4/index.php/technology/heavy-lift-launch-vehicles.About 10 ton satellites, in the words of DR K Sivan :QuoteHe said, the next focus after the Mars mission was towards exploration of the solar system and deep space astronomy. As new applications are being developed, the size of satellites had to be increased and ISRO was planning to develop 10 tons satellites soon.Source
is there any info regarding the semi cryo engine and stage test ? i believe C 25 and Semi cryo development started around the same time but some how semi cryo seems delayed.
IMHO, CLCs as boosters is always an option provided there is a requirement. For CLC diameter, my guess is it would be same as that of heat shield, 5m.
. “While the GSLV Mk3, scheduled to undergo operation flight test in December 2016, will be capable of carrying satellites up to four tonnes, the standard size of satellites is expected to go up to six tonnes in the near future, requiring rockets with more heft,” he explained.
ISRO is toying with the idea of adding a semi-cryogenic stage to the GSLV Mk3 to generate a lift up to six tonnes. A more powerful cryo upper stage is expected to add the required muscle to handle satellites up to 10 tonnes. “What we have in mind is a progressive development to come up with need-based variants of the Mk3 instead of coming up with a new rocket altogether,” Mr. Dathan said.
“The test was not completed as planned. We had to call it off 30 seconds into the test. But we have identified the hitch as a mere measurement anomaly,” said Dr K Sivan, outgoing director of ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), and new chief of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). The test will be conducted again in two to three weeks, he said
The LVM3 may benefit from latest Proton failure. Customers will be looking for alternative LV and maybe willing to take a risk with LVM3. ISRO have a good launch record with PSLV, 25 successful launches in a row.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior ISRO scientist G Ayyappan today took charge as the Project Director of the prestigious GSLV Mark III programme under development at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here. The programme is aimed at making the country self-reliant by developing rockets capable of launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class, which weigh 4,500 to 5,000 kg. A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering in Trivandrum and M Tech from IIT in Madras, he served ISRO in different capacities since 1982, an official release said. He was the Vehicle Director of LVM3-X/CARE mission, the first experimental flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III carried out in December last year, it said. He was the Associate Project Director of GSLV Mk III prior to this post, it said.
Successfully testing a geostationarySakshi | Updated: July 15, 2015 0038 (IST)Sriharikota (sullurupeta): Indian Space Research (ISRO) will in the future in view of the large experiments using technology more in the S -200 strapan booster rocket Sriharikota at 9.30 am on Sunday morning in the center of the Earth static tests to be carried out successfully. On December 18 last year to carry out the experiment jieselvi Mark -3, -200 S booster strapan ability to carry out tests to determine the geostationary won twice. S -200 in the experiment, the scientists found that high pressure boosters. The scientists believe that the future will be in danger, pressure to reduce the size of this series of tests was carried out successfully. In 2016 jieselvi mark3-D-1, said the scientists conducted an experiment of this type boosters. 200 tons of solid fuel filling, the tests were conducted to determine its effectiveness. To ningiloki satellites in the future, about 3 to 5 tons -200 S strapan, such as the need for boosters. S -200 success in tests since bhariprayogalaku tirugundadani say in the future. Pikunhikrsnan Shore program director, associate director, Dr. SV Subba Rao, Director jieselvi Ayyappan, Director Eeswaran S -200 involved in the project.
Successful geostationnary testSakshi | Updated: June 15, 2015 00:38 (IST)Sriharikota (Sullurupeta): The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully conducted the ground fixed tests at the Sriharikota rocket center at 9.30 am on Sunday using more technology in the S-200 strap-on booster for future heavy launches. On December 18, conducted the GSLV Mark-3 launch and two-stage geometry tests were conducted to gain the S-200 strap-on booster efficiency.Scientists have discovered that during the launch pressure was high in the S-200 booster. Scientists, who felt that the future would be at risk, have successfully conducted these tests to reduce pressure. Scientists said that the GSLV Mark3-D1 launch will be conducted in 2016 with this type of boosters. These tests were conducted to fill 200 tons of solid fuel and to know its potential.In the future, we need to use strap-on boosters like the S -200 to send a load of 3 to 5 tonnes of satellites in the future. The S-200 tests are a success and are not going to take place in future. The program was attended by Shr D. P. Kunjikrishnan, Associate Director Dr SV Subba Rao, GSLV Director, Ayyappan, S-200 Project Director Eshwaran.
The static test of S200 motor with 205 tonnes of HTPB-based propellant was successfully carried out
to bring down the dynamic pressure during transonic regime, a modified Head End Segment (HES) grain geometry has been designed and realised.
Static test of S200 motor successfulQuoteThe static test of S200 motor with 205 tonnes of HTPB-based propellant was successfully carried out Quoteto bring down the dynamic pressure during transonic regime, a modified Head End Segment (HES) grain geometry has been designed and realised.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the much-awaited ‘full endurance test’ of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III’s indigenous cryogenic CE-20 engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri in the district on Thursday.The CE-20 was ignited and tested for 800 seconds from 5 p.m. to study the performance of the engine though the actual required duration was only 635 seconds.During the actual flight of the GSLV, the engine will be ignited for only 635 seconds.
He said that the subsystems of CE-20 such as injector, thrust chamber, gas generator, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen turbo pumps were tested at the IPRC,
India’s first indigenously designed and developed High Thrust cryogenic rocket engine generating a nominal thrust of 19 tonnes was successfully endurance hot tested for a duration of 800 seconds on July 16, 2015 at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri. This duration is approximately 25% more than the engine burn duration in flight. The engine will be used for powering the Cryogenic stage (C25), the upper stage of the next generation GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle of ISRO, capable of launching four tonne class satellites.This cryogenic engine of C25 Stage operates on Gas Generator Cycle using extremely low temperature propellants – Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) at 20 Kelvin (-253 deg C) and Liquid Oxygen (LOX) at 80K (-193 deg C). The various subsystems of the engine are – regeneratively cooled Thrust Chamber, Gas Generator, LOX and LH2 high speed turbopump systems, flow control components, close loop mixture ratio control system, Pyrogen igniters, fluid systems, etc. The turbopump system rotates at a speed of 36,000 rpm with a power level of 2 MW.
Isro, meanwhile, has put to long-duration test its indigenously developed cryogenic engine for GSLV-Mark-III, which can carry satellites weighing up to four tonnes. "We will launch it by December 2016," Kumar said. India's big missions including the proposed manned mission rests on the shoulders of GSLV-MIII.
Isro is also on the lookout for a launch pad outside Sriharikota, in Kulasekharapattinam in southern Tamil Nadu.
An amount of Rs 470 crore has been allocated for the development of GSLV Mk III launch vehicle in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, said a senior Union Minister today.India's first indigenously designed and developed high thrust cryogenic engine meant for next generation GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle is under advanced stage of development. The engine will be used for powering the India's heaviest rocket under development-geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) Mk-III with a capacity to put into orbit satellites weighing four tonnes.
CHENNAI: Based on last year's GSLV Mark III's experimental flight, modifications have been done to solid rocket S-200 motors to change dynamic pressure and forces and ground tests have been done, a top ISRO official said today.
Sharing the developments over GSLV Mark III with reporters on the sidelines of Hindustan University's convocation here, the top official said "those changes have also been incorporated and ground tests have been conducted on those modified rockets and so, that way we are quite on track for GSLV Mark III (launch)next year."
Stating that ISRO was planning to launch GSLV Mk-III by December next year, he said,"for GSLV Mark III launch the target is December 2016 and a second launch December 2017."
On the Mark III cryogenic engine development, it has been going on "very successfully," and ISRO has done "more than 21 different tests including long duration test," he said. "Actually in the launch, it is supposed to work for about 635 seconds to put the satellites in orbit, now we have tested the engine for not only that period but also for an extended period for about 800 seconds." These tests have been done on one engine and "now we need to repeat it on another hardware and those activities are in progress," he said. An important aspect about cryogenic engine is that it is totally indigenous development, he said. "The various tests that we have gone through so far is simulated prior to test and tests have validated, giving us great confidence that the entire technology in terms of basics the engineers and scientists have understood the mechanism."
Payload fairing and solid strapon motors' nose cones look different in above two pictures.
Quote from: vyoma on 10/03/2015 03:46 pmPayload fairing and solid strapon motors' nose cones look different in above two pictures.yes, so LVM3 is still evolving. The HS in the former pic looks more like the HLVs HS
“We are progressing steadily. The engine was tested successfully in July. The next stage of the development is the integration of all the systems that make up the whole cryogenic stage. The fully integrated stage will be ground tested within six months,”IPRC will test the stage as a whole on the ground for up to 25 times the duration for which a mission will require it fired. The next step will see the stage tested at Sriharikota with complete autonomy of systems. “Once that is done, the project can be taken forward. We actually hope to have the Mark III developed by next year. However, that is only a target, not a prediction,” said the official. The initial version of the GSLV Mk III, however, is likely to have a payload capability of 3,500 kg, with the systems being optimised in a staggered manner.
3. Development of Next Generation Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III: The first experimental flight of heavy lift next generation launch vehicle, GSLV-Mk III, was successfully conducted on December 18, 2014 from Sriharikota. This flight has validated the complex atmospheric regime of flight and demonstrated the Integrity of design of GSLV Mk III.During the experimental flight of GSLV Mk III, the unmanned Crew module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) has also been successfully tested for its re-entry performance. Crew module splashed down over Andaman Sea with the help of its parachutes and was recovered from the sea with the help of Indian Coast Guard as per the mission plan.Endurance hot test of High Thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) of GSLV-Mk III was successfully conducted on July 20, 2015. The test was conducted for 800 seconds as compared to its nominal burn duration of 635 seconds during flight. This engine will be used for powering the Cryogenic stage (C25) of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle. Another short duration (5.7 s) hot test on the CE20 engine has been carried out on Aug 10, 2015 to demonstrate the successful engine ignition with tank pressure conditions as in flight.GSLV Mk III is designed to launch 3.5 to 4 Ton class communication satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
Edit: Any idea if the pic in Ohsin's post is the new design for LVM3 ?
The high-thrust cryogenic engine (CE20), which was successfully test fired at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, for launching three-tonne class payloads, would be used on GSLV Mk-III flight by the end of this year, a senior IPRC scientist has said.A long duration hot test has proved that all sub-systems of the engine performed well and after completing a series of development tests on this indigenously developed engine, it would be ready for flight by the end of this year, the scientist told The Hindu here on Sunday.
The high-thrust cryogenic engine (CE20), which was successfully test fired at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, for launching three-tonne class payloads, would be used on GSLV Mk-III flight by the end of this year, a senior IPRC scientist has said.
Though the engine was designed to carry three-tonne class satellites, the payload weight would be restricted to less than three tonnes in the initial developmental flight, he said.
According to reports, Sivan said the GSLV will be Stage-tested in two months and go for launching in December. He also said the electric propulsion will be used in the satellites for the first time in India. He further said ISRO will also undertake tests to bring back humans safe to earth in case if sent to space and the moon.
The test was completed successfully at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri today at 17.15 hrs, an ISRO press release said here.
The engine has already undergone two short duration tests and demonstrated repeatability of engine ignition characteristics and steady state performance
The test was conducted with Mixture Ratio Controller (MRC) in closed loop mode for the flight duration of 640 seconds, according to ISRO.
Apr 28, 2015Successful long duration hot test (635 seconds) of high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20)
Jul 20, 2015Indigenously Developed High Thrust Cryogenic Rocket Engine Successfully Ground Tested for a duration for 800 seconds
Another short duration (5.7 s) hot test on the CE20 engine has been carried out on Aug 10, 2015 to demonstrate the successful engine ignition with tank pressure conditions as in flight.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) bid to acquire the capability to launch heavier satellites into orbit received a boost on Friday with the successful hotbed test of the cryogenic engine for the upper stage of the GSLV Mark 3 rocket.
The long-duration test at the ISRO Propulsion Research Centre at Mahendragiri lasted 640 seconds.
Developed at the Liquid Propulsion System centre (LPSC) here, the engine had already undergone two short-duration tests for engine ignition and steady state performance.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Kumar said preparations were under way for the first developmental flight of the GSLV Mark 3 in December 2016.
The biggest rocket made in India, the Mk3 will be capable of launching four-tonne satellites into geosynchronous orbit.
This is the second cryo engine on which the hot tests are being conducted. A third engine identified for actual flight use will soon undergo tests at Mahendragiri soon.
Kiran Kumar noted that they have so far conducted a series of 42 tests starting from the first, which lasted just 30 seconds.
“It gives us the confidence to go ahead [with its other activities] and more or less confirm a full launch of GSLV MkIII in December.” Tested once in mid-2015 for 800 seconds, the engine prototype, he said, has proven that it can repeat the performance equally on a second or different hardware. Its design would be frozen, replicated for use in the cryogenic third stage of upcoming MkIII rockets. When it gets regularised in the coming years, the GSLV-MkIII launcher (some call it the LVM3) will be able to lift four-tonne communication satellites into their specified orbit.Stage test next Calling it “100 per cent success,” S. Sivan, Director of the rocket-related hub, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, said, “There is confidence that we are going in the right direction” with the cryoengine design. In a couple of months, they would test the entire cryogenic third stage, called C-25, with fuel tank, plumbing and other systems.
Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Dr K. Sivan, said on Thursday that engine level tests for the GSLV Mark 3 rocket were complete and stage level tests would be conducted in two-three months.
The rocket will be ready for launch by December this year. The GSLV Mark 3 will be capable of carrying a payload of four tonnes and will be used in manned space missions by ISRO. The earlier versions could carry only 2.2 tonnes.
Feb 24, 2016CE 20 Engine of GSLV MKIII successfully hot testedCE 20 Engine of GSLV MKIII under Hot TestISRO has crossed a major milestone in the development of CE-20 engine for the GSLV MKIII vehicle by the successful hot test for 640 seconds duration on 19.02.2016 at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri. Chairman, ISRO has witnessed the hot test. The test has demonstrated the repeatability of the engine performance with all its sub systems like thrust chamber, gas generator, turbo pumps and control components for the full duration. All the engine parameters were closely matching with the pre test prediction.
He said the first developmental flight of India's heaviest rocket geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-MkIII) will be in December 2016 carrying the GSAT-19 satellite.Sivan said the second developmental flight of GSLV-MkIII is slated for December 2017."The time gap is mainly to study the data generated from the first flight and also to develop the necessary hardware. Once the two developmental flights are successful then the rocket will be termed fit for commercial flights," Sivan said.<snip>"Soon the cryogenic stage -- engine, fuel and other systems -- will be tested. Then the stage will be tested in vacuum conditions and there will also be a high altitude test," Sivan said
Post Flight Analysis (PFA) of GSLV-Mk III X-mission has proposed changes in vehicle configuration to improve robustness of GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle for all seasonal wind conditions. The changes in heat shield from bulbous to give and slanted nose cone for S200 strap-ons are being implemented and will be validated in GSLV-Mk III-D1 flight. In addition to above changes, grain configuration of head end segment of S200 motor was modified to reduce the peak dynamic pressure on the launch vehicle during atmospheric flight regime. To validate the changes in S200 Head End Segment grain configuration, a static test of S200 (ST-03) was successfully conducted on June 14, 2015.Significant achievements were also made in the development of high thrust cryogenic CE20 engine. Integrated Engine (E1) development test at sea level conditions were completed with the successful accomplishment of 12 tests, which validated the structural integrity of engine systems and demonstrated the repeatability of engine performance. Two cold flow tests and 10 hot tests including one flight duration hot test for 635 seconds and one extended duration hot test for 800 seconds were carried out This engine will be used to power the C25 cryogenic stage for GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle.Realisation of C25 stage is in advanced stage. Propellant tanks are realised and engine & stage integration is in progress. The ground testing of C25 cryogenic stage is expected to be completed by the second half of 2016.Propellant Casting of S200 middle segments for GSLV-Mk III-D1 had been completed. Structures and propellant tanks for L110 flight stage have been realised and stage assembly is in progress at IPRC, Mahendragiri. Sub assembly preparation activities are in progress for other systems. The launch of GSLV-Mk III-D1, the first developmental flight carrying GSAT-19E satellite of mass 3200 kg, is targeted during last quarter of 2016.
LVM3 updates from 2015-16 annual report (http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/article-files/right-to-information/annual_report-15-16.pdf):Quote Post Flight Analysis (PFA) of GSLV-Mk III X-mission has proposed changes in vehicle configuration to improve robustness of GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle for all seasonal wind conditions. The changes in heat shield from bulbous to give and slanted nose cone for S200 strap-ons are being implemented and will be validated in GSLV-Mk III-D1 flight. In addition to above changes, grain configuration of head end segment of S200 motor was modified to reduce the peak dynamic pressure on the launch vehicle during atmospheric flight regime.
Post Flight Analysis (PFA) of GSLV-Mk III X-mission has proposed changes in vehicle configuration to improve robustness of GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle for all seasonal wind conditions. The changes in heat shield from bulbous to give and slanted nose cone for S200 strap-ons are being implemented and will be validated in GSLV-Mk III-D1 flight. In addition to above changes, grain configuration of head end segment of S200 motor was modified to reduce the peak dynamic pressure on the launch vehicle during atmospheric flight regime.
What's the significance of that fairing change? What's the advantage from it? Doesn't it mean they have to reduce the payload dimensions because of that?
Quote from: vyoma on 05/27/2016 04:26 amLVM3 updates from 2015-16 annual report (http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/article-files/right-to-information/annual_report-15-16.pdf):Quote Post Flight Analysis (PFA) of GSLV-Mk III X-mission has proposed changes in vehicle configuration to improve robustness of GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle for all seasonal wind conditions. The changes in heat shield from bulbous to give and slanted nose cone for S200 strap-ons are being implemented and will be validated in GSLV-Mk III-D1 flight. In addition to above changes, grain configuration of head end segment of S200 motor was modified to reduce the peak dynamic pressure on the launch vehicle during atmospheric flight regime.Ah... The Ariane5-ish wind tunnel model that was in one of the previous posts. The LVM3-D1 test mule is going to look significantly different from LVM3-X. via Tapatalk
The changes in heat shield from bulbous to ogive and slanted nose cone for S200 strap-ons are being implemented and will be validated in GSLV-Mk III-D1 flight.
E2 Engine Qualifying Test on 19-02-2016 at IPRC, Mahendragiri
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the test of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III’s indigenous cryogenic CE-20 engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri in the district on Saturday.The CE-20 was ignited and tested for 25 seconds from 7.20 p.m. in the presence of A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO, to study the performance of the engine that will play a pivotal role in the rocket weighing about 4 tonne.“The engine, which will get ignited at high altitude in vacuum during actual flight, performed exceptionally well to meet all predetermined goals,” said sources in the ISRO Propulsion Complex.
Models of Vikas, CE-7.5 and CE-20 engines.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) may have to wait till 2020 to hurl satellites for global customers on its most powerful rocket, as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MK III), needs to first fulfil local demand for heavy satellite launches. GSLV-MK III, which uses a homegrown cryogenic engine has to do at least two more launches before it begins with commercial operations. After that, Isro will need to carry heavier communication satellites to meet the shortage of transponders for Indian customers.""It should take 3-4 years for us to get into the global market with GSLV-MK III,"says Ajey Lele, senior fellow in the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).
At the same time, Isro is working on a more powerful GSLV-MK III, which can carry satellites weighinng up to six tonnes into space. Simultaneously, it will build a two-stage rocket that will be powered by a semi-cryogenic engine in the first stage and a cryogenic engine with a capacity to lift ten-tonne satellites in the second stage.
The configuration here says 1xsce200 with different SRB configurations.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Launch_VehicleSent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk
After the historic launch of the 640 ton, first developmental flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) -Mark III (D1) on June 5, the team of scientists from Isro centres here have set their target to launch its second developmental flight GSLV-Mark III -D2 by Jan 2018 with more payload and higher thrust. Improvisation in vehicle systems is targeted to achieve 500kg more payload than in the D1 launch. The liquid propellant L110 stage will operate at 6 per cent extra thrust throughout the flight duration in the upcoming D2 launch, compared to D1," GSLV MK III Vehicle director J Jayaprakash told TOI.
QuoteAfter the historic launch of the 640 ton, first developmental flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) -Mark III (D1) on June 5, the team of scientists from Isro centres here have set their target to launch its second developmental flight GSLV-Mark III -D2 by Jan 2018 with more payload and higher thrust. Improvisation in vehicle systems is targeted to achieve 500kg more payload than in the D1 launch. The liquid propellant L110 stage will operate at 6 per cent extra thrust throughout the flight duration in the upcoming D2 launch, compared to D1," GSLV MK III Vehicle director J Jayaprakash told TOI.Source
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) director S Somnath told TOI that the GSV MKIII D1 launch with its human-rated benign features was equipped with a fully indigenous cryogenic engine of 20 ton thrust with 28 ton propellant loading. The cryogenic engine used in this launch has 2.5 times more thrust than the previous cryogenic engine with 12 ton thrust. In the second development flight of GSLV -MK III D2, the systems will be improvised further with higher thrust.
GSLV mission director G Ayyappan had indicated that the GSLV-Mk III D1 flight placed a 3.2 ton satellite in orbit while the same vehicle with modular changes can carry satellites of six tons.
In fact, with the launch corridor available from our spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, and the first and second stages impact zone constraints, the launch trajectory to GTO demands about 50 per cent of the total injection velocity to come from the cryogenic third stage.
Limiting the number of propulsive stages to three with two liquid propulsion units definitely enhanced the reliability of the vehicle and reduced the launch operation cost.
The Vikas engine which had already been productionised at Indian industries with excellent pedigree was the natural choice for the power plant. This engine which was uprated as high-pressure Vikas for use in GSLV strap-on stage had already been qualified for a burn time of 200 seconds commensurate with 40 tonnes of propellant loading. Since the core stage of LVM-3 required a propellant loading of over 100 tonnes, the endurance of the engine operation had to be further enhanced, for each engine has to burn 50 tonnes of propellant. This was subsequently done by improving the silica phenolic composite throat of the engine to a dual-ply version.
The C25 cryo stage, which ignites at the end of a long coast period after L110 separation, is the terminal stage which delivers the payload.
A curious thing that caught my eye while reading the section on GSLV-III in the book.QuoteThe C25 cryo stage, which ignites at the end of a long coast period after L110 separation, is the terminal stage which delivers the payload.In GSLV-III D1, there was no 'long coast' after the separation of L-110. The C-25 ignited at most a few seconds later after the separation event. I wonder why..
"ISRO is in the process of further improving the capability of this vehicle. It could go up to a ten-ton kind of capability," said Kasturirangan.
One problem with making L-110 making burn longer is probably the question of drop zone. If you check the NOTAM posted for GSLV-III D1, the drop zone of L-110 is in the Andaman Sea right before the flight path crosses over populated regions of Malaysia and Indonesia. So, if they wanted to make it burn long, they may need to burn it *really long* until the populated areas and islands are passed over.Below is a relevant quote from the chapter on GSLV-III development by S. Ramakrishnan from the book 'From fishing hamlet to the Red planet'.QuoteIn fact, with the launch corridor available from our spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, and the first and second stages impact zone constraints, the launch trajectory to GTO demands about 50 per cent of the total injection velocity to come from the cryogenic third stage.Of course, another alternative may have been to make the L-110 ground-lit just like they plan to do with the upcoming SC-200 stage, but there they may have been contrained by endurance limits of Vikas engines, cost of hypergolic propellants etc (just guessing). As for why they chose not to cluster more number of Vikas engines in the core, maybe it was deemed too ambitious as their prior experience at clustering was nil (L-110 is the first case where ISRO attempted clustering, and there are hints in the book mentioned above that ISRO had previously considered clustering of engines as too complicated and risky during design decisions of PSLV and GSLV). Also, such a change may not have necessarily met the requisite payload requirements. (just guessing again, I am a total noob in the intricacies of rocket design )
Reason why L110 is air lit is because it is high altitude version and because MLP does not have a flame duct for them due to current MLP structural design limits.
Quote from: vineethgk on 06/09/2017 08:55 amOne problem with making L-110 making burn longer is probably the question of drop zone. If you check the NOTAM posted for GSLV-III D1, the drop zone of L-110 is in the Andaman Sea right before the flight path crosses over populated regions of Malaysia and Indonesia. So, if they wanted to make it burn long, they may need to burn it *really long* until the populated areas and islands are passed over.Below is a relevant quote from the chapter on GSLV-III development by S. Ramakrishnan from the book 'From fishing hamlet to the Red planet'.QuoteIn fact, with the launch corridor available from our spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, and the first and second stages impact zone constraints, the launch trajectory to GTO demands about 50 per cent of the total injection velocity to come from the cryogenic third stage.Of course, another alternative may have been to make the L-110 ground-lit just like they plan to do with the upcoming SC-200 stage, but there they may have been contrained by endurance limits of Vikas engines, cost of hypergolic propellants etc (just guessing). As for why they chose not to cluster more number of Vikas engines in the core, maybe it was deemed too ambitious as their prior experience at clustering was nil (L-110 is the first case where ISRO attempted clustering, and there are hints in the book mentioned above that ISRO had previously considered clustering of engines as too complicated and risky during design decisions of PSLV and GSLV). Also, such a change may not have necessarily met the requisite payload requirements. (just guessing again, I am a total noob in the intricacies of rocket design )Reason why L110 is air lit is because it is high altitude version and because MLP does not have a flame duct for them due to current MLP structural design limits.
Quote from: russianhalo117 on 06/10/2017 12:00 amReason why L110 is air lit is because it is high altitude version and because MLP does not have a flame duct for them due to current MLP structural design limits.Wow - so the vehicle is limited by the launch pad? Gee, that's a bummer. Oh well, L110 is just a temporary stand-in until SCE is avaiable to replace it. Presumably, SCE will be ground-lit rather than air-lit?
Quote from: russianhalo117 on 06/10/2017 12:00 amQuote from: vineethgk on 06/09/2017 08:55 amOne problem with making L-110 making burn longer is probably the question of drop zone. If you check the NOTAM posted for GSLV-III D1, the drop zone of L-110 is in the Andaman Sea right before the flight path crosses over populated regions of Malaysia and Indonesia. So, if they wanted to make it burn long, they may need to burn it *really long* until the populated areas and islands are passed over.Below is a relevant quote from the chapter on GSLV-III development by S. Ramakrishnan from the book 'From fishing hamlet to the Red planet'.QuoteIn fact, with the launch corridor available from our spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, and the first and second stages impact zone constraints, the launch trajectory to GTO demands about 50 per cent of the total injection velocity to come from the cryogenic third stage.Of course, another alternative may have been to make the L-110 ground-lit just like they plan to do with the upcoming SC-200 stage, but there they may have been contrained by endurance limits of Vikas engines, cost of hypergolic propellants etc (just guessing). As for why they chose not to cluster more number of Vikas engines in the core, maybe it was deemed too ambitious as their prior experience at clustering was nil (L-110 is the first case where ISRO attempted clustering, and there are hints in the book mentioned above that ISRO had previously considered clustering of engines as too complicated and risky during design decisions of PSLV and GSLV). Also, such a change may not have necessarily met the requisite payload requirements. (just guessing again, I am a total noob in the intricacies of rocket design )Reason why L110 is air lit is because it is high altitude version and because MLP does not have a flame duct for them due to current MLP structural design limits.The MLP thing doesn't sound like a big limiting factor if the others were surmountable. They can make a new MLP in any case with the flame ducts and the requisite structural requirements. But its probably true that the Vikas version used in L-110 is optimized more for high altitude flight as in the second stages of PSLV and GSLV-II. The L40 strapons of GSLV-II should be using a different ground optimized version.
Why would you want it to ground-light? Performance is better with this near-serial staged setup. The solids provide lots of thrust - 1,500 tonnes of it at liftoff. More than enough. - Ed Kyle
Quote from: edkyle99 on 06/10/2017 02:46 amWhy would you want it to ground-light? Performance is better with this near-serial staged setup. The solids provide lots of thrust - 1,500 tonnes of it at liftoff. More than enough. - Ed KyleAh, fair enough - but now that you mention the solids, I wonder if it might be possible to make the solids reusable, like the Space Shuttle SRBs? Is there any inherent reason why that might not be possible/feasible? I notice Ariane hasn't done it, and Mk3 resembles their vehicle the most, IMHO. I wonder why Ariane didn't do that?
Ah, fair enough - but now that you mention the solids, I wonder if it might be possible to make the solids reusable, like the Space Shuttle SRBs? Is there any inherent reason why that might not be possible/feasible? I notice Ariane hasn't done it, and Mk3 resembles their vehicle the most, IMHO. I wonder why Ariane didn't do that?
You mentioned reusable technology to save costs. Where are we in that?Last year, we tried out the RLV-TD experiment [Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator]. We got a small, plane-like model to vertically land on water. Next we will look at landing it on the ground with a landing gear system. We are conceiving systems to work on the air breathing propulsion technology that will use atmospheric oxygen. For the present launch vehicles, we will look at recovering [and reusing] some parts.
Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh is the second best rocket launch site in the world, the expert added.
"We use solid fuel in the lower stages as it is cheaper than cryogenic fuel. Even other space agencies are looking to use solid fuel to cut costs," ISRO`s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre Director S. Somanath told IANS."But other space agencies are looking at solid fuel to reduce cost only after their rockets carry far much heavier satellites than Indian rockets," the space industry expert pointed out.
ISRO officials said the mass of communication satellites is also coming down and hence India may not need a heavy-lift rocket."Nearly 55-60 per cent of a satellite`s weight consists of its chemical fuel. Now the idea is to shift to electric propulsion of satellites which would reduce their weight," Ayyappan pointed out.Somanath said: "ISRO started designing GSLV Mk III with four tonne carrying capacity when it was making two tonne satellites. At the global level also the weight of satellites are coming down. It is very difficult to predict the market trends."
Citing the example of Japanese H-IIB rocket, Ayyappan said the Japanese use lot of composite materials to make the rocket more efficient and light weight."In future we will also be using more composites in the upper stages instead of metal. Half of the rocket`s velocity is achieved only at the upper stage and composite will be the only choice in future," Ayyappan said."The specific impulse of our cryogenic engine is also slightly less than that of others," Somanath added while listing out other reasons for GSLV Mk III`s lower carrying capacity."The aluminium used in some foreign rockets are less dense and their weight is less. We will also use such materials to reduce the weight of our cryogenic stage by 500-600 kg," he said.Somanath said there are plans to reduce the weight of the electronics by around 150 kg so that every kilogram of weight reduced increases the payload capacity.
According to him, switching off and restarting of cryogenic stage in the space would also increase the rocket`s capacity.
It was October 2002 and only five months earlier, in May, the Central government had approved the development of the GSLV-MkIII. Frontline was visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, on whose vast campus was situated, by the seashore at Thumba, a small building that housed Ramakrishnan’s cabin on the ground floor where the GSLV-MkIII project was taking shape. The massive vehicle, as I saw in the poster, was called “gsLVM3”, or launch vehicle Mark 3, India’s “Next Generation Launch Vehicle”.
Given this background, the relaxed atmosphere at the MCC on June 5 was not surprising. The mission was so flawless that a journalist covering it could not help commenting, rather inappropriately, that “there was no thrill” in reporting it.
An area of major concern was the launch constraint imposed by the location of Sriharikota, India’s space port. The launch had to take place eastward from the island to put a communication satellite into the GTO. This did not offer “full freedom” because after the vehicle cleared the Bay of Bengal, the Indonesian land mass appeared on the scene. The launch vehicle debris—from the jettisoned stages—should not be allowed to fall over Indonesia.
Sivan said: “We had seen that when the vehicle reached a velocity of more than 5 km a second, the Indonesian land mass came in. So we had a requirement of designing a launch vehicle that will have a capacity of reaching [a velocity of] 5 km a second. But it is the lower stages that should produce that velocity of 5 km a second. We then needed one more stage which will produce another 5 km a second of velocity. There cannot, however, be an intermediary stage. [A total of 10.2 km a second velocity is required to put a four-tonne satellite into the GTO.] After the vehicle crosses the land mass, its stages should not come down. They should continuously burn and go into orbit. That means we should have a stage that should give another 5 km a second after the vehicle crosses the land mass. So we had to necessarily go in for a cryogenic stage that will give 5 km a second at a stretch and carry the four-tonne satellite into orbit. To put a 2.2-tonne satellite into orbit, we had a cryo stage with 12 tonnes of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. But to put a four-tonne satellite into orbit, we needed a cryogenic stage which will use 25 tonnes of propellants. That is how the C-25 stage came into the picture.”
“We have two strap-ons in GSLV-MkIII which are among the most massive strap-ons in the world,” said S. Somanath, Director, LPSC. “Though they are called the strap-ons, they are the primary propulsive stages. They provide the entire lift-off thrust. Unlike in the PSLVs and the GSLVs, the strap-ons in GSLV-MkIII are the primary propulsion stages. That way the basic design of the vehicle is different.”
But the introduction of such big boosters, each of which used more than 200 tonnes of solid propellants, entailed problems. In the PSLVs and the earlier GSLVs, the performance of the strap-on motors “was not very critical” to the mission and “a slight difference in their performance would not make an issue”, the LPSC Director said. However, in GSLV-MkIII D1, since the two strap-on motors were extremely powerful, their performance was very critical to the mission and they had to produce identical thrust. “The entire vehicle will topple if the thrust-level is not identical. They have 400 tonnes of propellants. Their matched performance is very critical,” said Somanath. The thrust differential should not exceed plus or minus ten tonnes.
What made the GSLV-MkIII D1 different was that instead of using explosive separation bolts or springs to push down/jettison the spent stages, ISRO used six small motors in each of the strap-on stages to kick out the spent solid stages. “Here we cannot use the springs because the motor weight itself in each strap-on is 35 tonnes. We have, therefore, used six small motors in each strap-on to push the 35 tonnes away. The motors have to be fired at the moment the strap-ons have to be separated,” the LPSC Director said.
G. Ayyappan, Mission Director, emphasised that after the LVM3-X/CARE mission in December 2014 “we made this vehicle more robust in terms of aerodynamics”. As the launch vehicle climbs into the atmosphere, it experiences turbulence, so ISRO developed a new kind of payload fairing, called ogive payload fairing, to protect the satellite inside. Ayyappan explained: “During the atmospheric phase of the flight, the loads experienced by the vehicle are directly proportionate to the dynamic pressure and the angle of attack. Our aim was to reduce as far as possible the dynamic pressure and the angle of attack so that the vehicle will have a smooth passage through the atmosphere.”
Sivan called the atmospheric phase of the flight “very crucial for any launch vehicle mission”. As the launch vehicle ascends the atmosphere, its velocity builds up fast. But the atmospheric density comes down. Winds would be large. The dynamic pressure acting on the vehicle would be the maximum. When the loads acting on the vehicle are large, the disturbance will try to tilt the vehicle. “When this disturbance is trying to tilt the vehicle, the vehicle’s control systems will work in the opposite direction to correct it. So a breaking effect will be there. The vehicle will break as if it were a stick,” the VSSC Director said.
When the mission turned out to be a spectacular success on June 5, a big slice of the credit belonged to the IPRC. A key centre for the mission, it had realised, tested and qualified the vehicle’s cryogenic stage (C-25) and the core liquid stage. Besides, it was here that the cryogenic and liquid propellants needed for the mission were made. “Our ISRO Propulsion Complex” is the “Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL, Pasadena, U.S.] of India,” declared P.V. Venkitakrishnan, Director, IPRC.
The payload fairing that encases the four-tonne satellite has a diameter of five metres. “It was the first time we were going to make a payload fairing with a diameter of five metres. But there were no facilities in India, including machining works, to handle a heat shield of such a diameter and height,” said Venkitakrishnan, who was associated with the GSLV-MkIII D1 development from its inception to the end at the VSSC, the LPSC and the IPRC.
The entire infrastructure for a vehicle of this mass and size had to be developed for the first time, and Indian industries rose to the occasion. They included private industries such as Walchandnagar Industries Limited (WIL); Larsen & Toubro; Godrej; MTAR Technologies Private Limited, Hyderabad; and public sector undertakings such as MIDHANI, Hyderabad; and HAL, Bengaluru.
MIDHANI equipped itself to handle the four-metre class hardware for the liquid L-110 stage which was developed by 2006. “It was done in record time,” said Venkitakrishnan. Drawings, civil works, equipment facilities, hardware fabrication and validation of hardware were all done in four years. By 2010, the LPSC had developed the massive core liquid stage, and the big test stand in the IPRC had fired and tested it. The static test of the two solid booster motors were done at Sriharikota. By then, Ramakrishnan had become Director, LPSC, and N. Narayanamoorthy had taken over as Project Director, GSLV-MkIII. The development tests of the booster motors and the liquid stage were done under Narayanamoorthy’s leadership.
Qualifying the liquid stage and the strap-on motors was not an easy job. “The L-110 core liquid booster of the vehicle uses two Vikas engines. They should perform identically. There should not be any differential thrust between them. If the thrust between them differs, the vehicle will topple. The same is true with the two strap-on motors. Their performance should be identical,” said Venkitakrishnan.
From 2010 to 2015, Venkitakrishnan was in charge of the development and testing of the cryogenic stage at the LPSC. This demanded development of several strategic materials and superalloys used in the fabrication of the cryogenic engine. These materials were developed indigenously with a number of participating industries. The aerospace division of HAL, Bengaluru, provided the propellant tanks for the cryogenic stage. Soon the cryo engine development was completed and stage engineering done.
In fact, a special titanium-alpha alloy developed to make the helium gas bottles used in the vehicle led to a lot of weight being saved. This, in turn, led to a gain of 60 kg in payload (satellite) weight. The development of the gas bottles using the titanium alloy was done at the LPSC, said Venkitakrishnan.
Massive infrastructure was built at the SDSC, Sriharikota, to augment the capacity of the Solid Propellants Space Booster Plant (SPROB) to cater to the requirements of GSLV-MkIII class vehicles. A new Solid Propellants Plant (SPP) was built to produce the S-200 motors exclusively for GSLV-MkIII vehicles. It has now been made versatile in terms of enabling the production of solid motors for the PSLVs and the GSLV-MkII vehicles. The Solid Stage Assembly Building (SSAB) at Sriharikota, where the solid motors of the GSLV-MkIII are integrated, has also been made versatile. It has been modified for the integration of the first stages of the PSLVs and the GSLV-MkII vehicles. Besides, big facilities have come up at the launch pad to service the cryogenic stage of GSLV-MkIII vehicles with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. They include refrigeration, pipelines, engine chilling, liquid oxygen tanks and so on. All these have state-of-the-art safety features.
P. Kunhikrishnan, Director, SDSC, Sriharikota, said that during the lift-off of the GSLV-MkIII D1 an acoustic suppression tower built at the second launch pad sprayed 600 tonnes of water in order to reduce the noise levels that might damage the rocket and the satellite inside the heat shield. (When the GSLV-MkIII lifts off, its two strap-on motors together generate a thrust of more than 800 tonnes. The sheer volume of noise produced then can damage the rocket and the satellite.)
Kunhikrishnan said a second Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), three times bigger than the present one, would be ready in some months. Once the second VAB is ready, the frequency of launches would go up.
What gave Team ISRO the confidence about the GSLV-MkIII D1 mission was the first successful firing of the cryogenic stage for 50 seconds on January 25, 2017, at the towering test stand at Mahendragiri. “If any problem were to be there, it would show within the first 50 seconds. After that, the engine will stabilise. There will be combustion stability,” said Venkitakrishnan. After this test, the flight stage, that is, the D stage, was prepared with minor modifications using the results of the 50-second test. This stage was fired successfully for the full flight duration of 640 seconds on February 17, 2017. It was this stage that went into the actual flight on June 5.
After the GSLV-MkIII D1 success, Venkitakrishnan said: “In 2002, we were wondering how to make a heat shield with a diameter of five metres, how to make the machines for it and so on. This vehicle had more swadeshi elements than any other vehicle. The superalloys and strategic materials needed for the vehicle were made here.
All the machines were conceived, designed and realised by our industry. We have gone on the right path from the beginning in 2002.”
A nice shot of the CE-20 engine (an exhibit) with all the 'messy' plumbings visible.. Source
Quote from: vineethgk on 06/22/2017 04:19 pmA nice shot of the CE-20 engine (an exhibit) with all the 'messy' plumbings visible.. SourceWhy it is so messy? Is it because the propellant?
Because its a gas generator cycle rather than expander or staged combustion cycle but most are this way.
On the lower PMF of GSLV-III compared to other rockets of its class and ISRO's plans to address it...The solid-vs-liquid debateQuote"We use solid fuel in the lower stages as it is cheaper than cryogenic fuel. Even other space agencies are looking to use solid fuel to cut costs," ISRO`s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre Director S. Somanath told IANS."But other space agencies are looking at solid fuel to reduce cost only after their rockets carry far much heavier satellites than Indian rockets," the space industry expert pointed out.
Quote from: vineethgk on 06/16/2017 05:29 pmOn the lower PMF of GSLV-III compared to other rockets of its class and ISRO's plans to address it...The solid-vs-liquid debateQuote"We use solid fuel in the lower stages as it is cheaper than cryogenic fuel. Even other space agencies are looking to use solid fuel to cut costs," ISRO`s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre Director S. Somanath told IANS."But other space agencies are looking at solid fuel to reduce cost only after their rockets carry far much heavier satellites than Indian rockets," the space industry expert pointed out.That's an interesting claim to make... Solids being cheaper. It is not one that seems to have much real life support, with the possible exception of small boosters, perhaps. But the industry as a whole is moving away from them. All who use them in new designs (Ariane 6 and H-III) do so because they have the existing capability, so why not use it? Or because they have an existing military need for solids where they are trying to share costs somehow.And as far as only being able to choose between solids and cryogenic (HydroLox). That's a false dilemma. What about KeroLox and MethaLox? Both are likely cheaper than either extreme option, and can outperform HydroLox upper stages. (the all-kerolox F9 is lighter than the GSLV-MK-III and yet lifts more)My big issue with the GLSV-Mk III is how ISRO seems to be behind the curve. There is clearly so much technical capability, so why do they keep trying to re-create vehicles that are 20-30 years old (GSLV-Mk III being the child of Titan IV and Ariane 5) instead seeing where current industry trends, or even better - chart their own course completely?(Doing reusability through fly-back boosters seems to be another example of this... People have talked about them for over 40 years, yet none have surfaced. But despite the recent successes of vertical landing boosters, ISRO appears to have made up their minds that fly-back boosters are the way forward)
As mentioned in PSLV-C38 post-launch briefing - ISRO is working on increasing the thrust of L110 stage Vikas engines in order to improve GSLV Mk III efficiency.
Quote from: vyoma on 06/23/2017 06:04 pmAs mentioned in PSLV-C38 post-launch briefing - ISRO is working on increasing the thrust of L110 stage Vikas engines in order to improve GSLV Mk III efficiency.To add to that, they mentioned increasing the performance of CE-20 as well towards the same objective.
Locational constraintAn area of major concern was the launch constraint imposed by the location of Sriharikota, India’s space port. The launch had to take place eastward from the island to put a communication satellite into the GTO. This did not offer “full freedom” because after the vehicle cleared the Bay of Bengal, the Indonesian land mass appeared on the scene. The launch vehicle debris—from the jettisoned stages—should not be allowed to fall over Indonesia.Sivan said: “We had seen that when the vehicle reached a velocity of more than 5 km a second, the Indonesian land mass came in. So we had a requirement of designing a launch vehicle that will have a capacity of reaching [a velocity of] 5 km a second. But it is the lower stages that should produce that velocity of 5 km a second. We then needed one more stage which will produce another 5 km a second of velocity. There cannot, however, be an intermediary stage. [A total of 10.2 km a second velocity is required to put a four-tonne satellite into the GTO.] After the vehicle crosses the land mass, its stages should not come down. They should continuously burn and go into orbit. That means we should have a stage that should give another 5 km a second after the vehicle crosses the land mass. So we had to necessarily go in for a cryogenic stage that will give 5 km a second at a stretch and carry the four-tonne satellite into orbit. To put a 2.2-tonne satellite into orbit, we had a cryo stage with 12 tonnes of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. But to put a four-tonne satellite into orbit, we needed a cryogenic stage which will use 25 tonnes of propellants. That is how the C-25 stage came into the picture.”
Hi, let me please quote from the following:http://www.frontline.in/science-and-technology/in-the-big-league/article9731133.ece?homepage=true#testQuoteLocational constraintAn area of major concern was the launch constraint imposed by the location of Sriharikota, India’s space port. The launch had to take place eastward from the island to put a communication satellite into the GTO. This did not offer “full freedom” because after the vehicle cleared the Bay of Bengal, the Indonesian land mass appeared on the scene. The launch vehicle debris—from the jettisoned stages—should not be allowed to fall over Indonesia.Sivan said: “We had seen that when the vehicle reached a velocity of more than 5 km a second, the Indonesian land mass came in. So we had a requirement of designing a launch vehicle that will have a capacity of reaching [a velocity of] 5 km a second. But it is the lower stages that should produce that velocity of 5 km a second. We then needed one more stage which will produce another 5 km a second of velocity. There cannot, however, be an intermediary stage. [A total of 10.2 km a second velocity is required to put a four-tonne satellite into the GTO.] After the vehicle crosses the land mass, its stages should not come down. They should continuously burn and go into orbit. That means we should have a stage that should give another 5 km a second after the vehicle crosses the land mass. So we had to necessarily go in for a cryogenic stage that will give 5 km a second at a stretch and carry the four-tonne satellite into orbit. To put a 2.2-tonne satellite into orbit, we had a cryo stage with 12 tonnes of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. But to put a four-tonne satellite into orbit, we needed a cryogenic stage which will use 25 tonnes of propellants. That is how the C-25 stage came into the picture.”Launch site geography was a key constraint here.
Yes, it is a constraint, but an not as important as it might seem. An upper stage with 5km/s delta-v is not that unusual and does not require hydrogen. For example, the F9 upper stage (again KeroLox) provides 7.5-8 km/s of delta-V.It does bug me when the Sriharikota location is used an excuse like that. Most countries would LOVE to have that location. It may be the 2nd best located launch complex on earth after French Guyana, and many two-stage launch vehicles could operate out of there without making any changes.
On GSLV Mark III, Dr. Sivan said attempts would be made to increase the launch vehicle’s payload carrying capacity – four tonnes at the moment – with each forthcoming flight. “We are adding an additional 600 kg payload with each of its flights.”
QuoteOn GSLV Mark III, Dr. Sivan said attempts would be made to increase the launch vehicle’s payload carrying capacity – four tonnes at the moment – with each forthcoming flight. “We are adding an additional 600 kg payload with each of its flights.”SourceWith a max upper limit of around 4.4-4.5 tonnes I guess.
Quote from: vineethgk on 02/25/2018 12:23 pm....So, can we expect a payload of 3700-3800 kg for the forthcoming GSLV MK-III D2 launch ? That will be a phonomenal achievement for GSLV MK III which could have had a potential of launching over 6 Ton payload, had ISRO clustered 4 Vikas Engines instead of two. What puzzles me is why they chose to cluster only 2 Vikas 2 Engines. With a diameter of 4.0 Meter, they could have easilyclustered 2 or even 3 more ( putting the 5th clustererd engine at the center ). If SpaceX can cluster 9 Marlin Engines for the the Falcon 9's First Stage with a diameter of 3.66 meter ( less than the GSLV MK-III L-110 stage ), ISRO could have accomodated 2 to 3 more Vikas 2 Engines. Instead of 1600 kN thrust, L-110 stage could have generated thrust of 3200 kN or 4000 kN withtout the engines being uprated.--- [ --- ]
....
Quote from: vineethgk on 02/25/2018 12:23 pmQuoteOn GSLV Mark III, Dr. Sivan said attempts would be made to increase the launch vehicle’s payload carrying capacity – four tonnes at the moment – with each forthcoming flight. “We are adding an additional 600 kg payload with each of its flights.”SourceWith a max upper limit of around 4.4-4.5 tonnes I guess.So, can we expect a payload of 3700-3800 kg for the forthcoming GSLV MK-III D2 launch ? That will be a phonomenal achievement for GSLV MK III which could have had a potential of launching over 6 Ton payload, had ISRO clustered 4 Vikas Engines instead of two. What puzzles me is why they chose to cluster only 2 Vikas 2 Engines. With a diameter of 4.0 Meter, they could have easilyclustered 2 or even 3 more ( putting the 5th clustererd engine at the center ). If SpaceX can cluster 9 Marlin Engines for the the Falcon 9's First Stage with a diameter of 3.66 meter ( less than the GSLV MK-III L-110 stage ), ISRO could have accomodated 2 to 3 more Vikas 2 Engines. Instead of 1600 kN thrust, L-110 stage could have generated thrust of 3200 kN or 4000 kN withtout the engines being uprated.--- [ --- ]
With the implementation of HTVE's on GSLV-Mk II and later PSLV (PS2 / HPS2), will ISRO also upgrade GSLV-Mk III with HTVE on the interim L-110 stage (GS1??) until the new GS1 stage with SCE takes over??
So, can we expect a payload of 3700-3800 kg for the forthcoming GSLV MK-III D2 launch ? That will be a phonomenal achievement for GSLV MK III which could have had a potential of launching over 6 Ton payload, had ISRO clustered 4 Vikas Engines instead of two. What puzzles me is why they chose to cluster only 2 Vikas 2 Engines. With a diameter of 4.0 Meter, they could have easilyclustered 2 or even 3 more ( putting the 5th clustererd engine at the center ). If SpaceX can cluster 9 Marlin Engines for the the Falcon 9's First Stage with a diameter of 3.66 meter ( less than the GSLV MK-III L-110 stage ), ISRO could have accomodated 2 to 3 more Vikas 2 Engines. Instead of 1600 kN thrust, L-110 stage could have generated thrust of 3200 kN or 4000 kN withtout the engines being uprated.
Quote from: --- on 02/26/2018 07:52 amSo, can we expect a payload of 3700-3800 kg for the forthcoming GSLV MK-III D2 launch ? That will be a phonomenal achievement for GSLV MK III which could have had a potential of launching over 6 Ton payload, had ISRO clustered 4 Vikas Engines instead of two. What puzzles me is why they chose to cluster only 2 Vikas 2 Engines. With a diameter of 4.0 Meter, they could have easilyclustered 2 or even 3 more ( putting the 5th clustererd engine at the center ). If SpaceX can cluster 9 Marlin Engines for the the Falcon 9's First Stage with a diameter of 3.66 meter ( less than the GSLV MK-III L-110 stage ), ISRO could have accomodated 2 to 3 more Vikas 2 Engines. Instead of 1600 kN thrust, L-110 stage could have generated thrust of 3200 kN or 4000 kN withtout the engines being uprated.It would totally change the vehicle. They wouldn't be able to use the same solid boosters, they would have to be smaller due to limitations on maximum dynamic pressures. So, in the end, it's not clear that with the constraints of keeping the lower stages to =<5km/s (in order to not drop hardware on Indonesia/Malaysia) whether clustering 4 Vikas/HTVEs on the core stage would actually provide any improvement. In addition, they had already set their sights on switching the core to the SCE-200 in which case clustering on the L-110 would likely end up a wasted or dead-end effort.
Quote from: Lars-J on 06/26/2017 10:39 pmYes, it is a constraint, but an not as important as it might seem. An upper stage with 5km/s delta-v is not that unusual and does not require hydrogen. For example, the F9 upper stage (again KeroLox) provides 7.5-8 km/s of delta-V.It does bug me when the Sriharikota location is used an excuse like that. Most countries would LOVE to have that location. It may be the 2nd best located launch complex on earth after French Guyana, and many two-stage launch vehicles could operate out of there without making any changes.Well, I'd prefer a precedent from a pre-Falcon rocket, because GSLV was conceived long before it. Besides, ISRO was looking to scale past what individual expendable Falcon9 can do....
LPSC director V Narayanan told Express that the improved engine would give a significant advantage in terms of enhancing payload capability. “Usually, the chamber pressure is 58 bar, but with the use of high-thrust Vikas engine, we will achieve 62 bar, which is a 6% increase in thrust that gives us 70 kgs of additional payload gain in this mission. Right now, we are going to use the high-thrust Vikas engine only in the second stage. Basically, we are validating it. For Chandrayaan-2 mission, we will be using five such engines aiming for a payload gain of around 250 kgs,” Narayanan said.
Snapshots of a Presentation by @isro 's S. Somanath, director of VSSC, from the India side event at this year's Toulouse Space Show. Glimpses of India's future launch vehicles, propulsion, and much more!
All three satellite launch vehicles of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are set to add muscle to their spacecraft lifting power in upcoming missions this year. The space agency has improved the thrust of the Vikas engine that powers all of them. The agency said the high-thrust engine qualified on Sunday after a ground test lasting 195 seconds (over three minutes).
The main beneficiary of the high-thrust Vikas engine is said to be the heavy-lifting GSLV-Mark III launcher, which ISRO expects will now put 4,000-kg satellites to space. This would be the third Mk-III and the first working one to be designated MkIII Mission-1 or M1.
The first MkIII of June 2017 started with a 3,200-kg satellite and the second one is being readied for lifting a 3,500-kg spacecraft. The Vikas engine "will improve the payload capability of PSLV, GSLV and GSLVMk-III launch vehicles," ISRO said. The improvement effort, the second such since December 2001, was conducted at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
S. Somanath, Director, Launch Vehicles Centre, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said the incremental benefit of the upgraded engine should be seen in the PSLV and GSLV missions over the coming months. MkIII-D2, the second test flight of the heavy-lifter, is being assembled. The new engine will be used in the subsequent mission - M1.The Vikas engine is used in the second stage of the light lifting PSLV; the second stage and the four add-on stages of the medium-lift GSLV; and the twin-engine core liquid stage of Mk-III.
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is working on upgrading its heavylifter GSLV Mk III where the upper stage of the rocket will have highly refined form of kerosene as fuel in order to increase its payload capability.Talking to TOI, Isro chairman K Sivan said, "To increase the payload capability of GSLV Mk III from 4 tonnes to 6 tonnes, we are in the process of making some improvements in rocket stages. First, we are working on enhancing the cryogenic stage fuel loading from 25 tonnes to 30 tonnes. Second, we are also working on changing the core stage L110 - which has 110 tonnes of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4). We want to replace L110 stage with semicryogenic engine that will carry liquefied oxygen and highly refined kerosene called kerolox (aka RP-1) instead of liquefied hydrogen."
Sivan said, "The first test of the advanced version of Mk III will take place in December 2020. With upgrade in Mk III, we will also have to upgrade the launchpad facility at Sriharikota. We have therefore issued a tender notice recently inviting quotations for infrastructure upgrades at the second launchpad."However, the chairman clarified the rocket with the semicryogenic stage won't be used for the Gaganyaan mission. The current GSLV Mk III with L110 stage will only be used for the manned mission with some modifications.The advantage of using kerolox is that it is 10 times dense - meaning the same volume of kerolox will generate more thrust than the same volume of hydrolox. It is also cheaper, more stable at room temperature and less hazardous than hydrolox. Elon Musk-promoted Space X currently uses kerolox in its Falcon 9 rocket for launching heavy payloads.
https://twitter.com/isro/status/1137367360585601024
According to sources with the ISRO, the launch of Chandrayaan 2 moon mission was on Monday aborted due a leak detected with the engine. The scientists have further revealed that it may take upto 10 days to fix the engine leak and that the launch is now likely next month. However, there is no official confirmation on the same.
Is the batteries not being fully charged a related problem to the propellant leak? What could be the reason for that? Batteries do tend to suffer a loss of charge capacity in the cold - could a cryogen leak have caused this? ...
Also, charging of some types of batteries itself produces hydrogen gas.
Could that at all be causing hydrogen gas to be detected as a leak?
So regarding the helium bottle nipple leak that was found:https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=20324.msg1966213#msg1966213What's being said is that the nipple or the fitting it's attached to may have shrunk - perhaps due to proximity to the LOX tankage - and that's what may be causing the leak of the helium pressurant. If that's the case, then can't they just u̶s̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶d̶u̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶a̶p̶e̶ spray some insulation foam on it, to insulate it enough to make do for this particular launch?They can probably redesign later, after the immediate need for this mission is met.
“Now we have to seal and insulate the joint from the cold or shift it away. The second option is tough if we were to work on the engine without dismantling the rocket. Now efforts are on to plug the leak without moving the rocket from the launchpad, so we can launch it sometime early next week,” said a source.
A senior scientist said the Chandrayaan-2 setback has presented some learnings for the indigenous cryogenic engine
CE-20, which was developed after studying Russian cryogenic engines used rigid joint. Isro adopted the rigid joint concept in several places. The rigid joints have lesser chances of leak, but if there is one, they have to be discarded and made again. ISRO doesn't have the luxury to discard and use another engine in short notice.
The Chandrayaan-2 experience may force Isro to make some changes in the cryogenic stage. We may not entirely drop rigid joints, but now we may think of having some add-ons like an ‘S’ loop or a ‘U’ loop that can help deal with such anomalies. This latest setback has been an unexpected learning curve
The problem was resolved without changing any component - just "tightening it worked".
Walchandnagar Industries (WIL) in its BSE filing said it secured an order worth Rs 77.20 crore plus escalation from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of ISRO located at Thiruvananthapuram.The order is towards manufacturing and supply of head, middle and nozzle end segments (total 30 numbers) for the GSLV M KIII launch vehicle, it added.GK Pillai, Managing Director & CEO said it is company's second largest single order from ISRO and the largest as far as the GSLV-M KIII launch vehicle is concerned.
A noobish question...Currently GSLV MK3 is rated at 4T to GTO. As per understanding, this launch rating is relative to SHAR spaceport. As we know, launch from the equator is most efficient. 1) Does that mean if MK3 was launched (in the same configuration) from say an American or Russian spaceport, its launch capacity would come below 4T relative to SHAR?
2) If MK3 was launched from a sea based platform from the equator in the middle of Indian Ocean, would that enable ISRO to launch more than 4T payload with the same machine?
HAL delivers biggest ever cryogenic propellant tank to ISROHindustan Aeronautics Limited on Monday said it has delivered the biggest cryogenic propellant tank (C32 LH2) ever fabricated by the company to ISRO, much ahead of the contractual schedule.The C32-LH2 tank is a developmental cryogenic propellant tank of aluminium alloy designed for improving the payload capability of GSLV MK-III launching vehicle, HAL said in a release.
According to HAL, the four metre diametric tank is of eight metre length to load 5,755 Kg propellant in the 89 cubic metre volume.
LPSC is in the advanced stage of human rating of C25 stage and development of heavier C32 cryogenic stage for achieving higher payloads.
ISRO uses Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) as fuel and Liquid Oxygen (LOX) as the oxidizer in their cryogenic stages. Theseare stored in propellant tanks which are arranged in tandem with the intertank structure in the middle. These intertanks can have several construction techniques like truss/framed, monocoque, closely stiffened, etc.Presently ISRO intertank structures are made of truss rods, as shown in Fig. 1. These truss rods are meant to allow radial contraction through spherical joints at both ends since the intertank is at ambient temperature, contrary to the low temperature of cryogenic tanks. However, this configuration introduces large, concentrated loads at the truss interfaces, which in turn results in local buckling. Additionally, in this configuration, components on the dome are left open to the aerodynamic flow and acoustic loads.ISRO is thus working on developing a closely stiffened intertank structure (see Fig. 2) that will allow a uniform distribution of stresses at the joint4. However, this configuration will lead to an increase in mass and thus is a non-economical solution. It was found that the closely stiffened intertank contributed to approximately an extra 100 Kg of mass. Therefore, the concept of a common bulkhead seems a plausible approach to minimise mass and overcome the above-mentioned problems of concentrated stresses.
Hardware development and testing at a small scale can be done though it seems very expensive and complex. LN2 may be used instead of LO2 for safety and operational reasons for these experiments. Several core materials are available to be explored (experimentally) for these applications, which may offer better manufacturing feasibility.The manufacturing feasibility for foam-filled honeycomb is another challenging task, along with determining suitable foam and honeycomb combinations. The design of connecting region (transition of CBH dome to external tank) is yet another design area to be worked on. The probable solution to it may be a decoupled ring interface.ISRO has been using such ring interfaces, but modifications are required in maximizing conduction path and minimizing conduction area when it comes to its usage in CBH cryogenic tanks. The manufacturing feasibility and the NDI techniques for each component need to be explored for full-scale development.
GSLV Mk3 roadmap. Semi-cryogenic state would be inducted in GSLV Mk3 M4 mission.Source:
Very interesting. Isn't GSLV Mk3 equipped with SC120 no longer a new rocket different from GSLV Mk3? I'm surprised that it's not named Mk4, but I'm extremely surprised that the mission number is M instead of D.
GROWTH POTENTIAL OF 6 TONS TO GTO IN FUTUREThe payload capability of GSLV MKIII will be increased upto 6 tons to GTO by induction of a High Propulsive Stage (Semi-Cryogenic stage SC120) in lieu of the present L110 and also by increased propellant loading of Cryogenic stage.
To meet ISRO’s objective of achieving higher payloads of 5 tonnes and above in GTO, a powerful, efficient and eco friendly stage was envisaged and this led to the development of Semi cryogenic engine and stage. LPSC has configured and designed a semi-cryogenic core stage, dimensionally optimized to replace the L110 stage of GSLV Mk III. The stage with 120 tonnes of propellant loading and powered by a single SE2000 engine producing a thrust of 200 tonnes will enable GSLV Mk III to carry more than 5.1 tonnes of payload to GTO. Semi-cryogenic engines operate on purified Kerosene (Isrosene) and Liquid Oxygen as propellants and is a combination of high performance, cost-effectiveness, high density impulse and eco friendliness.The engine and stage development is presently at an advanced stage. Engine and stage systems/subsystems have been realised and further testing, qualification and flight stage delivery are progressing as planned.
Here We Go: #Update #Thread As #GSLVMk3 or #LVM3 prepares for its second commercial launch, @isro efforts on enhancing its weight-lifting capacity is gaining pace. I hear that the qualification tests for semi-cryo (SC120) are expected to be completed in a couple of months. 1/n
#GSLVMk3 is India’s heaviest rocket yet. Here’s some perspective: Between May 26, 1999 and Oct 22, 2022, @isro launched 345 foreign satellites, all on #PSLV, which together weigh 9,326.4kg. On Oct 23, 2022, in its first commercial mission, #LVM3 launched 5,796kg. 2/nOf course, these missions are incomparable given that most of the foreign satellites launched by PSLV were ride-sharing payloads and include tens of small, micro and nano satellites… 3/n…But there’s no doubt that the Mk3 clearly enhances India’s prospects. In fact, Isro chairman S Somanath said last week: “The GSLV-Mk3 is India’s best commercial bet.” 4/nAt present, #GSLVMk3 can carry around 4 tonnes to a GTO and at least 6 tonnes to LEO. Induction of the high propulsive SC120, along with increased propellant loading of the cryogenic upper stage (CUS) can enhance this to 6 tonnes (GTO) and 10 tonnes (LEO). 5/nIsro spokesperson Sudheer Kumar said: “GSLVMk3 prog was envisaged to eventually carry at least 10 tonnes to LEO & 6 tonnes to GTO. We’ll achieve this with an upgrade of CUS with additional propellant loading & induction of semi-cryo stage that will replace L110…” 6/n“...Work on semi-cryo engine is almost nearing completion. Qualification tests are in progress. Stage & engine devp phase is complete, and the test stand is getting ready... Sub-system level tests are going on at facilities in Mahendragiri & LPSC,” he added. 7/n#GSLVMk3 is a three-stage vehicle with two solid strap-on motors (S200), one liquid core stage (L110) and a high-thrust cryogenic upper stage (C25). While the S200 will remain the same, the SC120 will replace L110 and C25 will be upgraded. 8/n“...We are expecting qualification to be completed in a couple of months unless some anomalies are found which may call for repeated tests, which are not unusual during the evolution stage,” Kumar said. 9/nHe added that aside from increasing the payload carrying capability, the new configuration would also make the vehicle safer as it will use non-toxic elements compared to L110. 10/n“It'll use refined kerosene, which is like aviation fuel. This means stage handling will be very safe, there'll be an increased capacity, ground systems handling becomes much simpler, storage leakages & human aspect concerns get reduced while handling the stage,” Kumar said. 11/nThe #GSLVMk3 project was first approved in 2002, with a mandate of achieving the capability to launch a four-tonne class satellite to Geosynchronous orbit (GEO), which Isro achieved through three demonstration missions. 12/nThen, the phase-1 of the GSLV-Mk3 continuation programme was approved in June 2018 to build 10 launch vehicles to meet the programmatic requirements to launch communication satellites up to the year 2023. 13/nA year after this approval, the rocket, in its maiden operational flight successfully launched #Chandrayaan2 on July 22, 2019 and had its first commercial mission on October 23, 2022. It is now scheduled to launch 36 more satellites for UK-based @OneWeb in early 2023. n/n
#UPDATE #Rockets #ThreadLate yesterday, @isro said that the CE20 cryogenic engine indigenously developed for #LVM3 (#GSLVMk3) has been successfully hot-tested “at an uprated thrust level of 21.8 t for the first time”. 1/n
“This will enhance #LVM3 payload capability up to 450kg with additional propellant loading. Major modifications carried out on this test article compared to previous engines was introduction of Thrust Control Valve (TCV) for thrust control,” Isro said. 2/n
Additionally, the space agency said a 3D-printed LOX (liquid oxygen) and LH2 (liquid hydrogen) turbine exhaust casings were inducted in the engine for the first time. 3/n
“During this test, the engine operated with around 20t thrust level for the first 40 seconds, then thrust level was increased to 21.8t by moving the thrust control valve. Engine and facility performance was normal and required parameters were achieved,” Isro added. 4/n
I had reported on Oct 31 that as #LVM3 prepares for its second commercial launch, Isro’s efforts on enhancing its weight-lifting capacity is gaining pace. n/n
Successful CE20 uprated Engine Hot Test with 21.8 T vacuum thrust Home/CE20 uprated Engine Hot TestNov 09, 2022The CE20 cryogenic engine indigenously developed for LVM3 has been subjected to successful hot test at an uprated thrust level of 21.8 tonne for the first time on 9th Nov, 2022. This will enhance the LVM3 payload capability upto 450 kg with additional propellant loading.The major modifications carried out on this test article compared to previous engines was introduction of Thrust Control Valve (TCV) for thrust control. In addition to this 3D printed LOX and LH2 turbine exhaust casings were inducted in the engine for the first time. During this test the engine operated with ~20t thrust level for first 40s, then thrust level was increased to 21.8t by moving thrust control valve. During the test, engine and facility performance was normal and required parameters were achieved.
BENGLAURU: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is keen on using India’s GSLV-Mk3 or LVM-3 as a crew capsule to service its Orbital Reef, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space station being designed for commercial space activities and tourism uses, Isro chairman S Somanth confirmed to TOI in an exclusive interview.
Somanath said: “We are exploring … In fact, we’ve already discussed it with Blue Origin and they are very keen to consider this option of LVM-3 becoming a crew capsule mission to service the Orbital Reef. It is a possibility and we are engaging through IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre).”
“...Whoever can design a docking system that matches with the US design and standard, can be used. However, we will still need to have agreements with agencies to try it out given that there are multiple interfaces — electrical, mechanical and so on. It is not just one document, we will need to work with them to develop it. We will do that.
#Update #Thread #Space #IndiaWith another flawless launch to put #Chandrayaan3 into a perfect orbit, #LVM3 has proved its reliability with seven successful launches, including 3 developmental flights. Read thread to know plans for engaging pvt players... 1/nPic: isro
Space PSU @NSIL_India, which will acquire and operate #LVM3 in the future, is now actively exploring multiple models to engage industry with the aim of increasing the production rate to at least five to six annually. 2/n
The move is in line with the Centre’s vision of enhancing private participation in the space sector and comes close on the heels of @INSPACeIND issuing an EoI to transfer the technology of @isro #SSLV, just ahead of the #Chandrayaan3 launch. 3/n
“Market analysis shows that there will be good demand for #LVM3 class of rockets. At present, we’re looking at whether the model should be a contract model similar to #PSLV, use a different risk-sharing model… 4/n
…or go the PPP [public-private partnership] way. There are a lot of modalities to be worked out and we’ll come out with a decision soon,” NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan D said. 5/n
Soon after #Chandrayaan3 launch, #LVM3 PD Mohan Kumar had said the rocket once again proved to be the most reliable heavy-lift vehicle of Isro, while VSSC director Unnikrishnan Nair said: “Launching 3 LVM3s in a year is an herculean task & team Isro has achieved that.” 6/n
Out of the seven launches LVM3 has been used in so far, three have been between October 2022 and July 2023, while its first operational flight was the launch of Chandrayaan-2 on July 22, 2019. 7/n
The frequency of launches has increased mainly on account of the opportunity Isro was presented with by OneWeb, which had to cancel its launch contract with Russia but still go ahead with putting satellites as part of its constellation within a specific timeframe… 8/n
Given the overall weight of the payload — OneWeb launched two batches of 36 satellites each with Isro — the space agency had to go with the LVM3, and both the launches were successful. n/n