LIVE: GSLV Mk-3 1st test launch (X1) December 18, 2014 (0400UTC)

[antriksh]

What sort of planetary mission capabilities does it have?

GSLV Mk 2 and GSLV Mk3/LVM3 have capability to deliver nearly 2300 kg and 4000 kg respectively in EPO.

[sanman]

If the Mark-III works out fine, there is the possibility of a Mark-IV:







Other possible variants:

[antriksh]

Acoustics suppression system for LVM3

[K210]

Does anybody know if the X1 mission of the GSLV Mk-3 is still set for 2013?
According to ISRO's launch schedule the PSLV C-25 is to lift off from the second launch pad in october, the second launch pad normally has a 3 month turn round time for launches so i suspect GSLV-3 has slipped into 2014.

[antriksh]

Does anybody know if the X1 mission of the GSLV Mk-3 is still set for 2013?
According to ISRO's launch schedule the PSLV C-25 is to lift off from the second launch pad in october, the second launch pad normally has a 3 month turn round time for launches so i suspect GSLV-3 has slipped into 2014.

Not possible this year, as ISRO will be be busy till the end of November with the MangalYaan mission.

[antriksh]

LVM3 payload fairing acoustic test images (Thanks Tarmak007)

[sanman]

Hmm, those pictures look quite old. I remember seeing them some months after the most recent failure of GSLV-Mk2.

[kanaka]

Hmm, those pictures look quite old. I remember seeing them some months after the most recent failure of GSLV-Mk2.

Learnt that there are lots of politics going on with in ISRO that might effect the progress of country. Humble request all the scientists to please keep their egos and politics away from the schedules as ISRO is the only one organization that is believed to be clean. Having said this I would like to remind our beloved and respected scientists that its not only INDIA that is interested in your successful achievements but there are many developing countries that INDIA is for them. I can assure that ISRO millions of optimistic eyes world wide are on ISRO's development in an conception that space would be in their reach with in their budget. YOU ARE THE HOPE OF RAY FOR ALL THE OPTIMISTIC under development countries kindly do not corrupt your image or reputation. GO INDIA GO!!!! 

[antriksh]

Hmm, those pictures look quite old. I remember seeing them some months after the most recent failure of GSLV-Mk2.

Yes, the pics are old. The dimensions of the PF are 10.65 m height and 5m diameter.

[Star One]

What sort of planetary mission capabilities does it have?

GSLV Mk 2 and GSLV Mk3/LVM3 have capability to deliver nearly 2300 kg and 4000 kg respectively in EPO.

Thanks for that info. Hoping it will be ready in time for their second Mars mission.

[antriksh]

What sort of planetary mission capabilities does it have?

GSLV Mk 2 and GSLV Mk3/LVM3 have capability to deliver nearly 2300 kg and 4000 kg respectively in EPO.

Thanks for that info. Hoping it will be ready in time for their second Mars mission.

Yeah same here  .


Here is a possible payload accommodation for LVM3 and a comparison with PSLV

[hornbill2007]

I believe that everything will depend on GSLV Mrk II success... isnt it? Because, I believe many systems are the same for both. So any Mrk II delay will definitely affect Mrk III too.

[antriksh]

I believe that everything will depend on GSLV Mrk II success... isnt it? Because, I believe many systems are the same for both. So any Mrk II delay will definitely affect Mrk III too.

Actually they are not related. LVM3 is a next generation launcher of ISRO with a completely new design independent of GSLV Mk2. All the avionics sub systems are newly developed with a high degree of miniaturization and better performance and have already been tested in flight as a payload on PSLVs.

[hornbill2007]

Any idea about the status of the third launch pad at SHAR? Is it ready? There is no mention on ISRO website on the ground facilities page.

[hornbill2007]

Is ISRO so secretive about its work because it is never realistic about its launch schedules and needs to keep on postponing? Most schedules are never met. The initial announcement is made with a lot of fanfare and media glare. Then as the dates keep slipping there is total silence. Now that ISRO has commercial interest in its launch markets, it needs to learn to be more professional and set realistic schedules and stick to them.

[kanaka]

Is ISRO so secretive about its work because it is never realistic about its launch schedules and needs to keep on postponing? Most schedules are never met. The initial announcement is made with a lot of fanfare and media glare. Then as the dates keep slipping there is total silence. Now that ISRO has commercial interest in its launch markets, it needs to learn to be more professional and set realistic schedules and stick to them.

The problem is that ISRO goes with over ambition some times and make their schedule so tight that they are not able to concentrate on all of them at a time. They should sketch the schedule based on reality instead of fantasy. ISRO has to realize that we  depend on our own technology building from scratch. This needs a lot of time hence the schedules should be sketched accordingly instead of Jumping on things

[Steven Pietrobon]

At two or three launchers per year, India is hardly in the regime of a high launch rate.

[AJA]

As Steve said, we don't really have a high rate of launch. But hornbill2007, ISRO isn't really secretive about its schedules. Antrix has been operating for sometime now, and they're doing pretty well in terms of revenue generation for ISRO. You don't get there by being shoddy to work with. i.e. I'm sure there's a free flow of timeline (and other necessary) information with their customers.

The difference is that, in India, there's hardly any emphasis on proactive, public disclosure of information. So they don't bother making press-releases, or updating their websites. I'm sure if someone called up Antrix, and managed to speak to an officer and listed press as the reason for request, they wouldn't turn you down.


Edit: And, as has been pointed out - the reasons for the delay are numerous. You could say, though, that they track back to two primary causes : our position on the technology maturity ladder, and the second being shoestring budgets.

[hornbill2007]

As Steve said, we don't really have a high rate of launch. But hornbill2007, ISRO isn't really secretive about its schedules. Antrix has been operating for sometime now, and they're doing pretty well in terms of revenue generation for ISRO. You don't get there by being shoddy to work with. i.e. I'm sure there's a free flow of timeline (and other necessary) information with their customers.

The difference is that, in India, there's hardly any emphasis on proactive, public disclosure of information. So they don't bother making press-releases, or updating their websites. I'm sure if someone called up Antrix, and managed to speak to an officer and listed press as the reason for request, they wouldn't turn you down.


Edit: And, as has been pointed out - the reasons for the delay are numerous. You could say, though, that they track back to two primary causes : our position on the technology maturity ladder, and the second being shoestring budgets.

Budget would be a major hurdle. But that is when ISRO needs targeted spending, instead of distributing funding inadequacy among a lot of programmes. I would not have wanted ISRO to go into something like Chandrayaan series without maturing on launch vehicle technology. And now ISRO is talking Mars. 

[sanman]

"The first experimental flight of the GSLV Mark III will take place one year from now," K Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gslvmk-iii-experimental-flight-in-2014-isro-chairman-radhakrishnan/383001-3.html