Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

GSLV Mk-I
	File:GSLV launch.jpg Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
Function	Expendable launch vehicle
Manufacturer	ISRO
Size
Height	49 m (160 ft)
Diameter	2.8 m (9.1 ft)
Mass	402,000 kg kg (886,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO	5,000 kg (11,000 lb)
Payload to; GTO	2,500 kg (5,500 lb)
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Sriharikota
Total launches	5
Success(es)	3
Failure(s)	1
Partial failure(s)	1
First flight	18 April 2001
Boosters
No. boosters	4
Engines	1 L40H Vikas 2
Thrust	680 kN
Total thrust	2,720 kN
Specific impulse	262 sec
Burn time	160 seconds
Propellant	N2O4/UDMH
First stage
Engines	1 S125
Thrust	4,700 kN
Specific impulse	166 sec
Burn time	100 seconds
Propellant	HTPB (solid)
Second stage
Engines	1 GS2 Vikas 4
Thrust	720 kN
Specific impulse	295 sec
Burn time	150 seconds
Propellant	N2O4/UDMH
Third stage
Engines	1 RD-56M
Thrust	73.5 kN
Specific impulse	460 sec
Burn time	720 seconds
Propellant	LOX/LH2
	[edit on Wikidata]

The GSLV or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites into geostationary orbit and to make India less dependent on foreign rockets.

Layout

The GSLV improved on the performance of the PSLV with the addition of liquid strap-on boosters and a cryogenic upper stage. It is a three-stage launch vehicle with the first stage being solid-propelled, the second liquid-propelled and the final stage being cryogenically propelled. The solid first and liquid second stages are carried over from the PSLV. The GSLV used cryogenic upper stage supplied by Russia, having ordered 7 upper stages. India originally tried to buy the technology to build a cryogenic upper stage from Russia, but under pressure from the United States, that technology was not provided. Therefore, ISRO has been working on developing a cryogenic upper stage for the past eleven years.

First stage

S125 stage is 2.8 m in dia. and is made of M250 grade maraging steel and it has a nominal propellant loading of 129 t.

The L40 strap-ons (derived from the L37.5 second stage) are loaded with 40 tons of hypergolic propellants (UDMH & N₂O₄) stored in two independent tanks of 2.1 m diameter in tandem and has a pump-fed engine of 680 kN thrust.

Second stage

The second stage is 2.8 m in diameter and is loaded with 37.5 t of liquid propellants (UDMH & N₂O₄) in two compartments of an aluminium alloy stage tankage separated by a common bulk head. This is powered by Vikas engine, which is a pump-fed engine of 720 kN thrust.

Third stage

The third stage is 2.8 m in diameter and uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) in two separate tanks of aluminium alloy interconnected by an inter-stage propellant loading is 12.5 t. ISRO is planning to use its own cryogenic engine from the fifth planned GSLV flight, which is being activelly developed and tested in ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Centre(LPSC).

The GSLV uses four L40 liquid strap-on boosters and can place approximately 5000 kg (11,000 lbm) into an easterly LEO orbit. Using the Russian 12KRB upper stage, with KVD-1 cryogenic rocket engine, GSLV can place 2200 kg (4,850 lbm) into an 18 degree Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit(GTO) orbit.

Launches

The first two flights of the GSLV were developmental. The first, partially successful, flight was on 18 April 2001 which launched GSAT-1. The second, which was fully successful, was on 8 May 2003 launching the experimental communication satellite GSAT-2. The first operational flight (GSLV-F01) was the launch of the EDUSAT communications satellite on 20 September 2004.

The fourth flight (GSLV-F02) on 10 July 2006 was unsuccessful in launching the 2168 kg (4,780 lb) communications satellite INSAT-4C as both rocket and satellite had to be destroyed over the Bay of Bengal after the rocket's trajectory veered outside of permitted limits.^[1] A defective propellant regulator of the fourth strap-on motor caused the INSAT-4C-carrying vehicle to crash a minute after lift-off from Sriharikota on the Andhra Pradesh coast on 10 July 2006.^[2] The fifth flight of GSLV (GSLV-F04) was successfully completed on 2 September 2007, carrying the INSAT-4CR (the replacement satellite for INSAT-4C) satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.^[3]

The four flights of GSLV so far have used Russian cryogenic engine for the last stage. The next flight used an indigenous cryogenic engine developed by ISRO.

On 2 September 2007, the GSLV-F04 was successful in placing the INSAT-4CR ( a payload of roughly 2160 kg carrying 12 KU band transponders capable of reaching across India ) into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) despite an initial delay due to the launch computer detecting a problem in the inlet valve of the cryogenic engine. The launch was determined to be a complete success despite the apogee mark being 786 miles lower than pre-launch estimates. The inclination was also off by one degree from the target of 21.7 degrees. Despite these inconsistencies the payload is reported be working properly and placed in a geo-stationary orbit. No explanation was given about the discrepancies and the launch was declared as success.^[4]

Launch log

Version	Date of Launch	Launch Location	Payload	Mission Status
D1	18 April 2001	Sriharikota	GSAT-1	Success, Developmental Flight ^[5]
D2	8 May 2003	Sriharikota	GSAT-2	Success, Developmental Flight ^[6]
F01	20 September 2004	Sriharikota	EDUSAT	Success, First operational flight ^[7]
F02	10 July 2006	Sriharikota	INSAT-4C	Unsuccessful; both rocket and satellite had to be destroyed over the Bay of Bengal after the rocket's trajectory veered outside of permitted limits.
F04	2 September 2007	Sriharikota	INSAT-4CR	Success, put 2160 kg of payload in Geo-stationary Transfer Orbit.^[8] ^[9]

Comparable Rockets

Trivia

The GSLV-Mk III is the successor to this rocket, and is scheduled for launch around 2007-2008.
The GSLV variant with a different cryogenic stage is technically known as the GSLV-II, hence the GSLV-III's name.
A modified GSLV-Mk II is being considered for India's proposed manned mission in 2014. The GSLV-I/II has the capability to lift a 3-4 tonne Gemini-class capsule carrying two cosmonauts.[1][2]

External links

References

^ ISRO press release about the failure
^ INSAT-4C crashed
^ "INSAT-4CR successfully placed in orbit after a textbook launch". Zee News.
^ "India's large satellite launcher returns to flight". Spaceflight Now.
^ "GSLV-D1 Mission". ISRO.
^ "GSLV-D2 Mission". ISRO.
^ "EDUSAT mission". ISRO.
^ "INSAT-4CR successfully placed in orbit". Times of India.
^ "GSLV-F04 Launc Successful - Places INSAT-4CR in orbit". ISRO.

Template:India space

[1] ISRO press release about the failure

[2] INSAT-4C crashed

[3] "INSAT-4CR successfully placed in orbit after a textbook launch". Zee News.

[4] "India's large satellite launcher returns to flight". Spaceflight Now.

[5] "GSLV-D1 Mission". ISRO.

[6] "GSLV-D2 Mission". ISRO.

[7] "EDUSAT mission". ISRO.

[8] "INSAT-4CR successfully placed in orbit". Times of India.

[9] "GSLV-F04 Launc Successful - Places INSAT-4CR in orbit". ISRO.

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica-1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega original C Vulcan Centaur Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)