India has made tremendous strides in launch vehicle technology to achieve self-reliance in satellite launch vehicle programs with the operationalism of Polar satellite launch vehicle and geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle the Indian space research organization's expendable.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is working on a next-generation launch vehicle that would have the capacity of carrying payloads four times higher than the capacity of its operational launch vehicles.
“India has a Launch Vehicle system with a capability to put 4 — ton class of satellites to GTO, whereby meeting all the national requirements.
While other countries have higher launch capabilities, ISRO is making its own plans to increase its launch vehicle capabilities, even up to 16 tons to GTO in the future,” Jitendra Singh, India’s Minister of State for Space told Parliament.
Presently, India has three launch vehicles, namely, polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) with a launch capability of 1.75 tons to 600 km sun-synchronous polar orbit, Geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) with a launch capability of 2.2 tons to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and Geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle Mark 3 with a launch capability of 4 tons to the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
“ISRO is presently working on a reusable launch vehicle, cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engine.
It has already made success in cryogenic and reusable launch vehicle technology.
ISRO has already started work on technology development of the super heavy-lift vehicles (SHLV).
So, it is feasible but how much time it will take cannot be predicted as of now,” Ajey Lele, a senior fellow at Delhi-based Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses told Sputnik.
Now, the Indian government intends to initiate development activities for a semi-cryogenic stage and the clustering of semi-cryogenic engines in order to upgrade the launch capability.
The maximum launch capabilities to GTO of other space agencies are
USA. 14 tons,
China. 13 tons,
Europe. 10.5 tons,
Russia. 6.25 tons,
Japan. 8 tons.
Recently, US private firm SpaceX has demonstrated the launch of a heavy-lift launch vehicle, Falcon Heavy, which can carry 26.7 tons to GTO.
Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
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| Small Satellite Launch Vehicle |
The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (or SSLV) is a small-lift launch vehicle being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with payload capacity to deliver 500 kg to low Earth orbit (500 km or 300 kg to Sun-synchronous orbit (500 km ) for launching small satellites, with the capability to support multiple orbital drop-offs. On 21 December 2018, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba completed the design for the vehicle.
The maiden flight is expected by end of 2021, from the First Launch Pad, and in the future, a dedicated launch pad in Sriharikota called Small Satellite Launch Complex (SSLC) will be set up. A new spaceport, underdevelopment, near Kulasekharapatnam in Tamil Nadu will handle SSLV launches when complete.
After entering the operational phase, the vehicle's production and launch operations will be done by a consortium of Indian firms along with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
Vehicle description
The SSLV was developed with the aim of launching small satellites commercially at a drastically reduced price and higher launch rate as compared to the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The development cost of SSLV is ₹120 crores and the manufacturing cost is expected to be ₹30 crores to ₹35 crores.The projected high launch rate relies on largely autonomous launch operation and on overall simple logistics. To compare, a PSLV launch involves 600 officials while SSLV launch operations would be managed by a small team of about six people. The launch readiness period of the SSLV is expected to be less than a week instead of months. The launch vehicle can be assembled both vertically like the existing PSLV and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and horizontally like the decommissioned Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV).
The first three stages of the vehicle use a solid propellant, with the fourth stage being a velocity-trimming module.
Vehicle characteristics:
Height: 34.0 meters
Diameter: 2.0 meters
Mass: 120 tonnes
Unified Launch Vehicle
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| Unified Launch Vehicle |
Vehicle description
As of May 2013, based on ISRO data, the design comprised a common core and upper stage, with four different booster sizes. All four versions of the boosters are solid motors, with at least three versions reusing current motors from the PSLV, GSLV Mk I/II, and LVM3. The core, known as the SC160 (Semi-Cryogenic stage with 160 tonnes of propellant, in the ISRO nomenclature), would have 160,000 kg of Kerosene / LOX propellant and be powered by a single SCE-200 rocket engine. The upper stage, known as the C30 (Cryogenic stage with 30 tonnes of propellant) would have 30,000 kg of LH2 / LOX propellant and be powered by a single CE-20 engine.The four booster options are:
6 × S-13, slightly larger than the S-12 on PSLV, to burn longer;
2 × S-60, which appears to be a new solid motor development;
2 × S-139, which is the first stage of PSLV and GSLV Mk I/II;
2 × S-200, like on the LVM3.
Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV-Variant):-
A potential heavy-lift variant (HLV) of the unified launcher capable of placing up to 10 ton class of spacecraft into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit would include:
A larger dual S-250 solid strap-on boosters as compared to the S-200 boosters used in LVM3;
A L-400 semi-cryogenic core stage, with 400 tonnes of propellant, using a cluster of five SCE-200 engines;
A L-27 cryogenic third stage, with 27 tonnes of propellant, using CE-20 engine.
Reusable Launch Vehicle
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| Reusable Launch Vehicle |
RLV Development
In 2006 the Indian Space Research Organisation performed a series of ground tests to demonstrate stable supersonic combustion for nearly 7 seconds with an inlet Mach number of 6.In March 2010, ISRO conducted the flight testing of its new sounding rocket: Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV-D01), weighing 3 tonnes at lift-off, a diameter of .56 m (1 ft 10 in), and a length of ~10 m (33 ft). It carried a passive scramjet engine combustor module as a test-bed for the demonstration of air-breathing propulsion technology.
In January 2012, ISRO announced that a scaled prototype, called Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was approved to be built and tested. The aerodynamics characterization on the RLV-TD prototype was done by National Aerospace Laboratories in India. The RLV-TD is in the last stages of construction by a Hyderabad-based private company called CIM Technologies.
By May 2015, engineers at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station were installing thermal tiles on the outer surface of the RLV-TD to protect it against the intense heat during atmospheric reentry. This prototype weighs around 1.5 tonnes and flew to an altitude of 65 km mounted on top of an expendable solid booster HS9.
On August 28, 2016, ISRO successfully tested its scramjet engine on a second developmental flight of its Advanced Technology Vehicle ATV-D02 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre for 28 August 2016. The scramjet engine will be integrated into the RLV at a later stage of development.
Test flights
A total of four RLV-TD flights are planned by ISRO.HEX (Hypersonic Flight Experiment): completed on 23 May 2016.
LEX (Landing Experiment): TBA
REX (Return Flight Experiment): TBA
SPEX (Scramjet Propulsion Experiment): TBA
Hypersonic Flight Experiment
The Hypersonic Flight Experiment, or HEX, was the first test flight in the RLV-TD development program. It was launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 23 May 2016 at 7:00 AM local time onboard an HS9 solid rocket booster.
After a successful launch, booster burn-out occurred 91.1 seconds into the flight at a height of about 56 km, the RLV-TD separated from the HS9 booster and further ascended to a height of about 65 km. The RLV-TD then began its descent at about Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). The vehicle's navigation, guidance, and control systems accurately steered the vehicle during this phase for a controlled descent down to the defined landing spot over the Bay of Bengal, at a distance of about 450 km (280 mi) from Sriharikota, thereby fulfilling its mission objectives. The vehicle was tracked during its flight from ground stations at Sriharikota and a shipborne terminal. The total flight duration from launch to splashdown lasted about 770 seconds. The unit was not planned to be recovered. ISRO plans to construct an airstrip greater than 4 km (2.5 mi) long in Sriharikota island in the "near future".
In this flight, critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance and control, and a reusable thermal protection system, have been validated.
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