ISRO GSLV Mark III - Getting Ready To Take Indians To Space

The Indian Space Research Organisation aka ISRO will test GSLV Mark III (stands for Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle); the machine that will put Indian crew in the space, once ready. The test launch is expected to happen between December 15 to 20 from Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota. With this new launch vehicle, ISRO will inch towards its humans in space mission. The main purpose of the test will be to check how the systems perform and study the re-entry characteristics of the crew module. It's interesting to note that the GSLV Mark III is the heaviest rocket ISRO's produced.

The launch will depend on weather conditions and team of scientists will study the overall stability of the rockets towards its way up and the performance of crew module during re-entry. The test will not have any humans traveling. Project director, S Somanath informed the media that the rocket can carry about 4000 kg payload; making it the heaviest rocket India's ever launched in space. ISRO will only test the first two stages of the launch because the cryogenic stage is still under development and is likely to take about 2 more years to be ready.

ISRO-GSLV-Mark-III

The crew module will separate from the main rocket at an altitude of about 126 km and then stabilised by on-board thrusters. Upon its re-entry into the atmosphere, 4 parachutes will bring the crew module down to the sea at the speed of about 7 meters per second. The entire process, right from the lift off to the crew module splashing into the sea is expected to take about 20 minutes. The crew module is about 2.5 meters tall and about 3.5 meters in diameter and is expected to carry 3 astronauts once ready for the mission. The crew module, once dropped into the sea will be recovered by the ships operated by Indian Coast Guard. Practice for the recovery of the crew module was successfully done on October 31 with ICGS Samudra Paheredar.

We wish entire ISRO team all the best for the upcoming test. We'll keep all our readers posted on the developments and updates. Stay tuned!

Source: ISRO to launch GSLV Mark III between Dec 15 and 20

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  • Jayaram Reddy
    Jayaram Reddy
    Common India!!!

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