Indian space scientists crossed a major threshold on Sunday with the successful launching of a Geosynchronous Satellite launching Vehicle (GSlV) powered by an indigenously developed cryogenic engine. On the stroke of 4.18 pm, the 49.13-metre tall GSlV-D5 (D5 indicates the fourth developmental flight) weighing 414.75 tonnes blasted off from the launch pad at Satish Dhavan Space Centre in Sriharikota with an earth-shaking noise.
Scientists in the Mission Control Room led by ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan and hundreds of scientists belonging to the ISRO fraternity who viewed the launch from the terraces of multi-storey buildings inside the SDSC campus gave a standing ovation as the gleaming three-stage vehicle lifted off majestically from the spaceport leaving behind a thick cloud of golden fumes.
Exactly 18 minutes after the lift-off, the GSlV deployed the 1,982-kg GSAT 14, a multi-purpose communication satellite, into the pre-determined Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) as scripted by the scientists of the ISRO. The announcement by K Sivan, mission director, that the satellite has been injected into the pre-determined orbit was received with thundering applause.
The relief on the face of Radhakrishnan spoke volumes about the tension experienced by Team ISRO. It is after two consecutive failures that ISRO scientists scored a major success by perfecting the complex and complicated cryogenic technology. “The GSlV D5- GSAT 14 mission was a big success. The entire mission functioned as per our script. We have crossed a major barrier in space science,” Radhakrishnan told the nation 22 minutes after the GSlV blasted off from SDSC and put the GSAT 14 into orbit.
With Sunday’s success, ISRO can look forward to launch its own heavy communication satellites (weighing up to 2,000 kg) from Satish Dhavan Space Centre itself and that too at much-reduced costs. Till now India was dependent on European Space Agency’s heavy lift Ariane rockets to deploy the communication satellites fabricated by its own satellites.
The ESA charges $25,000 to $30,000 for every kilogram of payload to be injected into the Geosynchronous Stationary Orbit from the ISRO. As the Geosynchronous Satellite launching Vehicle’s cryogenic engine fired as per the plans of the ISRO scientists and the GSAT 14 was deployed in the pre-determined orbit, India achieved an important milestone. Its scientists were struggling for the last three decades to develop the cryogenic engine technology capable of powering heavy lift rockets to carry heavy payloads into space.
The last three GSlV missions had failed due to a variety of reasons. While the two GSlV missions launched in 2010 were blasted in the air itself following leakage and malfunctioning in the lower stages of the vehicle, a mission scheduled for August 2013 was called off following a leak in the second stage of the rocket.
The move by the US and other countries like France to deny India the access to the cryogenic technology had made life difficult for the ISRO scientists. With Sunday’s success, ISRO can look forward to requests from other countries to launch their earth observation and communication satellites from India.