Successfully challenging the notorious technology denial regime spearheaded by USA, India’s three stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) powered by a home grown upper cryogenic engine stage made it’s successful debut flight on January 5. It took 414 tonne GSLV, whose cryogenic engine upper stage encases around two decades of painstaking efforts by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), around 17 minues after its flawless lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) , the Indian space port in Sriharikota island, on India’s eastern coast, to insert the GSAT-14 advanced communications satellite into an ‘accurate orbit”. The cryogenic propulsion system is a zealously guarded technology that only five other countries –USA, Russia, China, Japan and European Space Agency(ESA)—have mastered so far. The Rs 3600 million GSLV mission, which has laid a firm foundation for ISRO to build bigger and better launch vehicles, has made India the sixth member of the elite global space league. “This is another major achievement for the GSLV programme and I would say this is an important day for science and technology in the country as 20 years of efforts in realising the cryogenic engine and stage has now fructified,” said a jubilant ISRO Chairman K.Radhakrishnan. Indeed, GSLV is India’s space dream come true.
The three stage, 630 tonne GSLV-MKIII has been designed to carry a 4 tonne plus class satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. However, in the immediate future, a fully operational GSLV would give India an independent capability to launch INSAT/GSAT satellites that are in 2-2.5 tonne class. This would make for an enormous saving of foreign exchange diverted for procuring the commercial launch service for getting INSAT/GSAT class satellites off the ground. For instance, the country had paid around US $85-90 million (Rs 5000 million) as launch fee for orbiting a satellite weighing 3.5 tonne. On the other hand, a GSLV mission costs just around Rs 2200 million.The cost of GSAT-14 satellite orbited by GSLV was around Rs.1400-million.What is more, India can offer the services of GSLV—like its predecessor four stage Polar Satellite Launch vehicle (PSLV)—on commercial terms for launching the heavier class commercial communications satellites for other countries. And this would reverse the earlier scenario by bringing in the foreign exchange into the Indian kitty. More importantly, in the context of India’s communications, broadcasting and social services sector experiencing an acute shortage of satellite transponder capability, ISRO with GSLV at its disposal can easily shorten the frequency of satellite launches to ‘plug the gap”. On another front, an independent satellite launch capability makes for a sound strategic sense in that it could insulate the country from the uncertainties that the multi billion dollar global space market could face in the future due to shifting political and geo strategic environment.
In a way, the technological breakthrough that ISRO could achieve with the successful development and deployment of the indigenous cryogenic engine stage is a tribute as Russia succumbing to US pressure to drop the transfer of cryogenic engine technology to India. Under a 1991 agreement that ISRO had signed with the Russian space enterprise Galvkosmos, India was to get to two flight ready cryogenic engine stages along with the relevant technology. However, in 1992 USA stepped in with the ulterior motive of coercing a politically weak Russia into going back on its commitment to transfer the cryogenic technology to India. The argument of USA was that the transfer of dual use system like cryogenic engine technology constitutes the violation of the so called Missile Technology Control Regime(MTCR). But then absurdity of this argument is confirmed by the fact that the cryogenic propulsion is hardly used in a missile system. For the volatile cryogenic fuel cannot be stuffed into a missile in advance with the result that the missile will not be in a position to hit back instantly. Under US pressure, Russia toned down the original agreement, as a face saving device, to pave way for the supply of seven ready to use cryogenic engine stages without any technology transfer.
Interestingly, the performance of the home-grown cryogenic stage that burnt for 12 minutes of the 17 minutes flight of the vehicle was nothing but excellent. In fact, the accuracy rating of this cryogenic engine was such that the GSAT-14 was injected into an orbit with a perigee (lowest point) of 179 km against the calculated value of 180 km. and the apogee (highest point) achieved was off the mark by just 50 kms from 36,000 km. According to ISRO, all the parameter of the cryogenic engine stage including its pressure and turbo pump speed were exactly as predicted. This significant breakthrough in rocket propulsion has once again signalled India’s’ emergence as a technological power hub of the world. .
According to Radhakrishnan, the next flight of GSLV that would put into orbit GSAT-6 communications satellite, will be accomplished within year. Further into the future, there would be a series of GSLV flights that will launch a range of satellites including GSAT-7A, GSAT-9 and GISAT. Incidentally, GSLV is also the vehicle of choice for launching India’s upcoming robotic mission to moon Chandrayaan-II. Radhakrishnan also drove home the point that after one more flight, the GSLV would be used for commercial missions. “After flying one more GSLV, we will be in a position to declare the rocket as commercially operational,” said Radhakrishnan. With as many as fifty missions lined up for launch over the next five years, there is a busy schedule ahead of ISRO for which not even sky seems to be the limit.
(The writer can be contacted at 1921,5th Cross, 2nd Phase JP Nagar, Bangalore-560078)