GSLV MkIII lifts India Into a New Orbit in Satellite Launches : Daily Current Affairs

Date: 04/11/2022

Relevance: GS-3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Phrases: GSLV MkIII, Indian Space Research Organisation, one liquid core stage, LEO, OneWeb, Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

Context:

Recently the country's largest rocket placed 36 satellites in space. The successful launch of OneWeb India-1 mission was a big milestone for the country and the ISRO.

Background:

The project to develop it was approved in 2002, with a mandate of achieving the capability to launch a four-tonne class satellite to geosynchronous orbit.
Weighing 641 tonnes, which is equivalent to a large aircraft, GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) MkIII made its maiden launch on June 5, 2017, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The launcher is capable of lifting four-tonne class satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and about 10,000 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Key Highlights:

India’s heaviest rocket, GSLV Mark 3, has successfully placed 36 broadband communication satellites of UK-based OneWeb.
It is a significant commercial and technological leap for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
All the satellites were injected about 75 minutes after the rocket lifted off.
These satellites that were successfully placed would be used to provide high speed, low-latency internet connectivity.
With this launch, the GSLV Mark III or LVM III has entered into the global commercial launch service market.

Geostationary orbit (GEO):

Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle Earth above the equator from west to east following Earth’s rotation – taking 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by travelling at exactly the same rate as Earth.
This makes satellites in GEO appear to be ‘stationary’ over a fixed position.
In order to perfectly match Earth’s rotation, the speed of GEO satellites should be about 3 km per second at an altitude of 35 786 km.

Low Earth orbit (LEO):

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface.
It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth – which is low compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s surface.

Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit:

A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit.
Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step for reaching their final orbit.
A GTO is highly elliptic. Its perigee (closest point to Earth) is typically as high as low Earth orbit (LEO), while its apogee (furthest point from Earth) is as high as geostationary (or equally, a geosynchronous) orbit.

What is GSLV Mark 3 rocket?

GSLV (Mark III) or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (Mark III) is ISRO's third generation rocket that has a gross lift-off weight of 640 tonnes.
It is capable of placing the 4 tonne class satellites of the GSAT series into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits.
ISRO has recently renamed GSLV Mark III to Launch Vehicle Mark III or LVM III because of its successful mission to place the satellites in Low Earth Orbit.
Low earth orbit’s satellites are usually placed less than 1,000 kms above the earth’s surface, while satellites in Geostationary Equatorial Orbit are placed 35,000 km above the surface.
The rocket is mainly used by the space organisation to launch geostationary communication satellites.
This rocket was deployed to launch the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon in 2019.

Rocket’s Configuration

GSLV MkIII is configured as a three-stage vehicle with two solid strap-on motors (S200); one liquid core stage (L110); and a high thrust cryogenic upper stage (C25).
The S200 solid motor is among the largest solid boosters in the world with 204 tonnes of solid propellant.
The L110 stage uses a twin liquid engine configuration with 115 tonnes of liquid propellant, while the C25 is configured with the fully indigenous high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) with a propellant loading of 28 tonnes.
The overall length of the vehicle is 43.5 m with a gross lift-off weight of 640 tonnes and a 5m-diameter payload fairing.
The powerful cryogenic stage enables it to place heavy payloads into LEO of 600 km altitude as was witnessed in the recent launch of 36 satellites of OneWeb.

Other launch vehicles that ISRO has:

India has two operational launchers - the workhorse and most reliable launcher Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and GSLV. The next variant of GSLV is GSLV MkIII.

Significance of Recent launches:

Second launch vehicle: The success of the mission means that India has a second launch vehicle after PSLV to offer to customers around the world.
Boost Revenues: The successful demonstration of GSLV Mark 3 rocket's ability to carry heavier payloads will boost revenues from each launch.
Enhanced the credibility: This success of the mission also enhanced the credibility of GSLV Mark 3 launch vehicle.
Carry Astronauts: The same rocket is currently being human-rated to carry astronauts to space under Gaganyaan mission.
Launching Complex Mission: The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft launch on July 22, 2019, into its planned orbit with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 169.7 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 45,475 km, was a highly complex mission.
Explore the unexplored South Pole of the Moon: It represented a significant technological leap compared to the previous missions of ISRO, comprising an Orbiter, Lander and Rover to explore the unexplored South Pole of the Moon.
Cost-Effective Destination: The recent successful launch of OneWeb satellites makes India a cost-effective destination to launch commercial satellites.

Where does India stand today in the satellite launch market?

India has over the last two decades built a solid foundation for rocket launches.
The ISRO, through its commercial arms, has earned around $279 million (as per July 2022 data) in foreign exchange by launching satellites for global clients.
ISRO has been providing launch services for customer satellites since 1999 — more than 350 customer satellites from over 30 countries have been launched by PSLV.
With the recent launch of OneWeb, GSLV has made a grand entry into the commercial launch service market for heavier satellites.

Way Forward:

India has managed to enter the big league of being a cost-effective destination to launch smaller and lighter satellites.
The same cannot be said about the heavier communication satellites.
GSLV is yet to prove itself as a reliable launcher of heavy satellites. ISRO needs to establish that first.
The challenge going forward is to have re-usable rockets that will help in reducing the cost further.

Next major target for GSLV Mk-III:

GSLV MkIII is identified as the launch vehicle for Gaganyaan mission, which aims at carrying three crew to LEO and bring them back safely to a predetermined location on Earth.

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question:

Q. What is the significance of GSLV-MKIII’s recent launches? Where does India stand today in the satellite launch market? (250 Words).