Sigh. I guess you didn't read the old thread. There is a gas generator that propels it out of the launcher tube. The air booster which has no thrust vector capability, but has fins if you look at the old thread to give static stability, ignites and takes it to 5km altitude. Anything more I will have to give a lesson in rocket flight which can be picked up from a good book on aerodynamics. The S/S has no fins as it has thrust vector control.
The Sandeep U article in IT is quite revealing for long time forum members. Ten years is about right for a development program. it starts with new booster development and launch systems. And only six flights to proof the system. Off course there must have been ground tests of the motors. Ten years means it was 1998 when the go ahead was given. It could be Gujral govt or NDA. If its 11m then the makes sense why the ATV reactor has to operate at full power most of the time. The top sail to accommodate the total length is draggy. When bala made the comment that why not rig two of the reactors to the ATV and get a Indian nuke a/c that got me thinking about the power reqmts.
If old timers recall there was a joker called Robert Einhorn who was some ASS( I don't mean to be pejorative but it stands for Asst Secy of State) in the Clinton Admin., who was justifying to the US congress that TSP was quite right in acquiring the Gauri (Gaur is buffalo in India) as India was developing the Sagarika. And this was before the tests in May 1998. So most probably this was a ppt pitch during Gujral days.
Kahan bhains, kahan Ocean's daughter?
So the Ocean's Daughter has made her bow.
Can some one send Sandeep U some mithai from Bengal Sweet/Nathus store in ND and will foot the bill?
Sandeep's article
Final test of K-15 ballistic missile on Tuesday
Sandeep Unnithan
New Delhi, February 25, 2008
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is to conduct the final test launch of the K-15, India's first submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from off the coast of Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
The missile can carry a one-tonne nuclear weapon to a distance of 700 km.
On Tuesday, the calm sea around Vizag will be breached by the roar of a missile rising from under the sea, geyser-like.
Climbing to a height of five kilometers, the missile will ignite a solid booster which will arc it to a distance of over 700 km over the Bay of Bengal.
With this full system test, DRDO officials say the missile will be handed over to the navy for integration on its nuclear submarine, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV).
"The K-15's development is complete, we are ready to integrate it with the mother ship," DRDO Chief Controller Dr Prahlada told the media last week, in the first official and detailed confirmation of the enigmatic missile.
The missile completes India's triad of land, air and sea launched nuclear weapons. It also gets India an entry into the elite club of-US, UK, France, Russia and China-capable of launching a ballistic missile from a submarine.
The missile will be launched from a specially constructed submersible pontoon which sinks to a depth of 50 metres on the seabed-the intended launch depth from the submarine-and fires the missile from underwater. This period was chosen for the launch as the seas around Vizag are calm like a mirror.
The slender two-stage K-15 has a length of around 11 metres-larger than the 8.5 metre long Prithvi short-range ballistic missile but smaller than the 15-metre-long Agni-1 ballistic missile.
The missile has two stages fitted into its half-a-metre wide body.
An underwater booster propels it clear of the submarine and takes the missile to a height of 5 km above the sea surface. On reaching this altitude, a second stage solid motor kicks in to propel the missile to a distance of over 700 km.
Work on the missile started around a decade ago under a highly classified programme earlier called Sagarika (Oceanic). Development ran parallel to the Indian navy's 25 year programme to build its own nuclear-propelled submarine, the ATV. In the last few years, the missile remained behind a veil of obsessive secrecy with the government refusing to confirm or deny its existence. Variously dubbed 'the naval missile' and the 'navalised Prithvi', it was successfully tested to incremental ranges six times. The last successful test to its full range was in April last year.
With work on the ATV nearly complete-a nuclear reactor was integrated into its hull in December-and the vessel due for sea trials next year, the next key milestone will be integrating the missile into the submarine. The ATV carries 12 K-15 missiles in four launch canisters. A fleet of three nuclear submarines are planned for induction by 2012.
According to DRDO officials, the key challenge here was to master the difficult science of launching a missile from under the sea. This technology will come in handy when the DRDO eventually fields the submarine-launched variants of the 3500-km Agni-III missile in the next five years.
