GSLV-D5 Launch status and post launch discussions

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 05 Jan 2014 21:43

arun wrote:The successful launch of the GSLV D5 was impeccably timed missing as it did Salman Taseer's death anniversary by a day.

Meanwhile moot to point out that while India has seen a satisfying riposte to Salman Taseer's jibe, Salman Taseer enjoys nothing of the sort with regard to his being Haji Bull Cutletted as his murderer Mumtaz Qadri continues to be very much alive.

Ha ha kaafir talking about cryogenic and shit while mard-e-mommin is enjoying his pindaliyon ka gooda. BAM take that joo kaafir.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 05 Jan 2014 21:46

Prof. Yash Pal's speech was fantastic and clearly he has not lost his spark even while nearing 90. Like he told the ISRO folks in the room: "Kya kamaal ke aadmi ho yaar!"

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 05 Jan 2014 21:46

Prof Yash Pal did a cameo as a aam aadmi.

He looked like one to people who do not know him. He was speaking for the man on the street.

pradeepe · Post by **pradeepe** » 05 Jan 2014 21:48

Congratulations ISRO! Red letter day for the Indian space program.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 05 Jan 2014 21:49

A wonderful moment for all at ISRO! Gratters all round.It is also sweet revenge for the the sanctions dumped upon India by the US in the aftermath of P-2 when the US forced the Russians to deny us cryo-engine tech. With the last successful PSLV launch,the GSLV is a whole dish of dessert! One is going to fill one's glass with a "Patiala peg" to toast our dedicated space scientists and celebrate with a bhangra!

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 05 Jan 2014 21:50

Congratulations to ISRO and its partners.

Anant · Post by **Anant** » 05 Jan 2014 22:00

Congratulations to everyone who has toiled on this project and succeeded. Let's please leave the Paki crap or ancillary topics out of this thread. Happy day for all of us. On to bigger and better things. I am living for the day big mamma MKIII goes up.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Jan 2014 22:04

I think NASA will ask India to share the telemetry to characterize the upper atmosphere loads!!!!

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 05 Jan 2014 22:06

I am waiting for the hitherto denied Cryo tech to magically being made available to India soon.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 05 Jan 2014 22:08

I am acutely disappointed with BBC. No standard denigrating reports so far !! (All the more when they don't have this capability) other than through ESA

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 05 Jan 2014 22:14

^^
PS ji,
Good things come to all those who wait

Btw For now Ive read a past peepeecee report on 2010 GSLV launch failure as a stopgap.

symontk · Post by **symontk** » 05 Jan 2014 22:26

Congrats to all the scientists of ISRO (both current and former employees) for the success

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 05 Jan 2014 22:29

Pee Pee Cee will start piss-ing shortly .. they are just trying to collect their wits ..

shyamoo · Post by **shyamoo** » 05 Jan 2014 22:46

Deleted

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 05 Jan 2014 22:51

Contributed significantly to GSLV D5 success: HAL

Bangalore: Hailing the Indian Space Research Organisation for the successful launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D5, defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) today noted that its Aerospace Division had contributed in a significant way towards the project.

"HAL's Aerospace Division contributed in a significant way towards the launch by supplying 13 types of riveted structural assemblies and seven types of welded propellant tankages and feed lines, which include three structures and two propellant tankages," HAL Chairman R K Tyagi said.

From the spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, ISRO today successfully launched the GSLV D5 with an indigenous cryogenic engine to enter a select club of nations.

HAL had integrated and delivered all four L40 booster rockets, the company said in a release, adding that "it (had) provided the bare structure of the communication satellite (GSAT-14), an assembly of composite and metallic honeycomb sandwich panels with a composite cylinder".

The release added that the HAL-ISRO partnership has been growing over the years and is poised to achieve more.

ajay_hk · Post by **ajay_hk** » 05 Jan 2014 22:59

Hearty Congratulations ISRO and all the partners involved with the launch. Your hard work and toil over the years is showing up. Keep up the good work sires... you all are making Desh stand up to biggies and stare them right in the eye. Congrats again.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 05 Jan 2014 23:04

The pissing games have started

India successfully launches cutting-edge cryogenic rocket - Gulab Chand (AFP)

The country sees its space programme as an achievement that highlights its emergence as a major world economy, and many citizens take great pride in it.

But the cost of the programme has attracted criticism as the government struggles to tackle poverty and child malnutrition.

Vivek K · Post by **Vivek K** » 05 Jan 2014 23:09

Great Job! Now for manned flight!

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 05 Jan 2014 23:11

ISRO begins a new chapter! we can see new class of satellites and further heavier class of launch vehicles. congrats!

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 05 Jan 2014 23:14

^^^^

An Indian space rocket using a Russian-built booster exploded shortly after launch in December 2010, also during a mission to put an advanced communications satellite into space.

Many news report has this same line.

World's largest Solid Propellent Rocket Motors

Rocket Motor Space Shuttle Ariane 5 GSLV Mk-3

Diameter (m) 3.6 3.05 3.2

Length (m) 37.8 31.6 25

Segments 4 3 3

Propellant Type Ap+Al+ HTPB Ap+Al+ HTPB Ap+Al+HTPB

Total Mass (ton) 500 276 220

Propellant Mass (ton) 440 240 200

Average Thrust (ton) 1040 500 400

Nozzzle gimballing 8 degree 6 degree 8 degree

Firing duration (sec) 123 130 103

Motor case Material Steel Steel Steel

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 05 Jan 2014 23:55

pankajs wrote:The pissing games have started

India successfully launches cutting-edge cryogenic rocket - Gulab Chand (AFP)
The country sees its space programme as an achievement that highlights its emergence as a major world economy, and many citizens take great pride in it.

But the cost of the programme has attracted criticism as the government struggles to tackle poverty and child malnutrition.

No worries. They are spraying the piss over themselves onlee.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 05 Jan 2014 23:56

Congratulations to India! A job well done! India now has the knowledge set and skills to proceed in any manner that it wishes. All indigenous and no copying vis a vis the Chinese. Truely a remarkable achievement. Kudos.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Jan 2014 00:08

Thanks Mr Jones.. I wish USA continues to support India in the same it did previously.

Without a challenge, it would not have been possible. please keep it (DDoS) going!

kit · Post by **kit** » 06 Jan 2014 00:14

Nothing succeeds like success.. Looks like the dawn of the golden age of Indian space science.. Now the stars are the limit ..literally.. Hope the manned mission gets funding along with a manned lunar landing

disha · Post by **disha** » 06 Jan 2014 00:25

India made one more tryst with its destiny.

Congratulations to ISRO for making Sarabhai's dream come true. If Sarabhai had its way on his plans - GSLV was supposed to be launched in 1983!

40 years hence we are fulfilling his vision., kudos to all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears of named and unnamed ISRO employees and Indians.

This is a great catharsis to several of us here, so please request mods to allow some more time for lungi dancing. The success is really heady.

Collecting some videos to post here.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Jan 2014 00:27

imho (wish) India should do robotic landing missions to moon prior to manned missions. of course, mission objectives should include especially to drill through the dark side of the moon to find how much is ppb of h3 content, etc.

Eric Leiderman · Post by **Eric Leiderman** » 06 Jan 2014 00:37

Best bang for buck is on unmanned missions, Manned Missions are a PR statement and greatly increases the feel good quotent of a country.
(The above is debatable especially if you are the IAF or a fly boy cheerleader)
A golf swing doomed the US manned missions.
We might do it with a gilli danda smack.

member_23360 · Post by **member_23360** » 06 Jan 2014 00:38

congrats to Isro, congrats to our nation ...

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 06 Jan 2014 00:46

SaiK wrote:imho (wish) India should do robotic landing missions to moon prior to manned missions. of course, mission objectives should include especially to drill through the dark side of the moon to find how much is ppb of h3 content, etc.

Prior to that i wish India will increase the transponders and communication satellites. Launch a hell lot of spy satellites and complete our own gps.

Now we dont have to depend on the french for our communication satellites.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 06 Jan 2014 01:02

SaiK wrote:Thanks Mr Jones.. I wish USA continues to support India in the same it did previously.

Without a challenge, it would not have been possible. please keep it (DDoS) going!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Jan 2014 01:04

TSS writes about the launch:
GSLV-D5 launch places India in elite league

The cryogenic engine built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) fired for 12 of those 17 minutes.

The precision of the cryogenic upper stage was such that it put the GSAT-14 into an orbit with a perigee of 179 km, against the target of 180 km, and the apogee achieved was off by a mere 50 km for a target of 36,000 km.

The grand success caps 20 years of hard work by ISRO’s engineers, after being denied cryogenic technology under pressure from the U.S., suffering a heartbreaking failure with an indigenous cryogenic engine flight in April 2010 and having had to scrub its second attempt with an indigenous cryogenic engine in August 2013. “I am proud to say that ISRO has done it…,” ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan announced at the end of the successful mission. “This is a big day for space technology in the country. This is a big achievement for the GSLV programme.”

The mission’s success means India now has the ability to put satellites weighing more than two tonnes in orbit, joining the elite club of the U.S., Russia, France, Japan and China who have mastered this perilous technology of using cryogenic propellants -- liquid oxygen at minus 183 degrees Celsius and liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees’ Celsius.

Liftoff at high precision

M.C. Dathan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO, which built the cryogenic stage, called it “fantastic, miraculous performance from the cryo stage.”

The engine’s chamber pressure, the turbo pump’s speed, temperature and other parameters were exactly as predicted. The engine burnt for 12 minutes, producing the exact thrust needed to get the correct velocity and put the communication satellite into orbit, Mr. Dathan said.

disha · Post by **disha** » 06 Jan 2014 01:19

A Nandy wrote:Ok, I am no expert, but the strap-ons are lifting dead weight after that time. Maybe the first stage firing time can be increased to coincide with the end of the the strap-ons firing.

Not necessary. Even after the thrust from solid core is shut-off, until the acceleration followed by velocity imparted comes back to zero, one can hug the solid core.

The solid core is a fast burn motor, that is it gives a very large initial thrust sustained by the "boosters". The beauty of the design is the core is the "booster" and the surrounding strap-ons are "sustainers".

This was done specifically to ensure that the solid core is not ignited pre-maturely when the liquid sustainers cannot perform (or may underperform.

In so far of some 9 GSLV Launch programmes - the failures attributed due to the liquid straps are ~~three~~ two. In first launch program, the liquid strap-on did not perform nominally (underperformed) and was caught and launch sequence aborted. In another failure (GSLV-F02), one of the liquid strap-on failed causing the rocket to be destroyed. That is like @25% failure (2 in @eight).

The caution thus of igniting solid "booster" followed by reliable "sustainer" is thus warranted.

What ISRO has done with the launch of GSLV is

* Master the cryogenic (given)
* Master "clustered" liquid propulsion (simultaneous ignition of 4 liquid-strapons)
* Scaling of liquid propulsion (the first stage of GSLV-MkIII is clustered large liquid engine)
* Validation of RLG INS - the precision on perigee is ~40 meter than expected and on apogee is some ~~~4 KM~~ ~50 KM (this is ~~@0.1~~ @0.025% deviation at apogee!! or twisting it differently if ISRO were to target something at 36000 KM, it will be within 50 KM of the target - at 200 KM, ISRO will be 40M of target!! - others should dhoti-shiver here only).

At this stage, ISRO's path towards GSLV Mk III is clear.

PS: One more thing, ISRO should have a bullock cart to transport something to GSLV/PSLV and make a song and dance around it complete with photos and videos.

Edit: Fixed the precisions - mentioned in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7HIvfhoFHM in post launch speeches.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 06 Jan 2014 01:25

Knowledgeable folks, please update the following wiki pages with this successful launch:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSLV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Spa ... ganisation

Thanks.

disha · Post by **disha** » 06 Jan 2014 01:26

^^ Just saw Suraj's post. The perigee precision is rounded off by T.S to KM., from the speeches it appears to be "only" 40 metres.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 06 Jan 2014 01:29

TSJones wrote:Congratulations to India! A job well done! India now has the knowledge set and skills to proceed in any manner that it wishes. All indigenous and no copying vis a vis the Chinese. Truely a remarkable achievement. Kudos.

Well put. This is a proud moment, not only for the scientists but for the whole India, and indeed, all people who believe in progress.

US India cooperation in space (and many other branches), after decades of neglect, is something really something both countries can be proud of.

Space Science

Building on the highly successful Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission, NASA and ISRO agreed to explore further cooperation in planetary science and heliophysics, as well as potential future missions to the moon and Mars.

Earth Observation

ISRO, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have active cooperation in the area of oceanography through the sharing and analysis of data from ISRO’s OCEANSAT-2 satellite. (to derive the best possible global precipitation data. ISRO and NASA are also cooperating on Earth Observation Satellites and Group on Earth Observations.

Satellite Navigation

India is implementing a Global Positioning System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN) for civil aviation purposes through a commercial agreement with the U.S. firm Raytheon. (India is also working on its indigenous satellite navigation system, a seven-satellite constellation known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).) - Coordination to ensure compatibility between IRNSS and the U.S. Global Positioning System is currently under way.

Cooperation in Microwave Remote Sensing

ISRO and NASA are working on collaborating on the joint development and launch of a radar satellite mission comprising a dual frequency (L and S band) Synthetic Aperture Radar System.

Deep Space Navigation and Tracking Services Support for Mars Orbiter Mission

NASA is providing deep space navigation and tracking support services (specially during non-visible period of the Indian Deep Space Network)

Scientific Personnel Exchange Program and Fellowship Programs

ISRO and NASA have worked out Terms of Reference for a Professional Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program. (NASA scientists visit ISRO and vice-ver-sa. (Important note, for example India has funded the establishment of the Professor Satish Dhawan Graduate Endowment Fellowship Program at the California Institute of Technology ( for a graduate student from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology will pursue a master’s program in aerospace engineering at Caltech.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 06 Jan 2014 02:03

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/gslv/d5/1 ... snFCvRDtXE

Much of the attention on Sunday's launch will focus on the GSLV, the centerpiece of India's ambition to become a fully independent space power. Without the GSLV, India must launch its heaviest satellites on foreign rockets such as the European Ariane 5.

India grounded the GSLV following a pair of launch failures in 2010 - first a premature shutdown of the GSLV's Indian cryogenic upper stage in April, then an explosive mishap shortly after liftoff on another mission in December.

Engineers are confident they have fixed the problems.

"We are sure, with the adjustments we have made and the meticulous reviews we have gone through, this stage should perform precisely, and we'll have a very successful GSLV mission," said S. Ramakrishnan, director of India's Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, last summer before the Aug. 19 launch attempt. "I'm sure with the kind of teamwork we have, and the kind of people we have with us, we will be able to definitely overcome any issue or problem, and GSLV will also be operational one day as PSLV."

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, has racked up a string of 24 straight successful launches dating back to 1994. But the PSLV's capacity is limited to satellites bound for low orbits or smaller spacecraft heading for higher altitudes.

But the GSLV has a worse record. ISRO has declared four failures in the GSLV's seven launches since 2001.

The success of the all-Indian GSLV, known as the GSLV Mk.2, will give India an independent route to space for its communications satellites and planned interplanetary probes. India currently launches its largest communications payloads on foreign rockets, such as Europe's Ariane 5.

The GSLV Mk.2 configuration can loft payloads weighing more than 5,000 pounds to geosynchronous transfer orbit, the drop-off point for most communications satellites.

Sunday's flight will feature an Indian-built hydrogen-fueled third stage built to replace a Russian-provided engine used on the GSLV Mk.1 model, the rocket's early variant.

International missile and defense technology agreements stipulated Russia could only provide readymade third stages for the GSLV, forcing India to start an in-house program to design and build its own upper stage.

The Indian upper stage failed during its first test flight in April 2010, when the engine's fuel turbopump failed about one second after igniting, dooming the mission. Another GSLV launch with a Russian third stage disintegrated in a fireball less than a minute after liftoff in December 2010, a failure caused by the "untimely and inadvertent snapping of connectors" between the GSLV's computer and the control system on its four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters.

Since 2010, Indian engineers made a number of improvements to the GSLV, including a redesign of the third stage engine's fuel turbopump to account for the expansion and contraction of bearings and casings as super-cold liquid propellant flows through the engine.

Officials also modified the third stage's ignition sequence to ensure the "smooth, successful and sustained ignition" for the main engine, steering engine and gas generator system.

India also made improvements to the third stage engine's protective shroud and a wire tunnel in the third stage. Engineers revised their understanding of the aerodynamic characteristics of the GSLV and added an on-board camera system to better monitor the rocket's performance in flight.

Before approving the improved GSLV for flight, India completed two acceptance tests of the GSLV's third stage fuel turbopump to ensure it will not succumb to the same problem that plagued the April 2010 launch. Engineers also put the third stage engine into a vacuum chamber to simulate ignition at high altitude.

The third stage engine, designed to produce nearly 16,860 pounds of thrust, will take over 4 minutes, 54 seconds after liftoff.

The third stage engine will fire for 12 minutes during Sunday's launch to inject the GSAT 14 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit with a low point of 111 miles, a high point of 22,353 miles and an inclination of 19.3 degrees.

GSAT 14's own propulsion system will raise the low point, or perigee, of its orbit to an altitude of 22,300 miles and align its orbit over the equator to begin a 12-year mission.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Jan 2014 02:05

Specifically in the context of the GSLV, it is US interference that catalyzed the indigenous development of the CUS. But for them, we'd have been working using the TOT associated with the KVD-1 transfers in the early 1990s, which may have hampered our ability to subsequently scale up our own cryogenic engine designs without having cut our teeth on the CE7.5 the hard way. Their interference and technology denial efforts were, IMHO, more strategically helpful in retrospect, than any data-sharing collaboration recently.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 06 Jan 2014 02:51

I can't think of any more questioned technology in America than Chinese technology in anything they do. I think the average American thinks the Chinese steal everything. India will not have that problem.

Most of congress and the public could care less about cooperating with the Chinese in space adventures and probably the Chinese feel the same way about us.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 06 Jan 2014 03:02

This launch does NOT make India master of the cryogenic technology. FACTS : The cryogenic engines CE 7.5 used by India in this mission used the old "Staged Combustion Cycle" technology. But new Cryogenic Engines world-over use more efficient "Gas-generator cycle", or an "Expander Cycle". India is still attempting to master the "Gas-generator Cycle" technology in its CE 20 cryogenic engine which is to be used in GSLV Mk3.

Whereas, the most advanced "Expander Cycle" technology used by Arianne -5 rockets of European Union is still not known to Indian and Chinese scientists. CONCLUSION : India is far away from mastering the cryogenic engines technology.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 06 Jan 2014 03:06

Acharya wrote:
This launch does NOT make India master of the cryogenic technology. FACTS : The cryogenic engines CE 7.5 used by India in this mission used the old "Staged Combustion Cycle" technology. But new Cryogenic Engines world-over use more efficient "Gas-generator cycle", or an "Expander Cycle". India is still attempting to master the "Gas-generator Cycle" technology in its CE 20 cryogenic engine which is to be used in GSLV Mk3.

Whereas, the most advanced "Expander Cycle" technology used by Arianne -5 rockets of European Union is still not known to Indian and Chinese scientists. CONCLUSION : India is far away from mastering the cryogenic engines technology.

...this is just the beginning. why are you so negative? India has nothing but blue sky, deep space and the march of knowledge ahead of it. be joyful damn it!