I was thinking the same thing as well. However, I scanned a few Russian sites which confirmed that the gas generator comes out with the missile and is ejected to the side. It's a near identical process if you compare Russian canister launches with the Agni V launch.ramana wrote:The gas generator is basically a rocket motor in a case with the nozzle upwards. It has a fuel mixture that provides lot of hot gas. The first stage nozzle needs to be protected and has a disc like shield.
The F/S ignition ejects the disc.During the ejection phase, F/S exhaust cants to the left side and shows up as a flame noted by shiv.
GG will be in the cannister and should be replaceable item at the depot/base.
Sad that Hindustan Times has to paint error prone pictures despite being in Delhi. One would think they are located in DC to get their incorrect data from the US
http://warfare.be/db/catid/366/linkid/1 ... rt-23u%29/
The SS-24 launch canister is 22.6 m long, has a diameter of 2.7 m, and the missile nose cone folds back when the missile is in the canister, folding forwards again during the launch sequence. The missile is cold launched by a solid-propellant gas generator contained within a 2 m high assembly ring that is jettisoned after launch at around 50 m altitude.