Crew module dispatched to Sriharikota - The Hindu
In the run-up to the lift-off of India’s gigantic Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mark III) in November 2014, the unmanned crew module it will put into orbit and the vehicle’s equipment bay were flagged off on October 17 from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, to Sriharikota.
The crew module and the equipment bay had undergone elaborate checks and tests at the VSSC before they were dispatched to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, said VSSC director M.C. Dathan. They would reach the spaceport at Sriharikota on Sunday night. The equipment bay houses the vehicle’s electronic packages for issuing various commands to it.
Crucial mission
This maiden GSLV-MkIII flight is an important mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) because it will put the unmanned crew module into orbit. It is a precursor to ISRO’s ambitious plans to send two Indian astronauts into space.
The crew module will return to the earth the same day. It will splash down in the sea, off the Andaman archipelago and will be recovered by the ISRO and the Coast Guard personnel.
“The integration of the GSLV-MkIII is going on in full swing at Sriharikota,” said Mr. Dathan. The vehicle’s two huge strap-on booster motors, each with 200 tonnes of solid propellants, have been assembled and strung around the core stage, which will use 110 tonnes of liquid propellants. Above this liquid core stage will be the indigenous cryogenic stage, which will use 25 tonnes of propellants. In the coming mission, the cryogenic stage will not fire. It will be a passive stage. It will not carry cryogenic propellants. It will carry 25 tonnes of simulated fuel.
“Next weekend, the cryogenic stage will be moved to the vehicle and integrated with it. The 3.65-tonne crew module will undergo checks for 16 to 20 days. By mid-November, the unmanned crew module will be integrated with the vehicle. Then, it takes another two weeks for the launch,” Mr. Dathan added. If the weather does not help, the lift-off will be in the first week of December.
The entire flight will last 1,109 seconds. At an altitude of 126 km, the crew module will get separated and start descending towards the earth. Three huge parachutes, made by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Agra, will open up in a sequence to decelerate the crew module. The GSLV-MkIII is the biggest and heaviest rocket built by the ISRO, standing 42.4 metres tall and weighing 630 tonnes.
GSLV-MkIII flight is a precursor to ISRO’s ambitious plans to send two Indian astronauts into space