Indian Space News and Discussion

[Arun_S]

So its Cryo Engine failure.



The 2 verniers of the Cryo power the cryo pump. So if the verier failed the main cryo will also not work.





ISRO has been there before and they will soon get to teh root cause and get it right, just like before.



Kabir Das said:

[size="2"][color="#0000ff"]Karat Karat Abhayas Tey, Jad Mati Hotey sujaan,

Rasari Awat Jaat tey, Sil par padat nisaan ||[/color][/size]



Practice makes a man perfect.



And launching spacecraft is naturally "Rocket Science".





==========================================================







16/04/2010 URL: [url="http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/16/stories/2010041655680100.htm"]http://www.thehindu....41655680100.htm[/url]

[size="4"][color="blue"] [url="http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/16/stories/2010041655680100.htm"]GSLV-D3 mission fails[/url][/color][/size]



T.S. Subramanian A setback to indigenous cryogenic technology efforts [size="-2"] — Photo: V. Ganesan [/size]



GSLV-D3 lifting off from Sriharikota on Thursday. SRIHARIKOTA: India's ambitious quest to achieve total independence in cryogenic technology for launching satellite launch vehicles suffered a setback on Thursday, with the indigenous cryogenic engine in a Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) failing to ignite and the vehicle tumbling into the sea.



The mission to put communication satellite GSAT-4 in orbit thus ended in failure. The vehicle, however, was not destroyed in mid-flight as its trajectory was in a safe corridor over the Bay of Bengal.



The cryogenic technology is crucial to put heavy satellites in geo-synchronous transfer orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km.



The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was keenly looking forward to this flight because this was the first time that it was flying a GSLV with its own cryogenic engine. Gloom engulfed the Mission Control Centre at the Sriharikota spaceport as the mission's failure sank in. ISRO had worked for more than 17 years to develop its own cryogenic engine. The earlier five GSLV flights from 2001 to 2007 were powered by Russian cryogenic engines.



ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan told reporters, “We are not sure whether the cryogenic main engine did ignite. We have to confirm this after looking at the various parameters that were monitored during the flight. The vehicle was tumbling. It means it lost its control and altitude. Finally, it splashed into the sea.”



The GSLV-D3 lifted off majestically at 4.27 p.m. after a 29-hour countdown. In fact, there was no hitch at all in the countdown. The rocket soared and everything went all right till the end of the second stage, fired by liquid propellants.



But problems developed with the ignition of the cryogenic engine in the third stage, which after firing for 720 seconds, would have injected the GSAT-4 into orbit. “There was a problem in the start-up of the cryogenic engine,” said the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, P.S. Veeraraghavan.



“Our team has all the capability and resilience to do an analysis and take corrective measures. Our target is to fly a GSLV with our indigenous cryogenic engine within one year. But it will be tough,” he said.

16/04/2010 URL: [url="http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/16/stories/2010041655071200.htm"]http://www.thehindu....41655071200.htm[/url] Back



[url="http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/16/01hdline.htm"]Front Page[/url]



[size="4"][color="blue"] [url="http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/16/stories/2010041655071200.htm"]“GSLV-D3 failure won't affect Chandrayaan-2”[/url][/color][/size]

T.S. Subramanian We have a long way to go and we will do that in the coming year, says ISRO chief Radhakrishnan No plans to recover GSLV-D3 stages from the Bay of Bengal: ISRO chief



Cryogenic technology is the most complex of all types of rocket propulsion: Ramakrishnan



SRIHARIKOTA: The failure of the GSLV-D3 mission on Thursday will not have an impact on the Chandrayaan-2 mission scheduled for 2013, according to K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).



The GSLV-D3, which was launched amidst high hopes, having been powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine for the first time, ended in failure after the cryogenic engine failed to ignite. As per the ISRO's plans, it is a GSLV powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine that will put Chandrayaan-2 in orbit. The Chandrayaan-2 mission will also put a lander-cum-rover on the lunar soil.



The GSLV-D3 mission had three objectives: to develop and launch an indigenous cryogenic stage with the engine and associated systems; to evaluate the performance of the indigenous cryogenic stage and engine; and to put the communication satellite GSAT-4 into orbit. Only the first objective was achieved, the ISRO Chairman said.



S. Ramakrishnan, Director (Projects), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, said the cryogenic technology was the most complex of all types of rocket propulsion. France and the U.S. had also met with failures in using cryogenic engines. “Failures in cryogenic technology are not unusual. It is difficult to test the cryogenic engine even on the ground. We are disappointed. But we will overcome [the problems],” said Mr. Ramakrishnan



The GSLV-D3 rocket, including the indigenous cryogenic stage, cost Rs.180 crore. The ISRO spent Rs.36 crore to develop its own cryogenic stage with the engine. GSAT-4 cost Rs.130 crore.



Dr. Radhakrishnan said the cryogenic technology, which enabled communication satellites to be put into a geo-synchronous transfer orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km, was a highly complex technology. The GSLV-D3 mission was not successful and “we have to face it,” he said. “We have a long way to go and we will do that in the coming year [by launching GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic engine] … We have to work with dedication and I am sure Team ISRO will do it.” He refuted suggestions that there was a problem with the design of the GSLV because three out of the six GSLV missions from 2001 had failed.



GSLV-D3 is the sixth GSLV mission.



Dr. Radhakrishnan said there were no plans to recover the GSLV-D3 stages from the Bay of Bengal as the ISRO did when its GSLV flight failed in 2006.



Next flight



The next GSLV flight would take place in September this year but it would use a Russian cryogenic engine. It would put into the orbit a communication satellite named GSAT-5B. Another GSLV flight, also powered by a Russian cryogenic engine, would put GSAT-6 into the orbit.



PSLV launch



Meanwhile, a core-alone Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of the ISRO is scheduled to lift off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota between May 8 and 10. It has already been fully integrated at the first launch pad. It will put Cartosat-2B, an Algerian satellite, two nano satellites from the Norwegian defence establishment and Switzerland, and a Studsat into the orbit.



The Studsat has been built by students of colleges in Hyderabad and Bangalore.