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Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-PSLV” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle : India’s Jump Into Space

 

The PSLV (Polar Space Launch Vehicle) was developed to permit India to launch its own IRS-class satellites into sun-synchronous orbits, a service until recently procured commercially via the USSR/CIS. The design orbital capacity for the PSLV is one metric ton into a 900 km, 99 degree inclination orbit. This significant increase in lift is achieved using a 5-stage design similar to the ASLV: a 4-stage core vehicle surrounded by six strap-on boosters of the type developed for the ASLV. At lift-off only two of the strap-ons and the bottom stage of the core vehicle are ignited. The other four boosters are fired at an altitude of 3 km.

The core vehicle possesses an unusual design consisting of two solid-propellant stages (1 and 3) and two liquid, hypergolic stages (2 and 4). The first stage also carries two cylindrical tanks which are part of the Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control System (STIVC). The large liquid engine of the Record stage is designated Vikas and is essentially an Indian-manufactured Viking engine used by ESA’s Ariane. During 1992 all four stages were certified for flight in 1993, and full vehicle integration tests were performed (References 70 and 72).

After some delays the maiden flight of the PSLV with the IRS-I E Earth observation spacecraft occurred on 20 September 1993. Although all strap-ons and main engines performed as expected, an attitude control problem arose after separation of the second and third stages. Consequently, the vehicle and its payload failed to reach Earth orbit. A little more than a year later, on 15 October 1994, the IRS-P2 spacecraft was inserted into the prescribed sun-synchronous orbit by PSLV no. 2. Almost immediately afterwards, Indian officials announced plans for the manufacture of three additional PSLVs and initial construction for three more. Commercial space transportation services could be available by 1996.

PSLV Background Information

First Launch                          September 1993

Flight Rate                            1 per year

Launch Site                           Shar Launch Center (Sriharikota, India)

Capability                             : 6,610 lb to 215 nm circular orbit, 43 degrees inclination 2,200 lb to 490 nm sun-synchronous orbit 990 lb to Geo transfer orbit, 43 degree inclination

History—Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) established in 1969 to develope space launch systems

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) developed as third generation follow-on to Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV)

Designed for delivery of 2,200 lb Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites to polar sun-syschronous orbit.

Description

Four-stage vehicle

Stage 1 burns HTPB solid propellant providing 806,000 lb of thrust

Stage 2 uses one V ikas engine that burns UDMHIN2O4 providing 163,000 lb of thrust

Stage 3 burns HTPB solid propellant providing 73,900 lb of thrust

Stage 4 uses two liquid rocket engines that burn MMH/N204 providing 1,700 lb of thrust each

Six solid strap-ons burn HTPB solid propellant providing 98,900 lb of thrust each (two are air lit)

Profile                       

Length                                   : 145.1 ft

Launch Weight                    : 606,000 lb

Diameter                               : 9.2 fit

Liftoff Thrust                       : 1,200,000 lb

Payload Fairing                   : At 9.23 am, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) roared to life and took off from the spaceport here to place 10 satellites into their orbits some 600 km above earth, rocketing India into space history.

India- became the second country in the world to achieve the difficult feat, after Russia which had put into orbit 13 satellites in April 2007. But Isro officials pointed out that the total weight of Russia’s 13 was only 295 kg as against the 820 kg carried up by the four-stage PSLV on Monday. They added that Nasa’s attempt to do something similar had come to nought.

The 50-hour countdown launched from Saturday climaxed when all the satellites were placed into their orbits in 1,151 seconds on Monday morning. A proud Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair declared the mission successful and said there was not even a slight deviation in the spacecraft’s trajectory and they (the satellites) were delivered at their doorstep”.

Of the 10 satellites, two are from India — the 695-kg Cartosat-2a and the 87-kg Indian Mini Satellite-1 (IMS-1) — while the remaining eight are nano satellites from Canada, Japan, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The total weight of these nano satellites, six of which were clustered together with the collective name NLS-4, is about 50 kg.

 Their primary role is scientific research for various laboratories and universities. Cartosat-2a, the 13th in the Indian remote-sensing satellite series, will be used for mapping and help in urban and rural infrastructure development. For Isro, 13 is definitely not unlucky any more.

The main purpose of IMS-1 is to try out new technologies, particularly those related to miniaturization. It is also providing a trial platform to a hyperspectral camera which will be used on Chandrayaan-1, India’s maiden mission to the Moon tentatively slated for June-July this year.

 With much lighter payloads compared to its earlier missions, the PSLV was configured without the six solid propellant strap-on motors in the firststage of the rocket. The PSLV in its standard configuration can carry payloads up to 1,600 kg into the 600-km orbit.

Like the PSLV, the mood in the hi-tech control room after the launch was also light. But the day had started off with tense faces, particularly when the sky over this vast spaceport turned overcast in the morning. Once the weather office gave the all-clear for liftoff, the scientists remained glued to their computer screens, with only the monotonous announcement of the progress in countdown — “Mark-23 minutes and counting, mark-22 minutes and counting…” — breaking the silence.

With 16 minutes to go, there was an announcement: “Vehicle director to mission director. Vehicle ready for launch. All stations are ready for the Cartosat-2a mission!’ The mission director, George Koshy, then formally authorized the launch. At 9.23 am sharp, the engines came into life. For a few seconds there was no sign of the rocket. Then, it emerged out of the trees, making its way to the sky over Sriharikota.

Initially, the spectacular liftoff seemed soundless. One only heard the scattered applause from spectators gathered in knots on terraces and balconies of nearby buildings. Suddenly, there were staccato bursts of sound that turned into a steady, awesome roar and shockwaves slammed into the chests of the onlookers. Amid the sound and fury, PSLV zoomed up at a velocity of about 7,600 metres per second.

After 883.8 seconds, Cartosat-2a was injected into orbit at an altitude of 635 km in the polar sun synchronous orbit. Then one by one, PSLV disgorged all its cargo into space, setting off a round of applause in the mission control room. After handshakes and hugs, the talk had turned to the next mission: Chandrayaan-1

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