LVM3 (GSLV Mark III) -- ИНДИЙСКАЯ PAKETA

[ronatu]

What makes the launch crucial for the nation is the use of an indigenouscryogenic engine as the upper stage. The first attempt to use an indigenous cryogenic engine on April 15, 2010 to power GSLV-D3 was a failure. With only one more Russian cryogenic engine left in the Isro arsenal, success of the indigenous technology using oxygen and hydrogen in extreme low temperatures as the fuel will propel several big ticket future missions including a manned project to space.
 
 Isro senior scientists led by chairman K Radhakrishnan are monitoring GSLV-D5, whose strap-boosters started getting fuelled soon after the countdown. Liquid propellants are being filled into the second stage. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which fuel the cryogenic engine will be filled around 9am on Monday. Scientists at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre told TOI that the rocket's health and weather conditions were fine.
 
 India needs cryogenic engines to launch GSLVs that can carry payloads weighing more than three tonnes, which hold the key to future of telecommunication and space exploration. GSLV-D5 weighs 414 tonnes.

[Salo]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Now-ISRO-Well-on-Course-to-Test-Giant-Rocket-GSLV-Mk-III/2014/01/30/article2027500.ece#.Uvs71_uB7pM

Now, ISRO Well on Course to Test Giant Rocket GSLV Mk-III  
 
 By Tiki Rajwi - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
 Published: 30th January 2014 08:24 AM
 Last Updated: 30th January 2014 08:24 AM

Work on India's most powerful rocket to date, scheduled for an experimental flight in April, is progressing fast. The first stage of the hefty Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III (GSLV Mk-III) is ready, officials of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here said. Two S-200 boosters, which use solid fuel, comprise the first stage of Mk-III. This stage will burn for 130 seconds. ''The stage is ready. Work is now progressing on the second stage at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in Mahendragiri,'' VSSC director S Ramakrishnan said. The GSLV Mk-III has three 'stages' in all.

The second stage uses liquid fuel - Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) with Dinitrogen Tetroxide. This stage - L 110 - has two advanced Vikas engines and will burn for 200 seconds. The upper, third stage uses a more powerful version of the cryogenic engine used on the recent GSLV D-5 mission. The engine has been designated CE-2O and uses Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen as fuel. Theoretically, this stage will burn for 580 seconds, but the April flight being an experimental one, the cryo stage won't be carrying propellant.

Tests are currently progressing on the engine at present, LPSC director M C Dathan said on the sidelines of a reception given to ISRO scientists here on Monday. ''The third test has been conducted successfully,'' he said. At 42.4 metres, Mk-III is shorter than the regular GSLV, but it has a lift-off weight of around 630 tonnes compared to the latter's 400 tonnes. Mk-III can place satellites weighing up to four tonnes in the geostationary transfer orbit, giving ISRO an edge in the market. If everything goes according to plan, the assembly of the rocket will begin at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, in February.

 ''The GSLV Mk-III will have a sub-orbital flight in April. It will have as payload a prototype of the crew module meant for the manned mission,'' Ramakrishnan said. Mk-III will lift off from the second launchpad at Sriharikota, the same one the

GSLV D-5 used on January 5. No modifications will be needed to the launchpad as it can accommodate the bigger GSLV, Ramakrishnan said. A regular flight of the Mk-III version is expected only by 2016.

[Salo]

http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/gslv-mkiii-the-next-milestone/article5596588.ece

Print edition : February 7, 2014 Interview: K. Radhakrishnan
GSLV MkIII, the next milestone

 K. BHAGYA PRAKASH K. Radhakrishnan , Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Interview with K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation. By R. RAMACHANDRAN

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF GSLV D5/GSAT-14, Frontline caught up with K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO, on January 10 in New Delhi. In the conversation, Radhakrishnan discussed the various problems faced in the development of cryogenic systems and how these were overcome to prepare the organisation for its next big challenge, a success with GSLV MkIII, which will be powered by an entirely indigenous cryogenic engine and stage, and is targeted for 2015. Excerpts:

What elements of the Mark II cryogenic engine and stage, which fired GSLV-D5, still retain the legacy of Russian engine technology and design? How much of it is truly indigenous and how much of it relies on the Russian heritage?

Basically, both engines use the "staged combustion cycle". That is one approach compared with gas generator cycle, which we are using for the C20 engine to be used in GSLV MkIII. There are several other differences, conceptually also, especially the igniter system that we are using, which is totally different from what has been used in the Russian engine. [In MkII liquid oxygen (LOX) and gaseous hydrogen (GH2) are ignited by pyrogen-type igniters in the pre-burner as well as in the main and steering engines during initial stages, as against pyrotechnic ignition in the Russian engine.] But in the staged combustion cycle, similarities can be found in the way the engine is started and the steering engines are used for controllability.

But the staged combustion cycle itself is quite complex.

The staged combustion cycle is complex but it gives slightly improved performance in terms of the specific impulse [Isp]. But in the gas generator cycle, you have the ability to test the individual elements. So if you look at the reliability aspects—establishing a reliable system and the time required for that—we can work in parallel. The issue is relevant in the context of GSLV MkIII, for which we were working on the engine and stage elements in parallel. The turbo pump, which has something like 5 megawatt of power, has already been tested and it has logged about 1,400 seconds on the ground. We have tested the thrust chamber along with the injector, igniter and the nozzle. We did two tests, and the third test is being done today [January 10]. [This test, which lasted for 50 seconds, was as predicted and was successful.] Now, when we have sufficient knowledge about the ignition characteristics, the combustion instability aspects and performance in different regimes of [LOX+liquid hydrogen, or LH2] mixture ratio, then we can start with engine test and then the stage test. So the time required from now to qualifying the stage becomes less. This is the main advantage. The flexibility that is available in a gas generator cycle is much more because individual systems can be tested from the input/output point of view and they can be qualified in parallel. In the previous situation, the stage process was started after the engine qualification.

 The second aspect of the GSLV MkIII engine is that we are gimballing the nozzle for thrust vector control [and not the two using vernier (steering) engines as in the Russian engine and the cryogenic upper stage (CUS) of the indigenised MkII]. So we are only concerned about two ignitions, that is, the main engine and the gas generator. In the case of GSLV MKII's CUS, the two steering engines have to ignite before the main engine ignites and that feed has to come from the main line. Unless the right temperature and pressure conditions are there at the beginning of that process, the steering engines will not function. In fact, in some of the ground tests, we noticed the problem of a two-phased flow. The most important part of the cryogenic engine is the sustained ignition and the termination of the turbo pumps. It should not give any undue rate for the spacecraft. So in this launch, the engine start was as predicted; the four ignitions were as predicted; similarly, the termination was also as predicted. If you look at the performance of the subsystems, the turbo pumps—the main turbo pump, the oxidiser turbo pump and the fuel booster turbo pump—in both the regimes—the uprated regime and the nominal regime—plus the temperatures, all have been well within the specifications. All the components that it employs, too, have performed well.

In retrospect, considering that it has taken such a long time, could we not have used the gas generator cycle?

No. At that time, before 1992, we were working with a one-tonne engine. We were learning cryo at that time; the learning started in 1982. If you trace the history, in the early 1970s, when the Space Science and Technology Centre was there in Thiruvananthapuram, in the pre-SLV3 stage, we were trying to understand all these propulsion systems, including hyper-propulsion, semi-cryogenic propulsion, and cryogenic propulsion. But then the essential focus was on the SLV-3 programme, which had solid propulsion in all the four stages. And that was essential for the programme. So, in 1992, the approach was technology acquisition. We followed a path and we continued with that.

What is the gain in Isp in the staged combustion cycle?

It is only of the order of 10 seconds.

The one-tonne engine and the subsequent indigenous work were all based on the gas generator cycle. So it would seem that just for that little gain we seem to have embarked on a highly complex technology that has taken such a long time to absorb.

It was complex but at that time it was the only one that was available. We now know that the flexibility available in the gas generator cycle is enormous. It is a learning process.

The GSLV has seen several failures and there must have been a lesson to be learnt from each one of them.

 If you look at the first flight [GSLV-D1], essentially it was related to the mixture ratio used for the Russian cryogenic stage as far as the vehicle was concerned. In the aborted launch that took place [three weeks] earlier [March 28, 2001], essentially it was because of the blockage in one of the feed lines [by a lump of lead in the NO (dinitrogen tetroxide) feed line of the strap-on (S3) liquid engine L-40's gas generator]. The latter called for tightening of the assembly and inspection processes. In the second [GSLV-D2] and the third [GSLV-F01] launches, there were no issues. In the next launch [GSLV-F02], there was again a fabrication issue. A dimension was not inspected during the manufacturing process. When that component [of the strap-on S4] was tested, a deviation was seen but that was taken as a wild point, something to do with the facility. It was too abnormal because we got a flow rate almost nine times what was expected. It was an annular gap which was supposed to be 0.5 mm. Something which was to be 17 mm was made 16 mm, and because of this dimensional change, what was to be 0.5 mm became 1.5 mm, resulting in an increase in the area [3x3] and hence the flow rate. That's what happened.

If you look at the PSLV's first flight, which failed, when we did the simulation on the ground, there was a wild point even at that time. Only one out of some 1,000-plus simulations, but it was taken as a wild point and ignored. So the lesson that we learnt is that wild points are not to be ignored but to be studied. They are an indication of something else that is happening. In F04, the control system of a strap-on stage failed because a gas motor stopped. This has again to do with the component and has nothing to do with the vehicle design. In GSLV-D3, it was again a component problem. All four ignitions started, but it was a pump [fuel booster turbo pump] that stopped. Why did the pump stop? We looked at three scenarios and the contamination theory was the most likely because we found the source of that contamination. It was a propellant acquisition system [PAS], which is basically a filter that ensures that the propellant gets into the outlet.

The initial theory was that there are three bearings, and a normally assembled motor is tested under standard room conditions and not in cryogenic conditions. And when the pump goes into cryogenic temperatures, there will be contraction. Since there are different materials, there would be dissimilar contractions. So tolerances are provided so that the bearing will not stop. But we found that the calculation might not have been done accurately. But the issue is, if it touches [something],will it stop, because there is a lot of power given to it? So we decided to test this in cryogenic conditions. A test facility was created. We did not take [the theory] for granted.

The second scenario is that a welding could have failed and the casing could have come out. We would have had a similar condition then. The possibility of a casing coming out was, however, very remote. But still we redesigned it. We made a casting.

 The third scenario was contamination. We did not want to get locked on to the contamination theory because then we may not see the other things. The PAS is imported and is kept in a sealed cover. When we vibrated it, we found foreign particles coming out. Then we had to do a lot of cleaning and so that was the reason. So we decided to redesign it and that is what we used in D5. Otherwise, the liquid hydrogen tank itself could provide that contamination. All these three issues that we came across have been corrected. So it is a component-level problem and a not system problem. In F06, it was an inspection problem. The cryo-stage shroud, which is expected to move a little bit during the vehicle movement, is supposed to be provided with a lanyard of about 15 mm. But it was almost not there. It was only about 1-2 mm, resulting in greater tension. Two connectors are provided. But both connectors came out. And then we lost the signal from top to bottom. This is what happened actually.

The question is what did we do to address these. Compared with the PSLV, in the GSLV we have a large number of fluid components that have to work in flight. So we make the system, test it and use it and then after some time fly it. In this process, the leak rate would increase sometimes if there are very small defects. So getting a component assembled and tested properly becomes very important. We have tightened that now. In the recent PSLVs also, we have a good record in this area. We have introduced a zero-defect delivery system, which essentially boils down to the person who assembles the component. The technician who assembles the component should be aware of the impact of even a small scratch on a sheet or a dust particle coming into the system or something he might miss during the assembly. We introduced training about one and a half years ago and it is given in situ at the work spot in the local language with examples. When we say that the components have all performed to specifications during the entire campaign, it is actually the result of this. So this is the lesson from the GSLV. Otherwise, the GSLV per se, compared with the PSLV, is a better vehicle. Cryo is complex. Leave that part. If you take the bottom stages, the number of propulsion systems and control systems that come into the picture is far smaller. The only issue there is the solid motor hardware, which will have to be carried for nearly 40 seconds by the strap-ons because that does not separate. The advantage is that proven stages are being used here.

What is the next important milestone for the GSLV?

The immediate thing is GSLV MkIII, the experimental mission with the passive cryo stage.

What do you mean by passive cryo?

No engine will be burnt in the third stage. Actually, if you look at the GSLV, 50 per cent of the velocity is given by the non-cryo portion. So we will get about 5 km/s velocity, and it will be a suborbital flight. But what we want to test here is the atmospheric phase of the flight. While it is coming down, we will use it to characterise the crew module. We can measure the thermal stress when it is coming down. As far as the vehicle is concerned, its exterior will be ditto. Internally, the cryo will be passive.

[Salo]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/gslv-mark-iii-ready-for-mission/article5845204.ece

CHENNAI,  March 28, 2014  
Updated: March 28, 2014 22:10 IST
GSLV Mark III ready for mission T. S. Subramanian
 
   
The core second stage of GSLV-Mk III, with 110 tonnes of liquid propellants, just before it was flagged off on Friday from the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. Photo: LSPC, ISRO     
 
 A forerunner to the Human Space Flight programme
 
 India took the first step on Friday towards the liftoff of the experimental mission of its gigantic Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III when the rocket's core stage, weighing more than 110 tonnes, was flagged off from the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Mahendragiri, near Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, to Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The significance of the mission is that it will be a forerunner to India sending its astronauts to space. For, the GSLV-Mk III in this flight will carry a crew capsule without astronauts. The capsule will return to earth with the help of parachutes. The mission will take place in June or first week of July.
 The Indian Space Research Organisation calls its mission to send Indian astronauts to space the Human Space Flight (HSF) programme.
K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO, said the crew capsule will weigh 3.5 tonnes. It will carry no astronauts, he stressed. It was a replica of the crew module that would be put into orbit in a real mission. "The module is undergoing structural engineering tests" at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Dr. Radhakrishnan said.
 M.C. Dathan, Director, LPSC, emphasised that it will be an experimental mission. The rocket will do a sub-orbital flight, that is, reach an altitude of less than 100 km. Its upper cryogenic stage will not fire. It is "a passive flight," Mr. Dathan said. Instead of cryogenic propellants, the cryogenic stage would carry liquid nitrogen, which would be inert.
GSLV-Mk III is the "muscular sibling" of GSLV-Mk II which has an indigenous cryogenic engine. GSLV-Mk III can put a communication satellite weighing four tonnes into geo-synchronous transfer orbit or a 10-tonne satellite into low-earth orbit.
Mr. Dathan said GSLV-Mk III's core stage was flagged off from Mahendragiri on Friday. It would reach Sriharikota on Sunday evening. It will be married up with the other stages there.
"The assembling of one booster stage, weighing more than 200 tonnes, has already been completed at Sriharikota. The assembly of another booster stage is under way."

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15187.msg1159804#msg1159804

antriksh пишет:
Crew Module structural assembly ready for LVM3 X1 mission

 

[Salo]

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/gslv-to-soar-into-sky-with-crew-capsule-in-june/article5873835.ece

SRIHARIKOTA,  April 5, 2014  
Updated: April 5, 2014 03:58 IST
GSLV to soar into sky with crew capsule in June  T. S. Subramanian
 
    
 
  ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan (centre) with S. Ramakrishnan, Director, VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram (left), P. Kunhikrishnan, Mission Director, PSLV - C24 (second from left), M. Nageswara Rao, Project Director, IRNSS (second from right), and A.S. Kiran Kumar, Director, Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad (right), after the successful launch of IRNSS-1B from Sriharikota on Friday. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan  
 India's huge Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV- Mark III) will soar into the sky with a crew capsule from Sriharikota in June, signalling that the country is getting ready to send its own astronauts into space. It will be an experimental mission and it will carry no astronauts. This crew capsule will return to the earth with parachutes.
It would be identical to the "final crew capsule in structural and thermo-structural parts," said S. Ramakrishnan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. "We will take it beyond the atmosphere, make it re-enter the earth's atmosphere, decelerate it and make a soft touchdown in the Bay of Bengal off the Andaman coast. We will make efforts to recover it."
The VSSC Director was speaking to reporters here after the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C24) put into orbit India's second navigation satellite, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1B).
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the Indian Space Research Organisation would evaluate the structural and thermal protection systems to withstand the re-entry load, and thermo-dynamic heating.
This crew capsule will not contain the life-support systems which will be required when actual astronauts fly in the crew capsule. "We will be measuring the environment inside the capsule which will give inputs on the validation of the astronauts' life-support systems in terms of temperature, vibration and shock which will be experienced inside the crew capsule. This will help us in designing the life-support systems when we actually fly the astronauts into space."
 No astronauts would be aboard the crew capsule in the GSLV-MkIII mission, he stressed.
K. Radhakrishnan, ISRO Chairman, said the June mission would be a passive flight. Its massive cryogenic engine would not fire.
The GSLV-MkIII was getting assembled at Sriharikota, Dr. Radhakrishnan said. Its two strap-on motors had arrived at the spaceport. . The cryogenic stage is getting ready in the ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
Dr. Radhakrishnan said the PSLV would put into orbit in June the French SPOT-7 satellite and four other satellites from abroad.

[Salo]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/countdown-for-pslvc23-liftoff-progressing-well/article6160933.ece

Mr. Modi saw the fully assembled four-stage PSLV-C23 and visited the VAB of the second launch pad where the integration of the gigantic GSLV-Mark III (Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) is under way. An experimental flight of the GSLV-MKIII is scheduled for August.
...
In the VAB of the second launch pad, Mr. Radhakrishnan explained the salient features of the GSLV-MkIII experimental mission. In the VAB, the Prime Minister saw the fully assembled two strap-on booster motors of the GSLV-MkIII, each weighing 200 tonnes.

[Salo]

http://indiablooms.com/ibns_new/photos-details/PF/224/sriharikota-pm-visits-first-launch-pad-and-gslv-vehicle-assembly-building.html

[Salo]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/gslv-mkiii-to-launch-isro-s-next-mission/article1-1235397.aspx

GSLV MkIII to launch Isro's next mission
Vanita Srivastava, Hindustan Times  New Delhi, July 01, 2014
First Published: 00:43 IST(1/7/2014)

After the successful launch of PSLV-C23 carrying five foreign satellites on Monday, the next major launch lined up by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is GSLV MkIII experimental mission carrying the crew module, a senior Isro official said.

"For the manned mission, we need a crew module in which the astronauts will be housed. This will orbit and can then be recovered. We are planning an experimental flight of GSLV Mk III with passive cryogenic stage in August this year to validate the vehicle performance during the atmospheric phase of the flight. The first developmental flight of GSLV-Mk III is targeted for 2016," he said.

 India's attempt to develop a heavy lift launch vehicle has reached a significant milestone with GSLV-Mk III, which is capable of launching 4 tonne class of communication satellites to Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), he said adding: "This vehicle has two 200 tonne solid booster (S-200) stage and L-110 tonne liquid core stage. Realisation of GSLV Mk-III will help Isro to put heavier satellites into orbit."

Regarding the preparedness of Isro for the human space flight he said: "The program is yet to be approved. Isro is developing certain critical technologies to fit the same. The crew module that will be launched by GSLV MkIII experimental mission is one such development."

[Salo]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/budget-2014/union-budget-2014/GSLV-Mark-3-gets-Rs-161-crore-boost/articleshow/38175979.cms

GSLV Mark 3 gets Rs 161 crore boost
Jul 11, 2014, 07.25 AM IST

The first budget of the Narendra Modi government has given a powerful boost to the GSLV Mark 3 rocket programme with its budgetary allocation rocketing from Rs 10 crore to Rs 171 crore.

The Mark 3 is an advanced version of the current GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket, with a capacity to place four-tonne class of communication satellites in the geostationary transfer orbit. Once this launch vehicle becomes operational, India need not depend upon European space consortium Arianespace to carry its four-tonne class of Insat communication satellites. This rocket will also be used to fly astronauts from Sriharikota.

The massive hike for this much-delayed project assumes significance in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi assuring Isro at the launch of PSLV-C-23 on June 30 that his government would fully support India's space programme. The PM had said that "continued progress in space must remain a national mission. We must keep enhancing our space capabilities."

An Isro official told TOI that provisionally the GSLV Mark 3 was set to make its maiden flight towards the end of August with a passive cryogenic engine. This means the cryogenic stage will not be operational. The significance of the flight is that it will test the crew compartment as it re-enters and splashes into the Bay of Bengal.

The amount earmarked for the human space flight programme has also gone up: from Rs 9.19 crore to Rs 17.05 crore. This project, too, has been considerably delayed and Isro officials hope the new government will give its green signal at the earliest.

The Isro Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu has been allotted Rs 100 crore.

The budget document, however goofed up with regards to the Mars Orbiter Mission. In a note at the end of the document, it said: "Mars orbiter will be placed in an orbit of 500 X 80,000 km around Mars and will have a provision for carrying nearly 25 kg of scientific payloads on board.'' The orbit of the spacecraft will be 377 X 80,000 km and it is carrying 15 kg of payloads.

[Salo]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/42749182.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Now, Gupta works on the next generation Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV), the heavy lifter that ISRO is developing for launch next year, and sits in its design review committee.

[Salo]

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gslv-mk-iii-will-make-india-selfreliant-in-space-scientist/502307-3.html

Thiruvananthapuram: India does not need to rely on foreign countries for launching heavier communication satellites once its experimental mission of GSLV Mark III tasted success, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director M Chandra Dathan on Saturday said.
"The GSLV Mark III, scheduled to be launched in November first week, will carry four tonne class of communication satellites and it will help India achieve self-reliance in this," he said.

[Salo]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/ISRO-Logs-Milestone-with-Cryo-Engine/2014/10/22/article2488866.ece

ISRO Logs Milestone with Cryo Engine  
 
 By Tiki Rajwi
 Published: 22nd October 2014 03:17 AM
 
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Taking a big step forward in the development of bigger and more powerful locally-built rocket engines, the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) on Monday successfully conducted the first 'cold flow test' on the CE-20 cryogenic engine, which will power the upper stage of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mk III (GSLV-Mk III).
 "It's a milestone," LPSC director Dr K Sivan told 'Express' here on Tuesday, confirming that the test had gone as planned at the LPSC facility in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The first 'hot test' - where the engine will be fired for a few seconds- will be performed in three weeks' time, Sivan said. In a cold test, the propellants are not ignited. Cryogenic engines were back in the news with the Kerala High Court making a reference to it on Monday while passing a directive on the infamous ISRO spy case of 1994. The spy case had delayed its development and the ISRO could conduct the first successful flight test aboard the GSLV-Mk II type launch vehicle (GSLV-D5) only on January 5, 2014.
CE-20 is a mightier version of the CE-7.5 engine used in the GSLV-D5 mission. Cryogenic technology is highly complex as the propellants must be stored at extremely low temperatures. The work is progressing on another CE-7.5 engine, which will power the upper stage of the GSLV-D6, a ditto version of the GSLV-D5, expected to be flown in March-April 2015. This flight is very crucial for ISRO to prove that the cryo stage is reliable.
 "The work on the engine is in an advanced stage," said N R Vishnu Kartha, LPSC associate director and GSLV Cryogenic Upper Stage Project director.
The CE-20 will make isro self-reliant
The success of the CE-20 engine is crucial for the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle project. This Mk-III rocket will make ISRO self-reliant in the launch of heavier communication satellites in the 4000-plus kg class. The rocket will give ISRO an edge in the international satellite launch market.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/isro/isro-successfully-tests-its-gslv-mk-iii-cryogenic-engine/

ISRO successfully tests its GSLV Mk III cryogenic engine

The GSLV Mk III booster at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Andhra Pradesh, India. Photo Credit: ISRO         
             
Tomasz Nowakowski
March 16th, 2015          
                                 
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) successfully conducted a test on Saturday Mar. 14 to check the GSLV Mk III launch vehicle's indigenous cryogenic CE-20 engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tirunelveli district. The test is just the latest step toward providing the ISRO with the capability of sending astronauts to low-Earth orbit (LEO).
"It is yet another milestone achievement on the road map of developing a bigger and more powerful indigenously-built high thrust cryogenic upper stage for GSLV Mk III rocket for the Indian Space Program," said IPRC Director D. Karthikesan. IPRC is called the "Jet Propulsion Laboratory of India" as all stage and engine related tests of ISRO's launch vehicles and satellites are carried out there.
The CE-20 was ignited and was tested for 20 seconds to study the flight characteristics of the engine. All the major parameters of CE-20 were normal and further tests are planned in the coming months.
Various subsystems of CE-20, such as the injector, thrust chamber, gas generator, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen turbo pumps were tested earlier at IPRC.

GSLV Mk III launch on Dec. 18, 2014. Credit: ISRO
 
The GSLV Mk III launch vehicle is designed to be capable of sending satellites into geostationary orbit and will also be used as a launcher for an Indian crewed vehicle. The booster is meant to help the country carry out major scientific missions in space.
"The GSLV Mk III rocket has a payload capacity of four tons which would enable to carry out space missions successfully. Besides, there is also a billion-dollar satellite market that could be tapped for the commercial benefit of the country," said former ISRO director Suresh Naik.
Weighing approximately 630 tons, the GSLV Mk III is a new-generation launch vehicle, one which measures an estimated 43 meters (142 ft) long. The cryogenic upper stage C 25 will be powered by the CE-20 engine burning liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, producing 186 kilonewtons (19.0 tf) of thrust. The C 25 will be 13 feet (4 meters) in diameter and 44 feet (13.5 meters) long. Fully fueled, the rocket should carry some 27 tons of propellant.
A suborbital flight test of the GSLV Mk III launcher, with a passive cryogenic third stage, was successfully carried out on Dec. 18, 2014. This flight was used to test out the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) on a suborbital trajectory.
"The GSLV will also be useful for carrying out Indian human space missions through Chandrayaan-3. In the recent years, India has been successful in reducing dependency on other countries to launch satellites, while many nations are carrying out the process from India due to cost effectiveness and reliability," Naik said.
The next launch of GSLV Mk III is planned to take place in early 2017. That mission will put in the GSAT-19E communication satellite into orbit.

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che wi пишет:
Isro successfully tests indigenous cryogenic engine with four-tonne capacity
 http://www.livemint.com/Politics/dFq7NvUyKp7EMxD67udqPP/Isro-successfully-tests-indigenous-cryogenic-engine-with-fou.html

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) successfully tested an indigenous cryogenic engine on Tuesday which will allow launch vehicles to carry satellites of up to four tonnes.

Congratulating the scientists on the successful testing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter, "The engine tested today will enable us to put satellites of up to 4 tons in geostationary orbit. A proud accomplishment."

Although the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mark III) successfully launched an unmanned capsule that could be used for manned missions in December, it had a passive cryogenic stage. While GSLV Mark III is India's largest launch vehicle, carrying up to four-tonne vehicles will only be possible with a cryogenic engine with the capacity.

India has till now been dependent on foreign launch vehicles to send heavier satellites to the required orbits. "There was a special test set up in Mahendragiri to see if the engine developed the exact thrust required to launch payloads of that weight. It succeeded," an Isro spokesperson told Mint on the phone.

"Now we'll have to prove if this engine can be used in a launch vehicle," the spokesperson added. Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu is home to the Isro Propulsion Complex, where cryogenic engines are tested.

India has been on a long arduous journey to develop an operational indigenous cryogenic engine which began around 30 years ago. The first success came in January last year, when India successfully launched GSLV-D5, marking the first successful launch of a vehicle with an indigenous cryogenic engine. But India at present can only launch satellites of up to two tonnes.

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http://isro.gov.in/successful-testing-of-high-thrust-cryogenic-engine

Successful testing of High Thrust Cryogenic Engine

A major milestone in the development of ISRO's next generation launch vehicle, GSLV MkIII, was achieved on successful long duration hot test (635 seconds) of high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) on 28-04-2015 at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. The CE20 cryogenic engine is being indigenously developed by ISRO to power the cryogenic stage of GSLV MkIII launch vehicle.
 The completion of successful long duration hot test has once again proved ISRO's capability in mastering the complex cryogenic technology. All subsystems of this engine such as Thrust Chamber, Injector, Gas Generator, LOX & LH2 Turbopumps, Control Components, Pyro systems etc., and the ground Test Facility systems performed very well and the parameters are well within the prediction.
 A series of development tests on this engine are being carried out to validate the performance and to prove the design of the engine. Two cold start tests and four short duration hot tests were already carried out on this engine at IPRC, Mahendragiri.

По ссылке есть видео испытаний.

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http://www.isro.gov.in/launchers/high-thrust-cryogenic-engine-ce20-development

High Thrust Cryogenic Engine (CE20) Development
 
ISRO is developing a high thrust cryogenic engine to be used for the upper stage of its heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III. This high thrust cryogenic engine produces a nominal thrust of 196.5 kN in vacuum with a specific impulse of 434 seconds. The engine works on "Gas Generator Cycle" which has flexibility for independent development of each sub-system before the integrated engine test, thus minimising uncertainty in the final developmental phase and reducing development time. This engine generates nearly 2 MW power as compared to 1 MW generated by the engine of Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) engine of GSLV. The high thrust cryogenic engine is one of the most powerful cryogenic engines of upper stages in the world.
ISRO has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting the ground test of Indigenous High Thrust Cryogenic Engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri on April 28, 2015 at 1657 Hrs for a duration of 635 seconds.  All the propulsion parameters during the tests were found satisfactory and closely matched with predictions. This ground test was preceded in the last few weeks, by four short duration tests of 5.5, 7.5, 20 and 30 seconds.
The high thrust cryogenic engine is designed and realised by Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala with the support of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram. The engine assembly, integration and testing is carried out by ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri. Indian Industries have significantly contributed in the realization of the cryogenic engine.
While ground tests conducted so far validate this the design adequacy and performance of the integrated engine, further demonstration tests are planned at engine and stage level to characterise the different performance parameters under various operating conditions. After completion of the tests, the indigenous high thrust cryogenic engine and stage are planned to be flight tested in GSLV Mk- III-D1 mission.

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http://www.isro.gov.in/launchers/lvm3

LVM3
       
About the Launch Vehicle          
LVM 3 is a heavy launch capability launcher being developed by ISRO. It will allow India to achieve complete self reliance in launching satellites as it will be capable of placing 4 tonne class Geosynchronous satellites into orbit. The LVM3 will have an India built cryogenic stage with higher capacity than GSLV. The first experimental flight of LVM3, the LVM3-X/CARE mission lifted off from Sriharikota on December 18, 2014 and successfully tested the atmospheric phase of flight. Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment was also carried out in this flight. The module reentered, deployed its parachutes as planned and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.
          
          Vehicle Specifications          

Height	: 43.43 m
Vehicle Diameter	: 4.0 m
Heat Shield Diameter	: 5.0 m
Number of Stages	: 3
Lift Off Mass	: 640 tonnes

      
          
              
          
          TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS    
             

Payload to GTO: 4,000 kg
LVM3 will be capable of placing the 4 tonne class satellites of the GSAT series into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits.
             

Payload to LEO: 8,000 kg
The powerful cryogenic stage of LVM3 enables it to place heavy payloads into Low Earth Orbits of 600 km altitude.
             

Cryogenic Upper Stage : C25
The C25 is powered by CE-20, India's largest cryogenic engine, designed and developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO located at Thiruvananthapuram.
             

Cryo Stage Height	: 13.5 m
Cryo Stage Diameter	: 4.0 m
Engine	: CE-20
Fuel	: 27 tonnes of LOX + LH2
Thrust	: 186 kN

            

Solid Rocket Boosters : S200
LVM3 uses two S200 solid rocket boosters to provide the huge amount of thrust required for lift off. The S200 was developed at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
             

Booster Height	: 25 m
Booster Diameter	: 3.2 m
Fuel	: 207 tonnes of HTPB (nominal)
Thrust	: 9316 kN
Vacuum Isp	: 274.5 sec
Burntime	: 130 sec

                      

Core Stage : L110 Liquid Stage
The L110 liquid stage is powered by two Vikas engines designed and developed at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
             

Stage Height	: 17 m
Stage Diameter	: 4 m
Engine	: 2 x Vikas
Fuel	: 110 tonnes of UDMH + N2O4
Thrust	: 1598 kN
Vacuum Isp	: 293 sec
Burntime	: 200 sec

[che wi]

GSLV Mk III engine completes 'full endurance test'
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/gslv-mk-iii-engine-completes-full-endurance-test/article7432042.ece

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the much-awaited 'full endurance test' of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III's indigenous cryogenic CE-20 engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri in the district on Thursday.

The CE-20 was ignited and tested for 800 seconds from 5 p.m. to study the performance of the engine though the actual required duration was only 635 seconds.

During the actual flight of the GSLV, the engine will be ignited for only 635 seconds.

Parameters normal

"All major parameters of CE-20 were normal and the test comfortably met all predetermined results," D. Karthikesan, Director, IPRC, Mahendragiri, who witnessed the test along with his colleagues, told The Hindu on Thursday evening.

An elated Mr. Karthikesan termed the successful conduct of 'full endurance test' yet another milestone in developing a bigger and more powerful indigenously built high thrust cryogenic upper stage for the 43-metre-tall GSLV Mk III that would position heavier payloads (satellites weighing about 4,000 kg) in the geostationary orbit.

He said that the subsystems of CE-20 such as injector, thrust chamber, gas generator, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen turbo pumps were tested at the IPRC, known among the ISRO scientists as the 'Jet Propulsion Laboratory of India', as every parameter of ISRO's launch vehicles are tested only here.

A suborbital flight test of GSLV Mk III launcher, with a passive cryogenic third stage, was successfully carried out on December 18, 2014, and was used to test a Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) on a suborbital trajectory.

A morale booster

Since the ISRO has planned to go in for the next launch of GSLV Mk III within next 18 months, the successful 'full endurance test' for 800 seconds has come as a morale booster for its scientists at IPRC.

The mission will put in the GSAT-19E communication satellite into orbit.

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  ISRO ‏@isro 10 мая
Nozzle Testing Laboratories established at VSSC http://www.isro.gov.in/nozzle-testing-laboratories-established-vssc ...