India joins the four group by developing its own GSLV satellite

Nov 17: India has finally joined the group of four in terms of owning full-fledged indigenous satellite based on Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) System. Indian scientist on Thursday successfully tested a fully native cryogenic engine in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu that positioned India in to the group of four, which uses the satellite for the commercial purpose.

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The scientist of Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO has completed the crucial ground test for 720 seconds of full-flight at Liquid Propulsion System Centre, Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening. This established India in the elite club of ‘cryo club’ along with US, Russia, Europe and Japan.

ISRO was developing this technique since more than last ten years when Russia denied handling the technique of making upper crest of cryogenic engine under the foreign pressure. The scientists of ISRO have then decided to develop their own indigenous engine in the next two years. Though ISRO became 10 years late but now India can pride to be host of ‘Cryo Upper Stage’, CUS technology.

“We are jubilant. We could achieve more …. The GSLV is now 100 per cent indigenous and we don’t any more have to use the Russian stages,” said G Madhvan Nair, the ISRO Chairman from Thiruvananthapuram.

The CUS technology has been develop nearly Rs. 450 crore that will be used in GSLV rockets to lift two-tonne-plus loads to a distance of 36,000 km in space. The novice-developed technology is very vigorous and competent in its design for utilizing in GSLV technology.

Earlier, first test was conducted in December 2006 for a 50 second flight while in August 2007, a 480-second duration flight-testing was held. ISRO now completed the final testing on Thursday evening and now planning to launch as a device in 2008 when “ISRO will launch Gsat-4 based on GSLV-D3 technique”, said P S Shastri, the director of ISRO launch Vehicle Programme office. “It will power the upper stage of all future GSLVs”, added Shastri.

ISRO is also eyeing to use this technology in earning some money to utilise it as some commercial purpose as over 100 private and public companies were involved in developing this technology and ISRO utilised these companies as an outsourcing industry. Now if this technology transforms as a product, ISRO will have to take the help of these companies. So, “ISRO has signed three years contract with its vendors for the next five GSLV launches. A five-year sourcing plan was being prepared. The agency plans to have at least two GSLV and 3-4 PSLV launches a year”, said Nair. “The flight stage is already under preparation at Mahendragiri. Things are progressing well," said Nair.