Indigenous engine to power ISRO's GSLV-D5 on Aug 19

In a very important launch, India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle - D5 (GSLV-D5), powered by an indigenous cryogenic upper stage and carrying the communication satellite GSAT-14, is set to be launched at 4.50 pm on August 19 from the Sriharikota Range (SHAR) spaceport.

The launch, to take place from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Andhra Pradesh, ISRO spokesperson said today. It will be the eighth flight for the GSLV. GSLV has attempted seven launches to date since its first launch in April 2001 carrying GSAT-1.

It may be recalled that previous mission on the indigenous cryogenic stage of GSLV-D3 on April 15 had failed.

This will be the second attempt by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to flight test the indigenous cryogenic stage after the failure of the previous mission of GSLV-D3 on April 15, 2010. The next GSLV flight with a Russian cryogenic stage also failed in December 2010.

The vehicle has been moved to the launch pad and other preparations were underway, ISRO sources said.

After the unsuccessful launch in April 2010, the failure analysis committee had concluded that the thrust build up did not progress as expected due to the non-availability of liquid hydrogen supply to the thrust chamber of the main engine. This failure, according to the committee, was due to the anomalous stopping of Fuel Booster Turbo Pump (FBTP).

In the last three years, ISRO conducted extensive failure analysis studies and reviews. Cryo stage FBTP was modified as per GSLV-D3 failure analysis committee recommendations and qualification tests carried out.

The GSAT-14 satellite has six extended C band and six Ku band transponders which is envisaged to enhance the communication transponder capacity. The 160 ft tall GSLV is a three-stage vehicle with a 414-ton lift off weight. It has a maximum diameter of 3.4 metre at the payload fairing. The most recent launch was in 2010. Two launches have been successful, with one launch partially successful. Four launches have failed.