ISRO’s Launch Vehicles

For Prelims: Launch Vehicles, Satellites.

For Mains: Space Technology.

Why in News?

Recently, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched an Earth Observation Satellite
(EOS-04) along with two other smaller satellites into space using a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle) rocket. This was the 54th flight of the PSLV rocket.

What are Launch Vehicles and Satellites?

The rockets have powerful propulsion systems that generate the huge amount of energy
required to lift heavy objects like satellites into space, overcoming the gravitational pull of
the earth.
Satellites carry one or more instruments that do the scientific work for which they are sent into
space. Their operational life sometimes extends up to decades.
But rockets, or launch vehicles, become useless after the launch. Rockets’ only job
is to take the satellites to their intended orbits.
Rockets have several detachable energy-providing parts.
They burn different kinds of fuels to power the rocket. Once their fuel is exhausted, they
detach from the rocket and fall off, often burning off in the atmosphere due to air-friction,
and getting destroyed.
Only a small part of the original rocket goes till the intended destination of the satellite.
Once the satellite is finally ejected, this last part of the rocket either becomes part of
space debris, or once again burns off after falling into the atmosphere.

What are the Types of Launch Vehicles?

For Lower Earth Orbits:

Several satellites need to be deposited only in the lower earth orbits, which starts
from about 180 km from earth’s surface and extends up to 2,000 km.
Most of the earth-observation satellites, communication satellites, and even the
International Space Station, a full-fledged laboratory in space that hosts
astronauts, function in this space.
It takes a smaller amount of energy to take the satellites to low-earth orbits, and
accordingly smaller, less powerful, rockets are used for this purpose.
For Higher Orbits:
There are other satellites which need to go much deeper in space.
Geostationary satellites, for example, have to be deposited in orbits that are about 36,000
km from earths’ surface.
The planetary exploration missions also need their rockets to leave them much deeper in
space.
 For such space missions, much more powerful rockets are used.
In general, there is a trade-off between the weight of the satellite that
needs to be launched, and the distance it needs to be taken to. The same
rocket can take smaller satellites much deeper into space compared to a heavier
satellite.

What are the Launch vehicles used by ISRO?

Satellite The first rocket developed by ISRO was simply called SLV, or Satellite Launch Veh
Launch Vehicle It was followed by the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle or ASLV.
(SLV):
Augmented SLV and ASLV both could carry small satellites, weighing up to 150 kg, to lower ear
Satellite ASLV operated till the early 1990s before PSLV came on the scene.
Launch Vehicle
(ASLV):
Polar Satellite PSLV’s first launch was in 1994, and it has been ISRO’s main rocket ever since. Today
Launch Vehicle and several times more powerful than the ones used in the 1990s.
(PSLV): It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.
PSLV is the most reliable rocket used by ISRO till date, with 52 of its 54 flights b
It successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars O
later traveled to Moon and Mars respectively.
ISRO currently uses two launch vehicles – PSLV and GSLV (Geosynchron
there are lots of different variants of these.
Geosynchronou GSLV is a much more powerful rocket, meant to carry heavier satellites much d
s Satellite rockets have carried out 18 missions, of which four ended in failure.
Launch Vehicle It can take 10,000-kg satellites to lower earth orbits.
(GSLV): The indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), forms the third stage o
Mk-III versions have made ISRO entirely self-sufficient for launching its satellites
Before this, it used to depend on the European Arianne launch vehicle to take
Small Satellite SSLV is targeted at rising global demand for the launch of small and micro-satellites.
Launch Vehicle SSLV is meant to offer cost-effective launch services for satellites up to 500 kg
(SSLV): It is supposed to carry an indigenous earth observation satellite EOS-03 into space.
Reusable The future rockets are meant to be reusable. Only a small part of the rocket would be
Rockets/ Future The bulk of it would re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and land very much like a
Rockets: missions.
Reusable rockets would cut down on costs and energy, and also reduce space deb
problem because of the large number of launches.
Fully-reusable rockets are still to be developed, but partially-reusable launch ve
ISRO has also developed a reusable rocket, called RLV-TD (Reusable Launch V
which has had a successful test flight in 2016.

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