ISRO’s new rocket SSLV-D2 launched from Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota: The second edition of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) was successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center’s first launch pad in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The new rocket will attempt to put three satellites:
ISRO’s EOS-07, US-based firm Antaris’ Janus-1, and Chennai-based space startup SpaceKidz’s AzaadiSAT-2 – into a 450 km circular orbit during its 15-minute flight, the ISRO said.
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Key things to know about SSLV-D2 and its launch:
1. According to ISRO, the SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to low earth orbits on a ‘launch-on-demand’ basis. The rocket offers low-cost access to space, has a quick turnaround, is flexible to carrying several satellites, and requires little in the way of launch infrastructure.
2. The SSLV is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 tonnes.
3. The rocket is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module.
About The 1st flight of SSLV:
The first test flight of SSLV ended in partial failure on August 9 last year after the upper stage of the launch vehicle injected the satellite into a highly elliptical unstable orbit due to a shortfall in velocity. According to ISRO, the study into the incident also showed that there was a brief vibration disturbance on the Equipment Bay (EB) deck during the second stage separation.
All the 3 Rockets of ISRO:
With the new rocket in its portfolio, ISRO will have three rockets — Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants (cost about Rs 200 crore), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII cost about Rs 272 crore and LVM3 Rs 434 crore) and SSLV (Development cost of three rockets about Rs 56 crore each) and production cost may go down later.
About SSLV:
SSLV was designed for smaller satellites. These launch vehicles were designed to carry 500 kg of payload. The main objective was to reduce the burden of PSLV.
