India and rockets

On Thursday, India’s first rocket to be powered by a totally indigenous cryogenic engine—the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-D3—will blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota at 4:27 p.m. The 416-ton vehicle will carry GSAT-4, a 2,218-kg communication satellite, to be put in an orbit 36,000 km from earth. The countdown for the launch began at 11:27 a.m.

So far only the US, Russia, European Space Agency, China, and Japan have developed cryogenic engines. The successful launch of GSLV-D3 will place India in the elite league of masters of cryogenics, the science of very low temperatures. The cryogenic engine gives higher thrust than conventional liquid and solid propellants to launch satellites weighing more than 4,000 kg in geosynchronous orbit.

Nageswara Rao, project director of GSAT4 spacecraft, said, “All parameters of the vehicle are normal and we are proceeding with the pre-launch tests. So far, the weather conditions are favorable. We are looking forward to a historic launch.”

Looking forward to another country in asia.. :)



Source: The Times of India - ACIG.org

Category: Science