Science News Desk – The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is all set to launch the second version of its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This launching is to happen at 9:18 am today. ISRO said that its new rocket SSLV-D2, during its 15-minute flight, could place three satellites – ISRO’s EOS-07, US-based Antaris’ Janus-1 and Chennai-based space startup SpaceKidz’s Azadisat-2 into an orbit of 450 km. Will establish. , Will try to install in class.
According to ISRO, SSLV caters to the launch of satellites up to 500 kg into low Earth orbits on a ‘launch-on-demand’ basis. The SSLV-D2 rocket provides access to space at very low cost, short turn-around time and by being able to launch multiple satellites into orbit simultaneously. Its rocket demands minimum launch infrastructure. SSLV is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter launch vehicle with a lift-off mass of 120 tonnes. The rocket is configured with 3 solid propulsion stages and 1 velocity terminal module.
The first test flight of SSLV had partially failed on August 9 last year when the upper stage of the launch vehicle due to velocity reduction pushed the satellite into a highly elliptical unstable orbit. According to ISRO, investigation into the failure of this test also revealed that the equipment bay deck vibrated for a short period during the separation of the second stage of the rocket. The vibrations affected the Inertial Navigation System (INS) of the rocket. The sensor of the Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) software was also affected.
SSLV will now be launched from the launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. After some time, a Small Satellite Launch Complex (SSLC) will be built at SDSC, Sriharikota to launch this rocket. A new space port is also being built at Kulasekharapatnam in Tamil Nadu. When it is ready, SSLV will be launched from there. According to ISRO, the cost of launching one unit of SSLV will be Rs 30 crore, while the cost of launching one unit of PSLV is Rs 130 to 200 crore. That is, as much as 1 PSLV rocket used to go, 4 SSLVs will be launched at the same cost. However, only light weight satellites can be sent in space.