ISRO to test indigenous cryogenic stage onboard GSLV-D5

TIRUNELVELI: India will undertake the flight test of its indigenous cryogenic stage onboard homegrown rocket GSLV-D5 which will launch GSAT-14 by the middle of 2012, a top ISRO official has said.

A facility for static testing of the cryogenic engine would be ready in another two months at ISRO's Liquid Propulsions Systems centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in this district, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Radhakrishnan said.

The new thrust chamber facility for static testing would be a big boon for the LPSC, Radhakrishnan told reporters at the LPSC yesterday after inagurating a two-day National Conference on "Expanding Frontiers in Propulsion Technology.

The maiden flight test of the indigenous cryogenic stage by ISRO onboard Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-D3 ended in a failure in May, 2010 after the stage developed some snag and the rocket plunged into sea minutes after liftoff.

Radhakrishnan said India's advanced communication satellite GSAT-8, launched from Kourou in French Guiana on May 21, would become operational by this month end.

He also said ISRO would launch another communication satellite GSAT-12, equipped with 12 c-band transponders, onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSVL-C17 on July 2.

PSLV- C18 would be launched in September from Sriharikota carrying Mega Tropiques satellite, an Indo-French joint venture.

On December 11, microwave remote sensing satellite Risat 1 would be launched. It would be able to take clear pictures of sky even if they were covered by clouds.