PSLV, The Backbone of India's Space Aspirations

PSLV rocket (src:ISRO)
After being long in the shackles of British Empire, when India restored freedom it had no idea as to how their dreams for having satellites of their own would be fulfilled. Earlier India took the help of the Russian Space Agency(Roscosmos) for starting its space related missions. India's first satellite Aryabhata was actually launched by Russia's Soyuz. But as the days passed by India felt the need of an indigenously developed launch vehicle. This requirement was completed by the introduction of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) in 1993.


Journey of PSLV-

The PSLV was introduced in 1993 and had its first launch in September,1993. The first launch was successful in its initial stages but failed in the later ones. The first and the second stage performed as expected but the third stage encountered a problem of attitude control. This prevented the establishment of the satellite in the orbit and the mission failed. An year later, after the serious efforts made by the scientists for the rectification of the errors, the PSLV made a second launch and successfully deployed the payload in its desired orbit. The fourth launch of the vehicle in 1997 again was a set back for ISRO. PSLV made a successful launch but placed the satellite in an orbit lower to the desired one thus compromising the mission. 
Since then PSLV has not faced a single failure and has become the choice of major countries for their space missions.

What makes PSLV so special-

The PSLV uses four stage solid and liquid propulsion systems. These systems are arranged alternately. The first stage uses one of the largest solid rocket boosters in the world carrying 138 tonnes of  hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene-bound and producing a maximum thrust of about 4,800 kilonewtons. The motor case is made of maraging steel. The Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control System (SITVC) controls the pitch and yaw motion of the rocket during flight. The SITVC injects an aqueous solution of strontium perchlorate in the tubes to produce asymmetric thrust. 

The second stage uses the made in India, Vikas engine carrying a liquid propellant of  unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine(UDMH) as fuel and nitrogen tetraoxide as oxidizer.The second stage produces a thrust of 800 kN. The engine is pivoted to support yaw and pitch motion of the rocket while the roll motion is controled by the two hot gas reaction control motors.

The third stage consists of 7 tonnes of solid propellant comprised of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene and has a thrust of 240 kN. The body consists of Kevlar polyamide fibre case and a submerged nozzle. The nozzle is pivoted to provide yaw and pitch control. The roll control is provided by Reaction Control System(RCS).

The fourth stage comprises of twin engines. These engines work on monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON). Each engine generates 7.4 kN thrust and is pivoted to provide pitch, yaw & roll control during powered flight. 

These qualities boost the performance of the vehicle and also become cost effective providing it an upper edge wrt other competitors in the market.

Representative image

Different types of PSLV-

The PSLV has undergone many upgradations with time and now has different variants available according to the requirement.

The PSLV is primarily of three types: PSLV-G, PSLV-CA and PSLV-XL as shown in the image. These rockets have different capabilities of placing their payloads in the orbits.
Different Types of PSLV Rockets

PSLV-G-

This is the standard model of the PSLV it has 6 strap-on boosters attached to its side which add to the thrust of the vehicle. It has four stages of alternate solid and liquid propulsion system. These add ons help in launching a payload of 1678 kg to 622 km in the sun synchronous orbit.

PSLV-CA-

The CA in PSLV-CA stands for 'Core Alone' and as the name suggests, it does not have the 6 side boosters which help in providing extra thrust. The fourth stage in this has 400 kg of less propellant than the previous version. The PSLV-CA can carry a payload of 1100 kg to 622 km to Sun synchronous orbit.

PSLV-XL-

This is the advanced version of the standard model. It has more powerful strap-on boosters. The strap-on boosters are longer and store more fuel in them. This provides much more thrust and for a longer time thus increasing the payload capacity to 1800 kg for Sun synchronous orbit.

Success Stories of PSLV-

The PSLV has played the most important role in the success and present state of ISRO. PSLV has given ISRO a breakthrough in the space industry. It is not only technologically advanced but also cost effective. PSLV has proved its might in the space industry by successfully deploying some space missions. Such as:-
  • Chandrayaan-I- India's first space probe Chandrayaan-I was successfully carried by PSLV and helped India become fourth nation to raise its national flag on moon. It also carried a 800 kg satellite along with it.

src:ISRO
  • Cartosats-2A-The sixth Cartosat-2 series was launched from Sriharikota using PSLV-C38. It was the 40th flight of PSLV and 17th flight in its 'XL' configuration.
  • Mars Orbiter Mission- PSLV was the only one because of which India's first interplanetary space probe reached its location successfully making India the first nation to complete its Mars mission in one go, and that too at very affordable rates.

  • Launch of 104 satellites- PSLV had made a world record recently by launching successfully 104 satellites in their respective orbits. This was 3 times the previous world record.
  • RESOURCESAT- PSLV-C36 launched the 1,235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A satellite into the orbit.
  • 2 Different satellites by Same rocket- PSLV-C35 carried the SCATSAT-1 weather satellite as its primary payload which weighed 371 kg. It was placed in the 720 km sun synchronous orbit.

These are the various achievements of PSLV which have set a bench mark in the world and prove its performance capability.


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