NEWS
As a New Year gift to the nation, on January 5, 2014, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-D5 with an indigenous cryogenic engine from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre entering a select club of nations. GSLV-D5 with the indigenous cryogenic engine lifted off successfully at 4.18 p.m. The countdown for the launch began on January 4, . “I am extremely happy and proud to say that team ISRO has done it. The Indian cryogenic engine performed as predicted and injected precisely the GSAT-14 communication satellite into intended orbit,” said a jubilant K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO, soon after the launch vehicle placed the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 satellite into the intended orbit.

VIEWS
The GSLV is a three-stage rocket with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages respectively. The rocket is 49 metres tall and has a lift-off mass of 415 tonnes. It is an expendable launch system, development of which was initiated in the 1990s by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The aim of the exercise was to eliminate dependence on foreign agencies for the launch of indigenously developed heavy satellites (up to 5,000 kg) into orbit. Compared with the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which ISRO has undoubtedly mastered, the GSLV can carry heavier payloads including humans into space. ISRO has plans to send a manned mission to the moon in five years from now. The GSLV employs a large number of components that have already been proven on the PSLV. However, since the first successful launch of the GSLV in 2001, ISRO has till date, attempted seven more launches, of which only four have been successful. The failures were attributed primarily to the cryogenic engine that constitutes the third stage of the rocket.

Development of cryogenic engines has been a major challenge for scientists the world over as it involves innovative technology that enables carriage of hydrogen as fuel and oxygen as oxidizer both in liquid state that requires extremely low temperatures. In 1991, ISRO had entered into an agreement with a Russian company Glavcosmos for the transfer of this sensitive technology. Unfortunately, ISRO was left high and dry as Russia backed out of the deal in the wake of sanctions on her imposed by the US in May 1992. ISRO then embarked in April 1994 on Cryogenic Upper Stage Project to develop on its own a cryogenic engine for the GSLV. A few cryogenic engines were however purchased commercially from Russia.

Compared with the PSLV that has an impressive record of 25 successes in a row, the performance of the GSLV especially with the indigenous cryogenic engine was somewhat uninspiring. The first launch in April 2010 of the GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic engine was unsuccessful. This was followed by another failed launch on Christmas day of 2010. For this mission, ISRO had employed a Russian cryogenic engine. However, owing to some unexpected development, the space vehicle veered out of control during the initial stages of the flight and was deliberately destroyed by the range safety officer to obviate the possibility of damage on the ground.

Success for ISRO with the GSLV finally came at the dawn of the New Year with the launch of GSLV-D5 carrying the GSAT-14 communication satellite. This was ISRO’s eighth flight of GSLV and also its fourth developmental flight. During this flight, the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage was flight tested for the second time. GSAT-14, India’s 23rd geostationary communication satellite, would be the tenth geostationary satellite currently in orbit. The 12 communication transponders onboard GSAT-14 will further augment the capacity in the INSAT/GSAT system. With the success of this launch, ISRO joined Russia, Japan, China and France that have developed a reliable cryogenic engine through indigenous effort.

Compared with other departments and ventures of the Government of India, ISRO unquestionably has displayed a far better record of performance, the disconcerting failures of the GSLV in the recent past notwithstanding. ISRO is forging ahead in its ambitious space programme as in the Twelfth Five Year Plan i.e. up to March 2017, the space agency is gearing up to launch more than 50 satellites. Hopefully, the Indian mission to Mars launched early November last year and due to enter the orbit of the Red Planet in September this year, would be successful. If this does happen, India would become the first nation in Asia to have successfully completed such a mission. This will be a genuine feather in ISRO’s cap especially in view of the fact that even a technologically advanced nation like Japan failed in its mission to orbit the Red Planet in 1998. But the real competition for India is from China which is rapidly catching up with Japan in the commercial satellite launch business. While India hopes to compete with Japan in this area very soon, China is galloping far ahead in space exploration already having successfully launched a series of manned space flights and having achieved a soft landing on the moon. Today, China is unquestionably one of the world leaders in space exploration and matching its performance will be a daunting task for ISRO. The recent successes have certainly restored the confidence of the nation in the capability of the national space agency to confront the challenge.