Yesterday, @isro successfully carried out the flight acceptance hot test of a CE-20 engine for a duration of 25 seconds at its high altitude test facility in Mahendragiri. 1/n
This engine is earmarked for the next GSLV-Mk3 mission — the LVM3-M3 — identified for the launch of the next set of 36 OneWeb India-1 satellites. 2/n
"The cryogenic upper stage of the LVM3 vehicle (C25 stage) is powered by a CE-20 engine working with the LOX-LH2 propellants combination. This engine develops a nominal thrust of 186.36 kN in vacuum," Isro said. 3/n
The major objectives of the flight acceptance test were to confirm the integrity of hardware, assessment of subsystems' performance and tune the engine for meeting mission requirements parameters for flight operation. 4/n
"Analysis of test data confirmed the satisfactory performance of the engine systems. This engine will be assembled to the C25 flight stage being integrated for the LVM3 M3 vehicle," @isro added. 5/n
As reported earlier, the next OneWeb launch by Isro is through a commercial contract Space PSU @NSIL_India has with Bharti-backed @OneWeb. 6/n
Earlier this week (October 23) Isro launched 36 OneWeb satellites onboard the GSLV-Mk3 — LVM3-M2 mission — as part of NSIL's contract. It was #GSLVMk3's first commercial mission and India's first attempt to launch a commercial satellite in a non-PSLV mission. n/n
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As #GSLVMk3 or #LVM3 prepares for its second commercial launch, @isro efforts on enhancing its weight-lifting capacity is gaining pace. I hear that the qualification tests for semi-cryo (SC120) are expected to be completed in a couple of months. 1/n
#GSLVMk3 is India’s heaviest rocket yet. Here’s some perspective: Between May 26, 1999 and Oct 22, 2022, @isro launched 345 foreign satellites, all on #PSLV, which together weigh 9,326.4kg. On Oct 23, 2022, in its first commercial mission, #LVM3 launched 5,796kg. 2/n
Of course, these missions are incomparable given that most of the foreign satellites launched by PSLV were ride-sharing payloads and include tens of small, micro and nano satellites… 3/n
Space PSU @NSIL_India, which as part of a commercial contract will launch 36 satellites for @OneWeb onboard #GSLVMk3 at 12.07am Sunday, is not only hopeful of a successful mission, but also confident of future prospects. 1/n
The #GSLVMk3, India’s heaviest launch vehicle, has so far had four missions, including the launch of Chandrayaan-2 after which it was officially declared operational. 2/n
Already sitting on the launchpad, a success will not only add to the GSLV-Mk3’s scorecard but also give @isro & @NSIL_India a second launch vehicle to offer to commercial customers. 3/n
@isro, which has completed over 200 missions, developed multiple cutting-edge tech, including spin-offs directly benefiting healthcare and other sectors, is scouting for a consultancy firm to conduct a socio-economic impact audit of the space prog. 1/n
That Isro spent most of the first 50 years developing systems & tech meant for societal use in line with Sarabhai’s vision to empower the last citizen using space tech notwithstanding, questions about the need for a Space programme in India has been a recurring rhetoric. 2/n
While several Isro centre’s have, in different forms, been assessing their performances over the years, a full-fledged formal audit of this scale has not been conducted for several years. 3/n
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission — #MOM — which was designed to last for 6 months when launched on Nov 5, 2013, has lost communication with the ground station, bringing an end to its life after 8 long years. 1/n
Pics: 1st image & Mars dust (isro)
@isro is working out the details of whether the spacecraft ran out of fuel and battery power, or whether communication was lost because of an automated manoeuvre while moving out of a long eclipse changing the direction of the antenna. 2/n
However, multiple sources confirmed that it would not be possible to recover the spacecraft. Isro’s UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) director on September 27 communicated the same and Isro will officially announce it soon, a scientist said. 3/n
Here We Go: @isro, which couldn’t put put satellites into their desired orbit in its maiden launch attempt of #SSLV yesterday, is studying the various salvage options the rocket can employ to achieve a different result. 1/n
While an expert committee has begun its investigation into Sunday’s mission and would eventually make a set of recommendations, preliminary findings show that the velocity trimming module (VTM) — the terminal stage of the rocket — could not ignite. 2/n
After a smooth lift-off, 1st three stages performed nominally. Mission entered terminal stage where VTM was to ignite & place sats into desired orbit. For this, onboard comps needed info from accelerometers (sensors), based on which VTM's workload would be decided. 3/n
In another finding, data from #Chandrayaan2 has shown that plasma density in Moon’s ionosphere in the wake region is at least one order of magnitude more than that present in the day side. 1/n
#Chandrayaan2 carried several payloads, among which, the Dual Frequency Radio Science (#DFRS) was designed to study the lunar ionosphere. It was conceptualised and jointly developed by SPL of VSSC; URSC and Istrac. 2/n
Pointing out that the Moon’s ionosphere, which derives its origin from the atmosphere believed to be very tenuous, @isro said, the plasma density was considered to be only a few hundred ions per cubic centimetre. 3/n