As the LVM3 launch vehicle lifted off from Sriharikota on Sunday morning with 36 OneWeb India-2 satellites on board, the twin S-200 boosters of the rocket were in special focus.
For the mission, which was declared a success, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used S-200 boosters with a human-rated design [capable of safely transporting humans on space mission] developed with the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission in mind.
The two giant boosters, designed and developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram — ISRO’s lead unit for launch vehicles — sported added safety features and system redundancy.
The full certification of the human-rated S-200 for Gaganyaan, which is an elaborate process, is nearing completion, an ISRO official said.
‘Strapped’ onto either side of the main body of the LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk-III), the S-200s help India’s heftiest rocket lift off from the launchpad and get separated from it once it attains a specific altitude.
Uses solid propellant
In size, these boosters are huge; each one stands 26.22 m in height and has a diameter of 3.2 m. It uses solid propellant (Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)) unlike the core and upper stages which use liquid and cryo propellants respectively.
According to data released by the ISRO, the two boosters peeled off from the LVM3 at 136.5 seconds after lift-off at an altitude of about 70 km.
Three-stage configuration
The ISRO had developed the 43.5 m-tall GSLV Mk-III with a three-stage configuration — the two solid S-200 strap-on boosters, L110 core stage and the C25 cryo upper stage — for launching four-tonne class satellites. Sunday’s mission took off with a payload of 5,805 kg.
While the main action was at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Sunday, the Virtual Launch Control Centre (VLCC) was operational at VSSC, providing support to the mission control centre at Sriharikota.
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