Cosmic Penguin
Geek Penguin in GTO
Another huge stress test is coming up for the Indian spaceflight community as their current flagship rocket stands for another launch that could clear itself from the "Most unreliable rocket in service" name - or dumps itself into even deeper nightmare.
The 9th GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket is now on the launch pad waiting for launch at 11:22 UTC today. Designed by the Indians as their first rocket able to put communication satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit, it has proved to be a nightmare to control the rocket and since its first flight in 2001 only 3 out of 8 flights has been successful (with a 4th into a usable orbit and a 5th into a useless orbit). Despite finally scoring a full success very early last year (first one in almost 10 years!), its success rate is still worse than that of Falcon 1. :facepalm:
The ongoing problems with GSLV probably have many origins: there's the problem of its very strange design, with a first stage consists of a solid main stage and 4 hypergolic fuel powered liquid boosters strapped together that separates as one piece, with the solid stage burning out 50 seconds before the strap-ons does! One GSLV flight broke up shortly after launch due to a booster failure, with another breaking up at Max-Q, probably because the Indian engineers didn't fully test out the vibration characteristics of the rocket with a larger-than-usual fairing during first stage flight. :shifty:
The cryogenic upper stage is yet another problematic spot - today it is flying for the 3rd time with an Indian self-built engine (which makes this GSLV a Mark II one). It is very similar to the Russian RD-58 engine, designed to power the upper stages of several planned variants of the N-1 rocket, but ending up never flown with the Soviets. Some were later sold to India to power the first few GSLV rockets (the Mark I configuration). This 70 kN thrust engine is powered using the advanced stage combustion cycle, which means the engine has very high efficiency, at a cost of very high internal pressure and thus little margin for weak materials and parts. At least 1, and possibly up to 3, launch problems originated from here. :uhh:
Well at least the hypergolic second stage similar to the one on the dependable PSLV is relatively less complex - oh wait on its last flight it actually leaked fuel and disaster was averted only 2 hours before launch, and the original stage had to be scrapped, delaying the flight by 4+ months!
This rocket has been a joke among may that it underwent "Brownian motion" every a while - given its complex design and that all country that has developed a liquid hydrogen / liquid oxygen powered rocket engine still face teething troubles well after putting them into actually use, one could only expect such harsh comments.
If this flight goes well, it would finally put it back as reliable as Russian Roulette. If not, well...... :facepalm:
And the passenger on top provides another reason to hold one's breath: GSAT-6 is an experimental communication satellite that ISRO builds to test out technologies for constructing large mesh beam antennas that are useful for mobile communications. The 6 meter diameter antenna is ISRO's first and the Indian engineers must be anxious to get it to operation test.
Good luck!
Launch location:
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad 13°43′11.64″ N, 80°13′49.44″ E
Launch dates and times:
Time Zone|Australia - Sydney/AEST UTC+10|Delhi / UTC+5.5
|
Moscow / MSK/ UTC+3
|
CEDT UTC+2
|
Universal / UTC
|
Washington / EDT
Launch time:|21:22:00|16:52:00|14:22:00|13:22:00|11:22:00|07:22:00
on:|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015
on:|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015|Aug. 27, 2015
{colsp=7}[highlight]
[eventTimer]2015-08-27 11:22:00?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] GSAT-6 Launch[/highlight]
Live Coverage
- http://webcast.gov.in/live - begins about 30 minutes before the launch
(also note better links may come later before launch)
Payload, Launch Vehicle and Launch Timeline
Weather Forecast for Chennai, India on August 27, 2015 (5 p.m.)
Thunderstorms likely. High 33C. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 100%.
5 PM|32°C|24°C|61%|50%|0%|90%|1004 hPa|8 km/h WSW|
References
http://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/gslv-d6
http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/pdf/gslv-brochures/GSLV-D6%20GSAT-6%20Mission.pdf
http://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/gsat-6
Appendix: Full record of GSLV's history
1. April 18, 2001 - GSLV flight D1 with GSAT-1 - originally reported as full launch success, later orbit apogee determined to be 4000 km short, satellite used up all fuel while circularizing its orbit and cannot be used in its planned mission
2. May 8, 2003 - GSLV flight D2 with GSAT-2 - full launch success
3. September 20, 2004 - GSLV flight F01 with GSAT-3 - full launch success
4. July 10, 2006 - GSLV flight F02 with INSAT-4C - one strap-on booster engine failed right at liftoff, rocket veered off course at T+53 seconds and broke up by T+100 seconds
5. September 2, 2007 - GSLV flight F04 with INSAT-4CR - originally reported as launch success, orbit apogee later found to be 4000 km lower than planned with the satellite able to make up the shortfall with some loss of usable life
6. April 15, 2010 - GSLV flight D3 with GSAT-4 - first flight with Indian built hydrogen upper stage engine, which failed just after ignition at T+5 minutes due to fuel booster pump malfunction
7. December 25, 2010 - GSLV flight F06 with GSAT-5P - rocket broke up at T+47 seconds after electrical connectors broke at Max-Q, probably due to the use of larger fairings and higher upper stage propellant load than previous launches (video)
8. January 5, 2014 - GSLV flight D5 with GSAT-14 - full launch success
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