Future satellites to get electric push
ISRO is gearing up to incorporate electrical propulsion in its spacecraft as an alternative to the use of chemical propellants. The idea is to bring down their weight while increasing the capabilities, Isro Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar told journalists after Monday’s successful launch.
According to Mr. Kumar, Isro would launch one more developmental flight of GSLV Mk III before it graduates to operational mode.
“Our plan is to use GSLV Mk III (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch VehicleMark III) for our future satellite launches. We have started having electric propulsion for our satellites, which will reduce their weight,” he said.
He said the next communication satellite GSAT-18, weighing around 3.2 tons would be launched using a GSLV variant while the GSAT11, weighing around 5.8 tons, will still have to be launched on the European Space Agency’s Arianne rocket. Electric propulsion could help reduce the weight of such satellites and enable Isro to launch them on its own rockets. He said Chandrayaan-II and Aditya missions are in the pipeline. Chandrayaan-II, a lander and rover mission to the moon, is scheduled for next year.
Former project director of GSLV and present director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, S. Somanath said, the brand new rocket was conceived, designed and realised by ISRO engineers. He added that the GSLV Mk III rocket does not have any foreign or borrowed technology.
SHAR director P. Kunhikrishnan said a new vehicle assembly building is being built here to assemble the current GSLV Mk II, III rockets and other variants.