India on Sunday successfully launched and placed its heaviest communications satellite, CMS-03, into its intended orbit. The 4,410 kg communication satellite was flown on the LVM3-M5 rocket, named ‘Bahubali’, which had launched from Sriharikota earlier in the day.
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said that the launch vehicle successfully injected the communication satellite into the required orbit.
“The 4410 kg satellite is precisely injected,” he said. In his post-launch speech from Mission Control, he described the LVM 3 satellite as “Bahubali”, in an apparent reference to its heavy-lift capability.
What is the CMS-03 satellite?
CMS-03 is a multi-band communication satellite and according to ISRO, it would provide services in a wide oceanic region including the Indian mainland.
The satellite was placed on the required geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
It is also a replacement for the GSAT 7 series which was launched in 2013.
Before Sunday’s launch, the Indian space agency used the services of the Kourou launch base in French Guiana with Ariane rockets offered by France’s Arianespace to launch heavier satellites.
December 2018, ISRO launched its heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 weighing 5,854 kg aboard an Ariane-5 VA-246 rocket from French Guiana.
The LVM3-M5, a three-stage launch vehicle with two solid engine belts (S200), a liquid propellant base stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25), provides ISRO with full self-sufficiency in launching heavier communication satellites weighing up to 4,000 kg in GTO.
LVM3 is also called as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) MkIII by ISRO scientists.
ISRO scientists have classified launch vehicles depending on mission objectives, targeted orbit and altitude, among others.
Launch vehicles or launchers used by ISRO include Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), GSLV and LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-III). The space agency has been providing customer satellite launch services since 1999 from Sriharikota.
PSLV is ISRO’s trusted hauler for scientists due to its reliability in achieving mission success. PSLV is a versatile launch vehicle and can carry a payload of about 1,750 kg.
For satellites weighing up to 500 kg, which have to be placed in low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 500 km, ISRO uses its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
The GSLV with a cryogenic upper stage is used to launch heavier satellites weighing about 2,200 kg, while the LVM-3 rockets have increased the payload capacity to over 4,000 kg, ISRO said.
As for Sunday’s mission, the LVM3 rocket, which successfully launched a heavier communications satellite from Indian soil, is significant. LVM3-M5 is the fifth operational flight, ISRO said.
The LVM3 vehicle was developed with completely original technology including C25 cryogenic grade. It has a record of all successful launches since the first development flight of the LVM-3 Crew Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) module launched in December 2014, ISRO said.
For the ambitious Gaganyaan mission, ISRO has planned a Human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle, which is named as HRLV, ISRO said.
This LVM3 rocket is capable of carrying a GTO payload of 4,000 kg and a low-Earth orbit payload of 8,000 kg with a powerful cryogenic stage. Two S200 rocket boosters located on the sides of the rocket provide the thrust needed for liftoff. The S200 boosters are being developed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
The third stage is the L110 Liquid Stage and is powered by two Vikas engines designed and developed at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center.
The LVM-3 rocket’s previous mission was the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, when India became the first country to successfully land near the moon’s south pole in 2023. The satellite weighed 3841.4 kg.
(This is a developing story. Keep checking back for more updates)
