The GSLV-Mk III rocket, the heaviest ISRO rocket till date, has taken off with the 3,136-kg GSAT-19 communication satellite on board.
The GSLV-Mk III launched from the Sriharikota spaceport at 5:28pm on Monday June 05,2017 on its maiden flight, and will sling the GSAT-19 at an altitude of 179km, just over 16 minutes into its flight.
The three stage/ engine rocket is 43.43 metre tall and weighs 640 tonnes; the core of first stage is fired with solid fuel and its two motors by liquid fuel. The second is liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine.
"It is a historic day ... both the GSLV Mk-III and the GSAT-19 launch have been successful.. we are looking forward to its (GSAT-19) operations," Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said.
The GSAT-19 is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka and Ku band forward and return link transponders and geostationary radiation spectrometer (GRASP) to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.
The satellite, which has a life span of 10 years, also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including miniaturised heat pipe, a fibre optic gyro, micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer, Ku-band TTC transponder, as well an indigenous lithium-ion battery
GSLV-Mk III at around 43 metres is slightly shorter than Mk-II version that is around 49 metres tall. ISRO officials told IANS that due to the increase in the diameters of various stages, the height got reduced despite a drastic increase in the weight - from around 415 ton of GSLV-Mk II to 640 ton in GSLV-Mk III.
India presently has two rockets - the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and GSLV-Mk II - with a lift-off mass of 415 tonnes and a carrying capacity of 2.5 tonnes. India puts foreign satellites into orbit for a fee using its lighter rocket PSLV.
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