Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle

Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
Function Small launch vehicle
Manufacturer ISRO
Country of origin India
Size
Height 24 m (79 ft)
Diameter 1 m (3.3 ft)
Mass 41,000 kg (90,000 lb)
Capacity
Payload to 400km LEO 150 kg (330 lb)
Associated rockets
Family SLV, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV
Launch history
Status Retired
Launch sites Sriharikota
Total launches 4
Successes 1
Failures 2
Partial failures 1
First flight 24 March 1987
Last flight 4 May 1994
Notable payloads SROSS
First stage
Engines 2 solid
Thrust 502.6 kN (113,000 lbf) each
Specific impulse 253 sec
Burn time 49 seconds
Fuel Solid
Second stage
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 702.6 kN (158,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 259 sec
Burn time 45 seconds
Fuel Solid
Third stage
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 304 kN (68,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 276 sec
Burn time 36 seconds
Fuel Solid
Fourth stage
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 90.7 kN (20,400 lbf)
Specific impulse 277 sec
Burn time 45 seconds
Fuel Solid
Fifth stage
Engines 1 solid
Thrust 35 kN (7,900 lbf)
Specific impulse 281 sec
Burn time 33 seconds
Fuel Solid

The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle or Advanced Satellite Launch Vehicle, also known as ASLV, was a five-stage solid-fuel rocket developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to place 150 kg satellites into LEO.[1] This project was started by India during the early 1980s to develop technologies needed for a payload to be placed into a geostationary orbit.[2][3] Its design was based on Satellite Launch Vehicle.[4] ISRO did not have sufficient funds for both the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle programme and the ASLV programme at the same time and the ASLV programme was terminated after the initial developmental flights.[2] The payloads of ASLV were Stretched Rohini Satellites.[4]

Vehicle

The ASLV was a five-stage vehicle. Two strap-on boosters acted as a first stage, with the core stage igniting after booster burn out. The payload capacity of the ASLV was approximately 150 kg to an orbit of 400 km with a 47-degree inclination.[4]

At liftoff, the ASLV generated 92,780 kgf of thrust. It was a 41,000 kilogram rocket, measuring 23.5 metres in length with a core diameter of one metre.[4]. The height to diameter ratio of ASLV was very large which resulted in the vehicle being unstable in flight. This was compounded by the fact that many of the critical events during a launch like the core ignition and the booster separation happened at the Tropopause where the dynamic loads on the launcher was at the maximum. [5]

History

The ASLV made four launches, of which one was successful, two failed to achieve orbit, and a third achieved a lower than planned orbit which decayed quickly. The type made its maiden flight on 24 March 1987, and its final flight on 4 May 1994.

Launch statistics

0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1987
1990
1994
  •   Failure
  •   Partial failure
  •   Success

Launch history

All four ASLV launches occurred from the ASLV Launch Pad at the Sriharikota Range. For vertically integrated ASLV, many SLV-3 ground facilities were reused but a new launch pad with retractable Mobile Service Structure was constructed within the same launch complex.[6]

Flight № Date / time (UTC) Rocket,
Configuration		 Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit User Launch
outcome
D1 24 March 1987[7] Satish Dhawan Space Centre ASLV SROSS-A 150 kg (330 lb) Failure
First stage failed to ignite after launch
D2 13 July 1988[7] Satish Dhawan Space Centre ASLV SROSS-B 150 kg (330 lb) Failure
Control problems caused launcher to disintegrate
D3 20 May 1992[7] Satish Dhawan Space Centre ASLV SROSS-C 106 kg (234 lb) Partial failure[8]
Orbit lower than expected and incorrect spin-stabilization. Decayed quickly.
D4 4 May 1994[7] Satish Dhawan Space Centre ASLV SROSS-C2 113 kg (249 lb) Success[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ASLV". Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-29. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  3. ↑ Menon, Amarnath (15 April 1987). "Setback in the sky". India Today. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/aslv.htm
  5. ↑ Mukunth, Vasudevan. "U.R. Rao, Former Chairman Who Helped ISRO Settle Down". thewire.in. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  6. ↑ Indian Space Research Organization (2015). "4.1 The Spaceport of ISRO - K. Narayana". From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India's Space Journey. India: Harper Collins. pp. 328, 329. ISBN 9789351776901. While most of the facilities realised for SLV-3 was utilised for ASLV, a new launch pad was built in the same complex.This was because, unlike SLV-3, the ASLV had strap-ons and was vertically integrated.
  7. 1 2 3 4 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/missions/sross3.html

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.