Nagpur: SDAL develops propulsion system for VIKRAM-1 satellite launch vehicle

This rocket motor has a propellant mass of 2400 kg and a maximum thrust of 75000 N.

The Rocket motor has undergone all the required Non-Destructive Testing at the SDAL facility to ascertain its quality before the static test.

The Rocket Motor has been successfully tested at the Static test bed at SDAL, Nagpur. During the test, the nozzle of this Rocket Motor was vectored to establish thrust vectoring performance. The Rocket motor was fully instrumented, and live test data was displayed and recorded at the Data Acquisition Centre.

It may be noted that SDAL has established this unique test facility for carrying out the static tests of small to large rocket motors within its premises for satellite launch vehicles, rockets, and missiles that have higher propellant weight and thrust. This facility is equipped with a Data acquisition system for recording various types of live test data for performance analysis.

Earlier on April 3, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh said that a Third Launch Pad (TLP) will be established at Satish Dhawan Space Centre of ISRO in Sriharikota.

As per a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Jitendra Singh said that the project has been approved by the Union Cabinet, and financial sanction has been obtained for a total budget outlay of Rs 3984.86 Crore.

He also said that the establishment of the pad is envisaged to be completed within a four-year timeframe.

"ISRO's Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which is under development is about 90 m tall with a maximum lift-off mass of approximately 1000 tonne. Existing launch pads at Sriharikota cannot launch this class of vehicles. The propellant servicing facilities and the Umbilical Tower of the existing launch pads are not designed to meet the requirements of the new propulsion system based on Liquid Methane," Singh said in his reply."

"In view of very large height & size, the next generation of launch vehicles are planned with horizontal integration and transport, which are then tilted onto the launch pad along with a Tiltable Umbilical Tower (TUT). Also, TLP incorporates necessary features in terms of foundation support & servicing requirements for future augmentation towards supporting the launches of India's Crewed Lunar mission," the Union MoS added.

Jitendra Singh, further emphasized that the first stage of NGLV is configured with a cluster of nine engines.

"The hot testing of this stage is planned at the Launch Pad, thereby eliminating the need for establishing a huge separate facility for stage testing," Singh said in his reply in Rajya Sabha.

In another reply in the Upper House, Union MoS Jitendra Singh asserted that the Space Applications Centre (SAC), a premier research and development hub of ISRO, has been at the forefront of pioneering space technology innovations since its inception in 1966.