Chennai, April 14: Scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation appear to have chosen an astrologically auspicious time for the launch of the country’s first indigenous GeoSynchro-nous Satellite Launch Vehicle on Thursday.
Rahu, Gulika and Yama Kandaka, the three inauspicious phases of the day, will be over by 3 pm and the GSLV will blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the country’s spaceport, at 4.27 pm.
Scientists of the Liquid Propulsion System Centre, who developed the cryogenic engine, are confident about the success of the mission but apparently they don’t want to take chances with other cosmic forces either. Hence the astrological precautions.
“The ground test of the cryogenic state was successful and there is no reason to have any doubt about the success of the flight,’ said Mr Asir Packiaraj of LPSC.
“The countdown for the launch began at 11.27 am on Wednesday, a full 29 hours prior to liftoff,” Isro’s official spokesperson S. Satish told this newspaper.
The GSLV-3D will carry with it the GSAT-4, a communication satellite weighing 2,220 kg. “It will put the satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, which is 35, 975 km away from the earth,” said Mr Satish. “The satellite will be ejected into the orbit exactly 1,022 seconds after the launch.”
Space scientists all over the world will be closely monitoring the launch of the GSLV-D3 (third development flight), being launched for the first time with the Indian-built cryogenic engine.
“This cryogenic engine that uses hydrogen and oxygen as fuel was fully developed by Indian scientists,” said Mr Satish. “It took India almost two decades to develop this technology because of the embargo imposed by countries such as the United States in the name of the Missile Technology Control Regime.”
All previous Isro GSLV missions were launched with cryogenic engines bought from the former Soviet Union.
Kumar Chellappan