New thrust chamber in 2 months

TIRUNELVELI: A new thrust chamber facility for static testing of the cryogenic engine would be ready in two months at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli, ISRO chairman K Radhakri shnan, said, while addressing reporters on Friday on the sidelines of the inauguration of the two-day national conference on ‘Expanding Frontiers in Propulsion Technology’ at the centre.Radhakrishanan said, by mid-2012, the next development fly test of the cryogenic stage would be conducted on the GSLV Mark III with the launch of GSAT-14. The GSAT-8 communication satellite launched last May would start using the transponders by this month.On July 2, PSLV-C17 would be launched with a communication satellite, GSAT-12, from Sriharikota, with 12 extended C-band transponders. The PSLV-C17 would be in an elliptical orbit at a perigee of 285-kms and at an apogee of 21,000 kms. The spacecraft propulsion system would be a 36,000-km circular orbit.Radhakrishanan added that mega tropiques satellite PSLV-C18, an Indo-French joint venture, would be launched in September from Sriharikota. On December 11, microwave remote satellite Risat-1 would take off. The satellite is capable of taking clear pictures even among clouds. In about two months, a new thrust chamber would be ready at Mahendragiri, where the static tests of the cryogenic engine-required for GSLV Mark II-would be conducted.S Ramakrishnan, director, LPSC, said the propulsion system was a core system of the launch vehicle. The two-day national conference will discuss the advancement in propulsion technology.