Hyderabad: Inching closer to achieving its ambition of manned space flights, Isro successfully conducted the experimental launch of an unmanned crew module onboard India’s latest generation launch vehicle GSLV MK-III from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Shar, Sriharikota, on Thursday.
One of the heaviest launch vehicles developed by Isro, GSLV Mk-III, weighing about 630 tonnes, took off majestically as scheduled at 9.30 am from Shar.
Incidentally, it was also an experimental launch for GSLV MK-III, which is designed to carry 4-tonne class satellites.
Through this experimental flight, Isro intends to study the atmospheric reentry characteristics of the crew module, which weighs over 3 tonne, is 2.7-metre tall and has a diameter of 3.1 metres, as well as the performance of the rocket during its suborbital flight.
The experiment is crucial, since the success of the rocket will put an end to Isro’s dependence on space agencies abroad for launching heavy communication satellites.
“We also had another experimental module in this mission, unmanned crew module just to understand the reentry characteristics, that also worked extremely well and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal as expected,” Isro chairman Dr Radhakrishnan said after the launch.
