LVM-3

July 10, 2023

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has three classes of launch vehicles:
1. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV),
2. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), and
3. new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
Of these, ISRO has launched the PSLV the most. It has a famous reputation as a “workhorse”, with a very low failure rate.
1. The PSLV can lift up to 3.8 tonnes to low-earth orbit.
ISRO developed and uses the GSLV to launch heavier payloads, and if required into higher orbits.
Like the PSLV, the GSLV also has multiple configurations.
The most powerful configuration is LVM-3, short for Launch Vehicle Mark 3‘; it can lift up to 10 tonnes to low-earth orbit.
ISRO will launch its Chandrayaan 3 mission on July 14 onboard an LVM-3.
The LVM-3 has three stages.
1. The first stage is in the form of two S200 boosters strapped to the sides of the rocket body. They combust a solid fuel’ called hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene.
2. The second stage is powered by two Vikas engines, which combust a liquid fuel – either nitrogen tetroxide or unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.
3. The uppermost final stage is powered by a cryogenic engine. It combusts liquefied hydrogen with liquefied oxygen.
Hydrogen has a very high specific impulse as rocket fuels go, but using it in an engine requires it to be liquefied first, which in turn means it must be stored at very low temperature, and with special pumping and transport systems.