The Indian Space Research Organisation will get ‘very good benefit’ by frequently using its ‘work horse’ Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to launch satellites in the orbit, according to MYS Prasad, Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
PSLV is the most competitive and economical one. “Though we do not have the exact number, we are getting very good benefit through PSLV launches,” he told newspersons.
On Saturday, ISRO successfully launched the country’s fourth navigation satellite from here. It was the 28th consecutive successful launch of PSLV.
“It is a great credit to the entire team of scientists who have been performing this job [launch] quite meticulously,” AS Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO, said.
“One of the things that we notice is that we start getting in to these numbers like 28, 29 and 30, we have to be more careful because each time the responsibility is bigger. Now we cannot afford to make any mistakes,” he said.Prasad said that depending upon the configuration of PSLV to launch vehicle, the cost will be ₹100-145 crore. If it is a communication satellite, in 10-12 years ISRO will draw an income of nearly ₹1,000 crore.
Satellite itself will cost a minimum of ₹200-250 crore. With an investment of ₹400-500 crore, in ten years, we can get double the money back for communication satellite, he said.On the planned third rocket launch pad at Sriharikota, Prasad said a detailed report prepared by a team with officials drawn from all the ISRO centres has been submitted to the government. It will take five years to construct the new launch pad from the date of project approval and sanction of funds.
Prasad said that the third launch pad will support increased launch frequency and launching requirement of future advanced launch vehicles like GSLV-MkIII class of rockets.
Third launch pad At present ISRO has two rockets — GSLV-Mk II and PSLV and two launch pads at Sriharikota, around 80 km from Chennai. Current rockets are 45-50 metres tall while future rockets will be 60-65 metres and will be heavier. This requires a new launch pad to take the additional load, keeping in mind the future plan of human space mission, said a top ISRO official. ISRO plans to launch its GSLV-MkIII rocket in 2016. The land area for the third launch pad and associated facilities will be around 3-4 sq km, he said.