ISRO successfully tests solid rocket booster for Gaganyaan programme

14 May,22 9:57 am
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HS200 Booster: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully carried out the static test of the human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) solid rocket booster.

Key Highlights:

  • The successful completion of this test marks a major milestone for the prestigious human space flight mission of ISRO, taking the space agency one more step closer to the keenly awaited Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.
  • The static test of HS200 for the Gaganyaan programme was completed at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

About HS200:

  • HS200 booster was designed and developed at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
  • The HS200 booster is the 'human-rated' version of the S200 rocket boosters used on the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III (GSLV Mk-III), also called the LVM3.
  • The GSLV Mk-III rocket, which will be used for the Gaganyaan mission, will have two HS200 boosters that will supply the thrust for lift-off.
  • The HS200 is a 20-metre-long booster with a diameter of 3.2 metres and is the world’s second-largest operational booster using solid propellants.
  • Since Gaganyaan is a manned mission, the GSLV Mk-III will have improvements to increase reliability and safety to meet the requirements of ‘human rating.’
  • Out of the three propulsion stages of the GSLV Mk-III, the second stage known as L110-G uses liquid propellant while the third stage C25-G with cryogenic propellant are in the final phase of qualification, including tests with static firing.

About Gaganyaan Mission:

  • Gaganyaan Mission is India's maiden space mission to send a three-member crew to space for a period of five to seven days by 2022.
  • The space mission was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 in his independence day address to the nation.
  • However, this mission was delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Ahead of the manned mission, ISRO plans to send two unmanned missions to space as part of the Gaganyaan mission.

About ISRO:

  • It is an abbreviation for the Indian Space Research Organization. 
  • ISRO is the space agency of the Government of India (GoI) and was formed on 15 August 1969.
  • It superseded the erstwhile “Indian National Committee For Space Research” (INCOSPAR) which was established in 1962 by the efforts of Independent India's first prime minister‚ Jawaharlal Nehru‚ and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai.
  • In 1972, the Government of India had set up a Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS), bringing ISRO under the DOS.
  • ISRO then embarked on its mission to provide the Nation with space-based services and to develop the technologies to achieve the same independently.
  • Its vision is to “harness space technology for natural development while pursuing space science research & planetary exploration”. ISRO built India’s first satellite Aryabhata.
  • It is headquartered in Bangalore, India.
  • The current Chairman of ISRO is eminent rocket scientist Dr S Somanath.

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