Model of the standard PSLV rocket
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|
Function | Medium lift launch system |
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Manufacturer | ISRO |
Country of origin | India |
Cost per launch | PSLV-CA ₹90 crore($15M) |
Size | |
Height | 44 metres (144 ft) |
Diameter | 2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in) |
Mass |
PSLV-G: 295,000 kg (650,000 lb) PSLV-CA: 230,000 kg (510,000 lb) PSLV-XL: 320,000 kg (710,000 lb) |
Stages | 4 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO(620 km) | 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) |
Payload to SSO(620 km) | 1,750 kg (3,860 lb) |
Payload to Sub-GTO/GTO | 1,425 kg (3,142 lb) |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | Sriharikota |
Total launches | 39 PSLV-G: 12 PSLV-CA: 11 PSLV-XL: 16 |
Successes | 37 PSLV-G: 10 PSLV-CA: 11 PSLV-XL: 16 |
Failures | 1 (PSLV-D1) |
Partial failures | 1 (PSLV-C1) |
First flight |
PSLV: 20 September 1993 PSLV-CA: 23 April 2007 PSLV-XL: 22 October 2008 |
Notable payloads | Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, Astrosat, SRE-1, NAVIC |
Boosters (PSLV-G) - S9 | |
No. boosters | 6 |
Thrust | 510 kN (110,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 262 s (2.57 km/s) |
Burn time | 44 seconds |
Fuel | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene |
Boosters (PSLV-XL) - S12 | |
No. boosters | 6 |
Thrust | 719 kN (162,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 262 s (2.57 km/s) |
Burn time | 49 seconds |
Fuel | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene |
First stage | |
Propellant mass | 138,000 kg (304,000 lb) |
Motor | S139 |
Thrust | 4,800 kN (1,100,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 237 s (2.32 km/s) (sea level) 269 s (2.64 km/s) (vacuum) |
Burn time | 105 seconds |
Fuel | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene |
Second stage | |
Engines | 1 Vikas |
Thrust | 799 kN (180,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 293 s (2.87 km/s) |
Burn time | 158 seconds |
Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
Third stage | |
Motor | HPS3 |
Thrust | 240 kN (54,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 295 s (2.89 km/s) |
Burn time | 83 seconds |
Fuel | Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene |
Fourth stage | |
Engines | 2 x L-2-5 |
Thrust | 15.2 kN (3,400 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 308 s (3.02 km/s) |
Burn time | 425 seconds |
Fuel | MMH/MON |
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known by its abbreviation PSLV, is an expendable launch system developed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into Sun-synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV, commercially available only from Russia. PSLV can also launch small size satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
In 2015 India successfully launched 17 foreign satellites belonging to Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Some notable payloads launched by PSLV include India's first lunar probe Chandrayaan-1, India's first interplanetary mission, Mangalyaan (Mars orbiter) and India's first space observatory, Astrosat.
On 15 February 2017, India successfully launched a payload of 104 foreign satellites in polar orbit around the Earth using PSLV tripling the previous record held by Russia for most number of satellites sent to space in a single launch.
PSLV was designed and developed in the early 1990s at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The inertial systems are developed by ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) at Thiruvananthapuram. The liquid propulsion stages for the second and fourth stages of PSLV as well as the reaction control systems are developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri near Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. The solid propellant motors are processed at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR)at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh which also carries out launch operations.