Facilities for Launching Satellites

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has all the requisite facilities for launching satellites using Indian launch vehicles at its launch complex located at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. These facilities comprise of (i) two operational satellite launch pads, (ii) Filling Control Centre (FCC) for propellant filling operations and (iii) Mission Control Centre (MCC) & Launch Control Centre (LCC) for coordinating and conducting the launch operations during the countdown phase till the injection of the satellite into orbit.

Currently, the project for the development of Semicryogenic engine has been approved and the Semicryogenic engine is under development. The various activities carried out towards the development of the Semicryogenic engine include- (i) Indigenous realisation of 35 materials and 22 coating processes (ii) Qualification of indigenous bearings for turbo pumps (iii) Fabrication of the first hardware for three engine subsystems including low pressure turbo pumps and one high pressure turbo pump through industry (iv) Design validation of the low pressure turbo pumps through cold flow trials.

An advanced space launcher that can deliver ten-tonne and heavier communication satellites to space requires a booster stage with clustered Semicryogenic engines. After the successful qualification of the Semicryogenic engine, the development of the Semicryogenic booster stage with clustered engines is expected to be initiated.

The spacecrafts that are likely to be launched in the next two years using Indian launch vehicles include – four communication satellites, seven earth observation satellites, one navigation satellite and one space science satellite. Also, two communication satellites are planned to be launched from abroad onboard the Ariane 5 launcher.