It was a quite euphoric rush of emotions at the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre at Sriharikota on Sunday evening after the successful launch of
GSLV D-5. The GSLV D-5 carrying communication satellite GSAT-14 lifted
off from the ISRO's Sriharikota port at 4:18 pm.
After
overcoming several hurdles, ISRO's attempt to establish credibility in
launching India's communication satellite has finally succeeded. With
this, India joins the list of space-faring nations United States,
Russia, France, Japan and China who have seen success with indigenous
cryogenic engines.
"Not many countries have mastered this complex
technology. We have qualified the cryogenic engine. It's a milestone,"
said K Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO. Indian Space research organization
was under huge pressure to develop its own engine as the ISRO had
already used six out of seven cryogenic engines that India had bought
from Russia. However the officials were very confident of launching this
successfully.
"I'm proud to say that ISRO has done it. The
Indian cryogenic engine has performed as predicted as expected for this
mission and injected precisely the GSAT 14 communication into the
intended orbit. It is another major achievement for the GSLV programme
and I would say it is an important day for science and tech in the
country and space tech in the country," added K Radhakrishnan.
In
the past three years, India has seen two failures - in April and
December 2010. Last year, the GSLV flight with an indigenous cryogenic
engine was called off an hour before the lift after a leak in the liquid
tank.
This launch was very crucial for ISRO as the technology
is extremely complex as the satellite uses liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen at -183 degree centigrade and -253 degree respectively. As it
involves fuel usage at extreme low temperatures, it has posed a
challenge to several countries, while only a few were able to master it.
