What if you could split up the work of assembling and integrating a spacefaring rocket among two facilities and do it faster? This is the approach that ISRO has followed for its most-reliable rocket, in preparation for the PSLV-C55 mission scheduled for launch on April 22, 2023. The PSLV will be carrying two satellites from Singapore: TeLEOS-2, an all-weather, day-night imaging satellite for use by the Singapore Government, and Lumelite-4, an academic-built satellite for Singapore.
Assembling and integrating a launch vehicle requires significant manpower and can take anywhere between a week to three months, depending on the size of the rocket. For instance, ISRO’s SSLV is designed for quick assembly and integration, which can be done within a week. However, larger rockets like PSLV and GSLV can take 30 to 60 days to be assembled and integrated by hundreds of personnel.
Typically, ISRO assembles the PSLV rocket at the launchpad, which requires the pad to be occupied for the entire duration of assembly and integration. Fewer launches are carried out in this case, which means a loss of time and money, as potential revenue that could be earned by performing more commercial launches is lost.
For the latest launch, ISRO operationalized a new PSLV Integration Facility (PIF), where the first and second stage of the four-stage PSLV rocket can be integrated and kept ready. This means that half the rocket is ready even before it can be taken to the launchpad.
Therefore, only the third and fourth stage and satellites need to be integrated at the launchpad, significantly reducing the time period that the launchpad is occupied. With the PIF, PSLV’s first and second stages can be kept ready, and as and when required, ISRO can increase the frequency of launches of its smaller vehicles like SSLV and PSLV.
Post Your Comments