Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Production
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) will be nodal agency for carrying out PSLV production through Indian Industry under consortium route. The industry consortium will be responsible for producing, assembling and integrating the launch vehicle, by making use of the existing ISRO facilities under GOCO model.
About the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages. After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India. Till June 2019, the PSLV has made 48 launches, with 46 successfully reaching their planned orbits. Using PSLV, ISRO has launched 297 customer satellites of 33 Countries into Low Earth Orbit.
In addition to launching satellites into LEO, PSLV has also launched satellites for communication, meteorology, navigation, scientific experiments and space exploration missions.
The PSLV successfully launched two spacecrafts– Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later travelled to Moon and Mars respectively. It also launched the India’s first space observatory, Astrosat
ISRO, through its commercial arm, NSIL, is planning to productionize the PSLV stages through Indian Industries.
Vehicle Specifications
| Height | : | 44 m |
| Diameter | : | 2.8m |
| Number of Stages | : | 4 |
| Lift Off Mass | : | 320 tonnes (XL) |
| Variants | : | 2 (PSLV - CA, PSLV - XL) |
| First Flight | : | September 20, 1993 |
PSLV is a versatile vehicle capable of launching satellites into LEO (Low inclination, SSO), Sub-GTO (Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit) and GTO.
Payload to SSPO: 1,750 kg
PSLV earned its title 'the Workhorse of ISRO' through consistently delivering various satellites to Low Earth Orbits, particularly the IRS series of satellites. It can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits of 600 km altitude.
Payload to Sub GTO: 1,425 kg
Due to its unmatched reliability, PSLV has also been used to launch various satellites into Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits, like satellites from the IRNSS constellation.