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Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)

The objective of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is to develop space science, technology and applications towards achieving self-reliance and facilitating in all round development of the nation. ISRO is working on the design of a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), that is a compact launcher for small satellites. This was stated by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha 03 January 2018.

The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is a classical four-stage rocket with no scope for reusability for any of the stages, nor does it seemingly entail any of the VTVL capabilities. The specific impulse of a solid propellant rocket motor is its figure of merit and this along with the inert weight (including the airframe, insulation, control system and staging hardware) governs the performance of the vehicle. The value of the specific impulse and the ratio of loaded to empty mass have a bearing on the velocity achieved.

SSLV would be most useful for orbiting polar satellites and bulk of the missions of interest to military space will fall in this category. ISRO launch facility at Sriharikota is an obvious choice. Launch from Sriharikota calls for a due east launch followed by a dog-leg maneuver southward after clearing Sri Lankan EEZ. Some payload performance loss will accrue on account of this maneuver. An alternate site will be the DRDO’s missile launch facility at Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast. A third possibility exists at the Southern tip of the Country.

SSLV is designed to inject small satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms in low earth orbits. NSIL has been tasked with production of the rocket in collaboration with private players. The induction of SSLV would boost launch capacity of the space agency in small satellite category. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is capable of launching satellites in 1100-1600 kg class into Sun Synchronous Orbit.

New Space India Ltd (NSIL), is ISRO’s second commercial arm after Antrix Corporation. The recently established commercial subsidiary of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), got its first customer — an American space rideshare company, Spaceflight. The American firm has bought payload slot on the first commercial launch of ISRO’s newest rocket — Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). The first flight of SSLV was slated to take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre later in 2019. The first SSLV mission was to deploy commercial spacecraft in two different orbital planes.

“SSLV is perfectly suited for launching multiple microsatellites at a time and supports multiple orbital drop-offs. It is designed for the launch-on-demand concept with very quick turn-around capability in between launches,” Curt Blake, chief executive and president of Spaceflight, said. Spaceflight is a rideshare company that provides launch and mission services to its customers using rockets of different agencies. It has executed nine missions with ISRO, sending over 100 spacecraft to orbits aboard its launch vehicles. In April this year, ISRO launched 21 satellites for Spaceflight in its PSLV C-45 mission. These included 20 Flock-4a satellites from constellation called Planet and Astrocast-02 3U cubesat from Switzerland-based Astrocast. “We are taking advantage of the growth in the small satellite market to deliver more launch options with the mini-launcher,” Radhakrishnan D, Director NSIL, said.

Pixxel, a private satellite-imaging company, will launch its first remote-sensing satellite on the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in early 2021. For this, the Bengaluru-based firm has entered into an agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company under the Department of Space. Earlier, the company’s first satellite was scheduled to be launched towards the end of this year on a Russian Soyuz rocket. The agreement with NSIL is one of its kind and one of the first since the setting up of IN-SPACe, the authorisation and regulatory body under the Department of Space (DoS) to enable private players undertaking space activities in India.