Bangalore: The stage is all set for flight-
testing of indigenous cryogenic stage and engine on homegrown
rocket GSLV-D3 for the first time as an air of expectancy and
anxiety grips the Sriharikota spaceport on the Andhra coast
for the ambitious mission.
"A 29-hour countdown is expected to start at 11.27 am
tomorrow for the launch of GSLV-D3 on Thursday at 4.27 pm,"
Indian Space Research Organisation spokesperson S Satish said.
The testing of the complex cryogenic technology is going
to be a major landmark for the country's space programme, and
a successful mission would catapult India into the select band
of nations -- the US, Russia, France, Japan and China --which
had mastered this "highest level" of propulsion technology.
It would make India totally self-reliant in space
transportation area, Satish said.
ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan sees this week's GSLV
mission a result of 18 years of research and development on
cryogenic technology by Indian scientists and engineers.
ISRO took up the indigenous development of cryogenic
upper stage and engine after Russia succumbed to US pressure
and declined to transfer the technology sought by India.
ISRO flew five of the seven "ready-made" cryogenic stages
supplied by Russia in the earlier GSLV flights.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 14:55