GSLV Mk-III to Lift Off from Sriharikota on the 12th of July 2023: Here’s What We Know

It has been officially announced that the GSLV Mk-III rocket will be launching from Sriharikota, carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the 12th of July, 2023. The spacecraft will be attempting a soft touch-down near the Lunar South Pole.

Read more about it below.

GSLV Mk-III

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III or simply the GSLV Mk-III rocket(also known as the LVM3) is a new heavy-lift launch vehicle that is built to achieve 4000 kg of spacecraft launching capability to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit(GTO) in a much more cost-effective manner. The GSLV Mk-III is built as a three-stage vehicle that has two sold strap-on motors(S200), one liquid core stage(L110), and a high-thrust cryogenic upper stage(C25).

In dimensions, the GSLV Mk-III has a height of 43.5 meters, 4 meters in diameter, and a heat shield diameter of 5 meters. It will be having a lift-off mass of 640 tonnes.

The two S200 boosters will ignite simultaneously as the rocket lifts off, and the core stage (L110) will ignite after about 113 seconds of flight. The S200 boosters should burn for up to 134 seconds before disengaging at 137 seconds. After 217 seconds of flight, when it reaches an altitude of 115 km, the heat shield or the payload fairing will get separated. At 313 seconds, the L110 burnout, separation, and the C25 ignition will all happen simultaneously. The spacecraft will enter the 180 x 36000 km Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) at a nominal time of 974 seconds.

The GSLV Mk-III rocket will be carrying Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft and the spacecraft will be attempting a soft touchdown near to the Lunar South Pole on the 23rd of August, 2023.

WE HAVE A LAUNCH DATE!
On 12th July 2023, a GSLV Mk-III rocket will lift off from the Sriharikota launching the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft which will then attempt a soft touchdown near the Lunar South Pole on 23rd August! 🇮🇳 #ISRO https://t.co/Ilgh3J4ZcO pic.twitter.com/m9D541TVhd

— ISRO Spaceflight (@ISROSpaceflight) May 21, 2023