<p>The 24.5-hour countdown for Thursday's launch of India's first experimental suborbital flight of the latest-generation launch vehicle GSLV Mark-III, carrying the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE), will start on Wednesday morning.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The 24.5-hour countdown for the mission will commence at 9 am on Wednesday,” a senior Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) official told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />He said the parameters of the vehicle, to be launched at the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, were thoroughly checked before the countdown.<br /><br />The 630-tonne rocket will be powered by liquid and solid fuel engines, while the cryogenic stage engine will be a passive one.<br /><br />“This is just a crew module. It will not carry any living being and is only for study purpose. The crew module's main objective is to demonstrate its re-entry flight and aero-braking, and end-to-end parachute system validation,” he said.<br /><br />Taking advantage of this opportunity, a CARE module is planned to be injected at this altitude. <br /><br />This module has been realised to validate a number of technologies developed under Isro’s Critical Technologies for Human Spaceflight Programme. According to an Isro official, it will be in the size of a room that can accommodate three persons. <br /><br />The Isro official said the launcher would climb to an altitude of about 125 km, and then the crew capsule will detach and will fall into the Bay of Bengal 20 minutes after blast off. <br /><br />The capsule will be recovered by an Indian Coast Guard or Indian Navy ship, he said. <br />He pointed out that Isro has spent about Rs 150 crore for this experimental mission, and that it will not carry any satellite as the cryogenic engine needed for the purpose is still under development.<br /></p>
<p>The 24.5-hour countdown for Thursday's launch of India's first experimental suborbital flight of the latest-generation launch vehicle GSLV Mark-III, carrying the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE), will start on Wednesday morning.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The 24.5-hour countdown for the mission will commence at 9 am on Wednesday,” a senior Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) official told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />He said the parameters of the vehicle, to be launched at the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, were thoroughly checked before the countdown.<br /><br />The 630-tonne rocket will be powered by liquid and solid fuel engines, while the cryogenic stage engine will be a passive one.<br /><br />“This is just a crew module. It will not carry any living being and is only for study purpose. The crew module's main objective is to demonstrate its re-entry flight and aero-braking, and end-to-end parachute system validation,” he said.<br /><br />Taking advantage of this opportunity, a CARE module is planned to be injected at this altitude. <br /><br />This module has been realised to validate a number of technologies developed under Isro’s Critical Technologies for Human Spaceflight Programme. According to an Isro official, it will be in the size of a room that can accommodate three persons. <br /><br />The Isro official said the launcher would climb to an altitude of about 125 km, and then the crew capsule will detach and will fall into the Bay of Bengal 20 minutes after blast off. <br /><br />The capsule will be recovered by an Indian Coast Guard or Indian Navy ship, he said. <br />He pointed out that Isro has spent about Rs 150 crore for this experimental mission, and that it will not carry any satellite as the cryogenic engine needed for the purpose is still under development.<br /></p>
