India's Next Generation Launch Vehicle to have higher payload capacity, three development flights
Sep 18, 2024
New Delhi [India], September 18 : The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi ,has approved the development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), that will be a significant step towards the Government's vision of establishing and operating the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and towards developing capability for Indian Crewed Landing on the Moon by 2040.
Briefing about cabinet decisions, Information and Broacasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that NGLV will have three times the present payload capability with 1.5 times the cost compared to LVM3, and will also have reusability resulting in low-cost access to space and modular green propulsion systems.
An official release said that the goals of the Indian space programme during the Amrit Kaal require a new generation of human-rated launch vehicles with high payload capability & reusability.
"Hence, the development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) is taken up which is designed to have a maximum payload capability of 30 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit, which also has a reusable first stage," it said.
Currently, India has achieved self-reliance in space transportation systems to launch satellites up to 10 tonne to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 4 tonne to Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) through the currently operational PSLV, GSLV, LVM3 & SSLV launch vehicles.
The release said that NGLV development project will be implemented with maximum participation from the Indian industry, who is also expected to invest in the manufacturing capacity at the outset itself, thereby allowing a seamless transition to the operational phase subsequent to the development.
NGLV will be demonstrated with three development flights (D1, D2 & D3) with a target of 96 months (8 years) for the completion of the development phase.
The total fund approved is Rs 8240 crore and includes the development costs, three developmental flights, essential facility establishment, Programme Management and Launch Campaign.
The release said that the development of NGLV will enable national and commercial missions including launch of human spaceflight missions to Bharatiya Antariksh Station, Lunar/inter-planetary exploration missions along with communication and earth observation satellite constellations to Low Earth Orbit that will benefit the entire space ecosystem in the country. This project will boost the Indian space ecosystem in terms of capability and capacity, it said. .
