Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle

ASLV liftoff
Function
Project cost
Cost per launch
Cost per year
Size
Stages
Capacity
Payload to 400 km LEO
Altitude
	150 kg (330 lb)
Volume
Associated rockets
Family
Launch history
Status
Launch sites
Total launches
Success(es)
FailureTemplate:Pluralize from text
Partial failureTemplate:Pluralize from text
Notable outcomeTemplate:Pluralize from text
Landings
First flight
Last flight
First stage
Empty mass
Gross mass
Propellant mass
Specific impulse
Burn time
Propellant
Second stage
Empty mass
Gross mass
Propellant mass
Specific impulse
Burn time
Propellant
Third stage
Empty mass
Gross mass
Propellant mass
Specific impulse
Burn time
Propellant
Fourth stage
Empty mass
Gross mass
Propellant mass
Specific impulse
Burn time
Propellant
Fifth stage
Empty mass
Gross mass
Propellant mass
Specific impulse
Burn time
Propellant
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The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) was a small-lift launch vehicle five-stage solid-fuel rocket developed by ISRO to place 150 kg satellites into LEO. This project was started by India during the early 1980s to develop technologies needed for a payload to be placed into a geostationary orbit. Its design was based on Satellite Launch Vehicle. ISRO did not have sufficient funds for both the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle programme and the ASLV programme at the same time and the ASLV programme was terminated after the initial developmental flights. The payloads of ASLV were Stretched Rohini Satellites.

Vehicle

The ASLV was a five-stage vehicle. Two strap-on boosters acted as a first stage, with the core stage igniting after booster burn out. The payload capacity of the ASLV was approximately Template:Cvt to an orbit of Template:Cvt with a 47-degree inclination.

At liftoff, the ASLV generated Template:Cvt of thrust. It was a 41,000-kilogram (90,000 lb) rocket, measuring 23.5 metres (77 ft) in length with a core diameter of one metre (3 ft 3 in). The height to diameter ratio of ASLV was very large which resulted in the vehicle being unstable in flight. This was compounded by the fact that many of the critical events during a launch like the core ignition and the booster separation happened at the Tropopause where the dynamic loads on the launcher was at the maximum. The aerodynamic characterization research was conducted at the National Aerospace Laboratories' 1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility.

History

The ASLV made four launches, of which one was successful, two failed to achieve orbit, and a third achieved a lower than planned orbit which decayed quickly. The type made its maiden flight on 24 March 1987, and its final flight on 4 May 1994.

Launch history

All four ASLV launches occurred from the ASLV Launch Pad at the Sriharikota Range. For vertically integrated ASLV, many SLV-3 ground facilities were reused but a new launch pad with retractable Mobile Service Structure was constructed within the same launch complex.

Flight No.	Date / time (UTC)	Rocket, Configuration	Launch site	Payload	Payload mass	Orbit	User	Launch outcome
D1	24 March 1987	ASLV	Satish Dhawan Space Centre	SROSS-A	150 kg (330 lb)			Failure
	First stage failed to ignite after launch
D2	13 July 1988	ASLV	Satish Dhawan Space Centre	SROSS-B	150 kg (330 lb)			Failure
	Control problems caused launcher to disintegrate
D3	20 May 1992	ASLV	Satish Dhawan Space Centre	SROSS-C	106 kg (234 lb)			Template:Partial failure
	Orbit lower than expected and incorrect spin-stabilization. Decayed quickly.
D4	5 May 1994	ASLV	Satish Dhawan Space Centre	SROSS-C2	113 kg (249 lb)			Template:Success

Launch statistics

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

1987

1990

1994

•   Failure
•   Partial failure
•   Success

Decade-wise summary of ASLV launches

Decade	Successful	Partial success	Failure	Total
1980s	0	0	2	2
1990s	1	1	0	2
Total	1	1	2	4

See also

• Comparison of orbital launchers families