Engineering:Next Generation Launch Vehicle

Short description: Class of Indian partially reusable launch vehicles under development by ISRO

Next Generation Launch Vehicle

Function	Medium to Heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	ISRO
Country of origin	India
Size
Height	75 m (246 ft)
Width	5 m (16 ft)
Mass	600 t (590 long tons; 660 short tons) to 700 t (690 long tons; 770 short tons)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO	20,000 kg (44,000 lb)
Payload to GTO	10,000 kg (22,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Comparable	Falcon 9 Block 5 Atlas V Proton-M Long March 5B
Launch history
Status	Under Development
Launch sites	Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Total launches	0

The Next Generation Launch Vehicle or NGLV (previously referred to as Unified Launch Vehicle or ULV) is a three-stage partially reusable rocket, currently under development by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This vehicle is designed to replace currently operational systems like PSLV, GSLV and LVM3.

This family of three launchers was previously being designed for replacing the different core propulsion modules of PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3 respectively with a common semi-cryogenic engine and hence it was named as Unified Launch Vehicle (ULV). Unlike the latest proposal of the launcher, the initial proposals were planned to be expendable. But the new proposals under the name of Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) suggests launchers having partial reusability.

According to ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, the new rocket has a load capacity of between 20 and 1,215 tonnes.

History

The launch system has been in development since 2010s and has gone through various design changes with time. As ISRO's SLVs were ageing, the need for a new generation of launchers with interchangeable modular parts was realised. There have been several design changes since the first proposal.

Initial proposals

More than a decade after starting the Cryogenic Upper Stage Project in 1994, ISRO began developing a new semi-cryogenic engine that would be used on its next generation of vehicles of Unified Launch Vehicle (now NGLV), Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and a heavy-lift launcher for future inter-planetary missions. On 22 December 2008, the government approved the development of semi-cryogenic engine technology at an estimated cost of ₹1,798 crore (US$252 million), with a foreign exchange component of ₹588 crore (US$82 million), for the completion of the project by 2014, the engine was then named SCE-200.

In May 2013, the configurations of the launchers were revealed for the first time. They had a common core and upper stage, with four different booster sizes. The core, known as the SC160 (Semi-Cryogenic stage with 160 tonnes of propellant, in the ISRO nomenclature), would have 160,000 kg (350,000 lb) of Kerosene / LOX propellant and be powered by a single SCE-200 engine. The upper stage, known as the C30 (Cryogenic stage with 30 tonnes of propellant) would have 30,000 kg (66,000 lb) of LH2 / LOX propellant and be powered by a single CE-20 engine.

The four booster options were:

• 6 × S-13, slightly larger than the S-12 on PSLV, to burn longer;
• 2 × S-60, which appears to be a new solid motor development;
• 2 × S-139, which is the first stage of PSLV and GSLV Mk I/II;
• 2 × S-200, like on the LVM3.

ULVs' initial proposals with LVM3 for comparison.

Heavy-lift variant

A potential heavy-lift variant (HLV) of the ULV, in theory was capable of placing up to 10 ton class of spacecraft into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. It was planned to include:

• A larger dual S-250 solid strap-on boosters as compared to the S-200 boosters used in LVM3;
• A L-400 semi-cryogenic core stage, with 400 tonnes of propellant, using a cluster of five SCE-200 engines;
• A L-27 cryogenic third stage, with 27 tonnes of propellant, using CE-20 engine.

Super-heavy-lift variant

A super-heavy-lift variant, was also among the proposals. With multiple SCE-200 engines and side boosters, this variant would have been the most powerful rocket that ISRO had ever developed.

Latest modifications and partial reusability

The SCE-200 engine.

SCE-200 Power Head Test Article (PHTA) going through its first hot test at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu

The development of the SCE-200 engine was completed in 2017 and the tests were contracted to a Ukrainian manufacturer Yuzhmash. In September 2021, in a virtual event being conducted by ISRO, the presentation mentioned a fleet configuration of a family of five rockets capable of lifting from 4.9 tonnes to 16 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The presentation mentioned the ongoing development of a new semi-cryogenic stage namely SC120 and an upgraded cryogenic stage namely C32. The configurations displayed more powerful engine stages; SC-400 semi-cryogenic stage, C27 cryogenic stage, and S-250 solid rocket boosters.

In June 2023, ISRO revealed that the team working on the NGLV programme had already submitted a preliminary report on the rocket's details, manufacturing process, and approach toward development. The rocket is planned to be partially reusable along with its boosters. The development was expected to take another five to ten years.

Design

NGLV will feature a simple, robust design that allows bulk manufacturing, modularity in systems, sub-systems, and stages, and minimal turnaround time.

The NGLV might turn out to be a three-stage rocket powered by green fuel combinations, like Kerosene and liquid oxygen or methane and liquid oxygen for the SCE-200 engine, which follows oxidizer-rich closed combustion engine cycle. The first launch of the rocket is tentatively scheduled for 2030.

Potential uses

As per a presentation done by S. Somanath at a conference in October 2022, the NGLV might offer launch costs of approximately $1900 per kg of payload in the reusable form and nearly $3000 per kg in the expendable format. The vehicle will also help in meeting India's need of setting up its space station by 2035. Other potential use cases will be in the areas of launching communication satellites, deep space missions, future human spaceflight, and cargo missions.

See also

• RLV Technology Demonstration Programme
• Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
• Long March (rocket family)
• Proton (rocket family)