In response to a question, Karnik said, “It is entirely a new tank this time.”
ISRO had then drawn flak from some quarters for using an “old tank” for the second stage as the materials used for building it were “prone for delayed cracks”.
It was said have been delivered to ISRO four-years ago then and was to be the last in the series of the kind that ISRO planned to use.
GSLV is a three-stage vehicle that is 49 metre tall, with 414 tonne lift-off weight. First stage comprises S125 solid booster with four liquid (L40) strap-ons.
Second stage (GS2) is liquid engine and the third stage (GS3) is a cryostage.
The final/third stage of GSLV is the cryogenic stage, which is more efficient compared to the liquid stage in PSLV, which means that the thrust developed by burning each kg of propellant is higher in cryo engine, which can place larger payloads with higher weight into orbit.
Updated on: December 22, 2013 16:16 IST
