ISRO conducts ground testing of newly developed solid booster stage for launch of new SSLV

The ground testing of the newly developed solid booster stage (SS1) for the new launch vehicle of ISRO -- Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) -- was carried out on Monday at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.

All the propulsion parameters during the test are found satisfactory and closely matching with the predictions, the Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO said in a statement.

SS1 motor is a three-segmented solid propulsion stage incorporating many new technologies and innovative processes that includes bond-free joint between the segments, high-power electro mechanical actuator with digital control electronics, optimised ignitor and simultaneous propellant casting of all segments, which have been successfully validated in the ground test, according to ISRO.

"The successful test of solid booster stage has given sufficient confidence to proceed with the first developmental flight of SSLV (SSLV-D1) which is scheduled in May 2022. The remaining stages of SSLV -- SS2 & SS3 stages -- have successfully undergone necessary ground tests and are ready for integration," the statement said.