GSLV
India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
GSLV is ISRO's launch vehicle designed to place heavier payloads (over ~2 tonnes) into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), a task the lighter PSLV cannot perform. It uses a three-stage configuration: a solid-fuel first stage strap-on boosters, an Earth-storable liquid second stage, and a cryogenic upper stage (the indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage Project, CUSP) burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
- GSLV-F17 was the 19th flight of the GSLV programme and used the GSLV Mk II configuration (indigenous cryogenic stage).
- India developed its own cryogenic engine technology after a US technology-denial regime in the 1990s blocked transfer of cryogenic engines, forcing ISRO to indigenise CUSP — first successfully flight-proven in GSLV-D5 (2014).
- GSLV Mk III (LVM3), a separate, more powerful three-stage vehicle, is used for heavier missions such as Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan test flights; it should not be confused with GSLV Mk II.
● Tracked since August 05, 2026 · last seen September 04, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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