News: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says that the space agency was in the process of building its heaviest rocket ever, and had named it Lunar Module Launch Vehicle (LMLV).
ISRO’s heaviest rocket Lunar Module Launch Vehicle (LMLV)
- It is India’s forthcoming super-heavy-lift rocket currently under development by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- The LMLV would be ready by 2035.
- Purpose: It would be used for the lunar missions, including the first human mission to the Moon, planned by 2040.
- Design
- This new rocket would be as tall as a 40-storey building.
- It will be a three-stage rocket, with the first two stages using liquid propellent and the third stage using a cryogenic propellant.
- The first stage core, along with two strap-on motors, will have three sets of nine engines or 27 in total.
- Placed side-by-side, even the strap-on boosters of the LMLV are taller than the entire height of the current LVM3.
- The LVM-3 carried Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon and since then has been human-rated for use in the Gaganyaan mission, India’s human spaceflight programme. But will be replaced by the LMLV now.
- Payload Capacity: The new rocket would be capable of carrying about 27 tonnes to the Moon and 80 tonnes to low Earth orbits, which are between 200 and 2,000 km from the planet’s surface.
