{"id":5643,"date":"2026-01-06T22:45:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=5643"},"modified":"2026-01-07T11:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:35:19","slug":"lvm3-gslv-mk3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/lvm3-gslv-mk3\/","title":{"rendered":"LVM3 – GSLV Mk3"},"content":{"rendered":"

The LVM3, previously known as GSLV<\/strong> Mark III is a three-stage medium to heavy lift <\/strong>launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO<\/strong>)<\/strong>. It represents India's most powerful and advanced launch vehicle<\/strong> built entirely with domestic technology.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Since its first flight in 2014, the LVM3 has enabled India to pursue heavy-lift geosynchronous missions with complete strategic autonomy. Future variants of LVM3 now under development are aimed at reducing costs and improving performance through new technologies like electric propulsion <\/strong>and recoverable first stages.<\/p>\r\n

About LVM3<\/h2>\r\n

The LVM3 is India's most powerful launcher built entirely with domestic technology. With two large strap-on boosters providing high thrust on lift-off and a cryogenic <\/strong>upper stage, it can launch 4-ton class satellites <\/strong>to geostationary transfer orbit<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n

LVM3 Description<\/h3>\r\n

The technical specifications of LVM3 include:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Basic details of LVM3<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Category\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n- Medium to heavy-lift launch vehicle<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Launch History<\/strong><\/td>\r\n- First flight:18 December 2014 (suborbital); 5 June 2017 (orbital)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Size\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Height: 43.5 m<\/p>\r\n

- Diameter: 4.0 m<\/p>\r\n

- Heat Shield (Payload Fairing) Diameter: 5.0 m<\/p>\r\n

- Lift Off Mass: 640 tonnes<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

Payload Capacity<\/strong><\/td>\r\n\r\n

- GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits): 4,000 kg<\/p>\r\n

- LEO (Low Earth Orbits): 8,000 kg<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Stages of LVM3<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Stages of LVM3<\/strong><\/td>\r\nUse of Equipment and Fuel<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Booster Stage<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- S200 solid motor<\/p>\r\n

- Fuel: HTPB (Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene)<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

Liquid Core Stage<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Two Vikas engine<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

- Fuel: UH25 + N2O4<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

Cryogenic stage<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Indigenous high-thrust cryogenic engine<\/strong>(CE25)<\/p>\r\n

- Fuel: LOX + LH2<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

LVM3 Missions<\/h3>\r\n

Here are some key missions launched by ISRO's LVM3 rocket:<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Missions<\/strong><\/td>\r\nDetails\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
LVM-3\/CARE Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: December 18, 2014<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE)<\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: An experimental suborbital flight to test the crew module\u2019s re-entry capabilities.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

LVM3-D1 \/ GSAT-19 Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: June 05, 2017<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: GSAT-19 communication satellite<\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: Marked the first orbital test launch of the LVM3.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

LVM3-D2 \/ GSAT-29 Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: November 14, 2018<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: GSAT-29 communication satellite<\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: Demonstrated the LVM3\u2019s capability for launching communication satellites.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

LVM3 M1 \/ Chandrayaan-2 Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: July 22, 2019<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: Chandrayaan-2<\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: India\u2019s second lunar mission, including an orbiter, lander, and rover.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

LVM3 M2 \/ OneWeb India-1 Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: October 23, 2022<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: OneWeb Gen-1 satellites<\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: India\u2019s first commercial launch of the LVM3.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

LVM3 M3 \/ OneWeb India-2 Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: March 26, 2023<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: OneWeb Gen-1 satellites<\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: Part of the global OneWeb satellite constellation for high-speed internet connectivity.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

LVM3 M4 \/ Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission<\/td>\r\n\r\n

- Launch Date: July 14, 2023<\/p>\r\n

- Payload: Chandrayaan-3<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

- Remarks: India\u2019s third lunar mission, aimed at exploring the Moon\u2019s surface<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

Performance of LVM3<\/h3>\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • The LVM3 successfully launched several missions, including CARE <\/strong>(India's space capsule recovery experiment module), Chandrayaan-2<\/strong>, and Chandrayaan-3<\/strong> (India's moon missions).<\/li>\r\n\t
  • It will be used for the Gaganyaan crewed mission<\/strong>under the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
    \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Variant<\/td>\r\nLaunches<\/td>\r\nSuccesses<\/td>\r\nFailures<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    GSLV Mk. III<\/td>\r\n7<\/td>\r\n7<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

    Significance of LVM3<\/h2>\r\n

    The successful development of LVM3 carries profound strategic significance for India's civilian space program and related national interests across economic and technological domains.<\/p>\r\n

      \r\n\t
    • Enhanced Launch Capabilities: <\/strong>LVM3 provides heavy lift launch capacity of 4-ton class satellites into GTO, enabling complex future space missions of India beyond earth orbit.<\/li>\r\n\t
    • Strategic Autonomy: <\/strong>LVM3 boosts India's self-reliance in the space sector, reduces dependence on foreign launch providers, and serves the country's strategic needs in the space domain.<\/li>\r\n\t
    • Economic Benefits<\/strong>: It saves costs through launch self-reliance, enables space-based services for socio-economic growth, and facilitates commercial launches to generate revenue.<\/li>\r\n\t
    • Technology Demonstration: <\/strong>LVM3 demonstrates India's mastery of cryogenic engines and critical technologies like stage separation, showcasing the country's indigenous scientific and technical prowess.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

       <\/p>\r\n

      PYQs on LVM3<\/h2>\r\n

      Question 1:<\/strong> With reference to India's satellite launch vehicles, consider the following statements:<\/p>\r\n

        \r\n\t
      1. PSLVs launch satellites useful for Earth resources monitoring whereas GSLVs are designed mainly to launch communication satellites.<\/li>\r\n\t
      2. Satellites launched by PSLV appear to remain permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, as viewed from a particular location on Earth.<\/li>\r\n\t
      3. GSLV Mk III is a four-stage launch vehicle with the first and third stages using solid rocket motors, and the second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

        Which of the statements given above is\/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2018<\/strong>)<\/p>\r\n

          \r\n\t
        1. 1 only<\/li>\r\n\t
        2. 2 and 3<\/li>\r\n\t
        3. 1 and 2<\/li>\r\n\t
        4. 3 only<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

          Answer: (a)<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The LVM3 or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is a three-stage medium to heavy lift launch vehicle developed by the ISRO. LVM3 is a wholly indigenous launch vehicle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239],"tags":[866,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-5643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-4","8":"tag-lvm3-gslv-mk3","9":"tag-quest"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19837,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5643\/revisions\/19837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}