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Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
 LPSC seal | |
 ISRO logo | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 30 November 1985 |
| Jurisdiction | Department of Space |
| Headquarters |
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| Employees | 1,294 (as of 1 March 2026)[1] |
Agency executive |
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Parent agency | ISRO |
| Website | lpsc.gov.in |
The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is a research and development centre functioning under ISRO.[2] It has two units located at Valiamala, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and Bengaluru, Karnataka. LPSC is augmented by ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri of Tamil Nadu.
LPSC is engaged in development of liquid and cryogenic propulsion stages for launch vehicles and auxiliary propulsion systems for both launch vehicles and satellites. Activities related to liquid propulsion stages, cryogenic propulsion stages and control systems for launch vehicles and spacecraft is done at Thiruvananthapuram. Precision fabrication facilities, development of transducers and integration of satellite propulsion systems are carried out at Bangalore. The developmental and flight tests along with assembly and integration are done at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.
The development of liquid propellant stages for the PSLV, control systems for SLV-3, ASLV, PSLV and GSLV, satellite propulsion systems including those for INSAT and IRS and production of pressure transducers are done by the LPSC for India. The LPSC has developed indigenous cryogenic upper stage for Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) which was successfully test fired by ISRO on 4 August 2007. LPSC is currently developing a restartable LOX-Methane engine and stages for the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, which uses a reusable booster stage.[3]
LPSC's current director is Mr. Jayan N.[4]
This unit serves as LPSC headquarters, and is involved in research and development of Earth-storable and cryogenic propulsion for launch vehicles. It delivers engines, stages, associated control systems and components for launch vehicle and spacecraft. [5][6]
The main activities carried out at Valiamala include:[5]
This unit caters predominantly to propulsion requirements of satellite programmes of ISRO apart from development of indigenous sensors and transducers.[6] The activities that are carried out here include:[5]
On 1 February 2014, this unit was renamed as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Propulsion Complex and was also made an autonomous department under ISRO. The Mahendragiri unit was previously functioning under LPSC in Valiamala.[7] The main activities carried out at here are:[5]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is a research and development centre functioning under ISRO. It has two units located at Valiamala, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and Bengaluru, Karnataka. LPSC is augmented by ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri of Tamil Nadu. LPSC is engaged in development of liquid and cryogenic propulsion stages for launch vehicles and auxiliary propulsion systems for both launch vehicles and satellites. Activities related to liquid propulsion stages, cryogenic propulsion stages and control systems for launch vehicles and spacecraft is done at Thiruvananthapuram. Precision fabrication facilities, development of transducers and integration of satellite propulsion systems are carried out at Bangalore. The developmental and flight tests along with assembly and integration are done at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. The development of liquid propellant stages for the PSLV, control systems for SLV-3, ASLV, PSLV and GSLV, satellite propulsion systems including those for INSAT and IRS and production of pressure transducers are done by the LPSC for India. The LPSC has developed indigenous cryogenic upper stage for Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) which was successfully test fired by ISRO on 4 August 2007. LPSC is currently developing a restartable LOX-Methane engine and stages for the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, which uses a reusable booster stage. LPSC's current director is Mr. Jayan N.
The ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), located at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu, is an ISRO centre involved in testing, assembling, and integrating propulsion systems and stages that are developed at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centres (LPSC). Formerly, IPRC was known as LPSC, Mahendragiri, functioning under LPSC. It was elevated as an independent centre and renamed as IPRC with effect from 1 February 2014. The complex is situated near Panagudi in Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the ISRO centres that could be called as the "Jet Propulsion Laboratory of India" as all liquid, cryogenic and semicryogenic stage and engine related tests of ISRO's launch vehicles and satellites are carried out here.
Thiruvananthapuram (Malayalam pronunciation: [t̪iɾuʋənən̪d̪ɐˈbuɾəm] tirr-ROO-və-nun-Tə-poor-əm), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 km2, making it the most populous city in Kerala. The larger Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area has over 1.7 million inhabitants within an area of 543 km2, making it the second-most populous metropolitan area in Kerala after Kochi.. Thiruvananthapuram is one of the few cities in India that serves as a state capital and is also centre for heritage, maritime activities, information technology, research and development, space research, defence, automotive technology, and biosciences. It is also among the few cities in the world where both an international airport and an international seaport are located within the city in close proximity to the city centre. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a port city located 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) from a heavily trafficked east–west shipping channel. The city is home to India's first deep-water trans-shipment port, owned by the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd. Thiruvananthapuram under the Government of Kerala. The city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills. Thiruvananthapuram is also known for its cultural heritage, being associated with the musical contributions of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma and the artistic legacy of painter Raja Ravi Varma. Thiruvananthapuram has contributed to the development of Malayalam literature through individuals like Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, Kumaran Asan, C. V. Raman Pillai and Narayana Guru. The city is also known for Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, known as the richest temple in the world. The other temples includes the Sreevaraham temple, the Shreekanteswaram temple and the Attukal Bhagavathy temple. The present regions that constitute Thiruvananthapuram were ruled by the Ays who were related to feudatories of the Chera dynasty. In the 12th century, it was conquered by the Kingdom of Venad. In the 18th century, the king Marthanda Varma expanded the territory, founded the princely state of Travancore and made Thiruvananthapuram its capital. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Calicut in the battle of Purakkad in 1755. Following India's independence in 1947, Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of Travancore–Cochin state and remained so until the new Indian state of Kerala was formed in 1956. Thiruvananthapuram is a notable academic and research hub and home to the University of Kerala, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, the regional headquarters of Indira Gandhi National Open University, and many other schools and colleges. Thiruvananthapuram is also home to research centres such as the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, the Indian Space Research Organisation's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, the National Centre for Earth Science Studies and a campus of the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research. Thiruvananthapuram is where India's space programme began, with the headquarters of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre located there. The city is home to media institutions like Toonz Animation India and Tata Elxsi Ltd, and also to Chitranjali Film Studio, one of the first film studios in Malayalam Cinema, and Kinfra Film and Video Park at Kazhakoottam, which is India's first infotainment industrial park. In 2012, Thiruvananthapuram was named the best Kerala city to live in, by a field survey conducted by The Times of India. In 2013, the city was ranked the fifteenth best city to live in in India, in a survey conducted by India Today. Thiruvananthapuram was ranked the best Indian city for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016, according to the Annual Survey of India's City-Systems (ASICS) conducted by the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. The city was also selected as the best governed city in India in a survey conducted by Janaagraha Centre for citizenship and democracy in 2017.
The Vikas engine (a portmanteau from initials of VIKram Ambalal Sarabhai ) is a family of hypergolic liquid fuelled rocket engines conceptualized and designed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in the 1970s. The design was based on the licensed version of the Viking engine with the chemical pressurisation system. The early production Vikas engines used some imported French components which were later replaced by domestically produced equivalents. It is used in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and LVM3 for space launch use. Vikas engine is used to power the second stage of PSLV, boosters and second stage of GSLV Mark I and II and also the core stage of LVM3. The propellant loading for Vikas engine in PSLV, GSLV Mark I and II is 40 tons, while in LVM3 is 55 tons.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
