The S139 (S for Solid, 139 for weight of 139 tonnes) is a

Solid Rocket Booster A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a large solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and space shuttle, have used SRBs to giv ...

manufactured by the

Indian Space Research Organization The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ...

at the

Satish Dhawan Space Center Satish Dhawan Space Centre - SDSC (formerly Sriharikota Range - SHAR) is a rocket launch centre ( spaceport) operated by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is located in Sriharikota, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. Sriharikot ...

in the SPROB facility. The rocket motor was first developed for use in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Later it was utilized in the

GSLV Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). GSLV was used in fourteen launches from 2001 to 2021. Even though GSLV Mark III shares the name, it is a ...

MKII. It uses

hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is an oligomer of butadiene terminated at each end with a hydroxyl functional group. It reacts with isocyanates to form polyurethane polymers. HTPB is a translucent liquid with a color similar to wax pap ...

(HTPB) as a propellant. It has a maximum thrust of 4800 kN.

Associated rockets

The S139 Booster has been used in 2 major

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ...

rockets. It is used in the

PSLV The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites ...

as its core stage since 1993. It is also used as a core stage in

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). GSLV was used in fourteen launches from 2001 to 2021. Even though GSLV Mark III shares the name, it is an ...

MKII rocket. It is also the part of a variant of the Unified Launch Vehicle which is under development.

Gallery

File:PSLV C-35 at the launch pad (cropped).jpg, The Core stage of the PSLV is the S139 Booster

References

Rocket stages Satish Dhawan Space Centre ISRO space launch vehicles {{Rocket-stub