BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has today successfully ground tested an improved version of the solid propellant strap on motor for PSLV.

The new version, PSOM-XL, with a length of 13.5 m, has the capacity to carry 12.4 tonne. PSLV used to employ six solid propellant strap-on motors, each carrying 9 tonne of propellant.

PSOM-XL will improve the capability of PSLV from the present 1450 kg to 1600 kg and will be employed in future PSLV flights including for launching Chandrayaan-1 and the microwave remote sensing satellite, RISAT.

According to an official release, the new motor, PSOM-XL, was static tested today at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.

The motor developed a peak chamber pressure of 4.16 MPa and burned for a duration of 58 seconds in the ground test conducted today. The performance of the new motor, developed by Isro's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, was as per the prediction.