Isro’s satellite launch fails due to tech glitch
NEW DELHI: The launch of earth observation satellite EOS-03, aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) heavy launch vehicle GSLV, was unsuccessful on Thursday morning when the third stage of the engine did not ignite.
The satellite was meant to be the Indian space agency’s first launch in four months but had been lost, officials aware of the matter said. Had this mission been successful, it would have provided a picture of India’s landmass every 30 minutes for the next ten years.
“Performance of first and second stages was normal. However, Cryogenic Upper Stage ignition did not happen due to technical anomaly. The mission couldn’t be accomplished as intended,” said a statement from the Indian Space Research Organisation.
The failure also represented a setback for what is a crucial part of the space agency’s future rocket engine design using cryogenic propulsion, which is far more complex than solid or liquid systems, but offers significant advantages in thrust and efficiency. The Indian space agency has more or less perfected the science around the solid and liquid propulsion systems, which are in use in the PSLV rockets known as Isro’s workhorse launchers.
The mission using the heavy launch vehicle GSLV lifted off from the country’s only spaceport at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at the scheduled time at 5:43 am on Thursday, which was also the birth anniversary of Isro’s first chairperson Dr Vikram Sarabhai.
But the mission ran into trouble four minutes, 56 seconds after launch when the third stage of the rocket was to ignite. There was silence in the mission control well into the seventh minute after the launch while scientists analysed why the launch vehicle deviated from the charted course, a person aware of what happened at mission control said.
“The outcome of the mission will be announced by Isro soon. Right now in the mission control, senior scientists are in discussion regarding the performance of the flight,” said an announcement. Later, Isro chairperson Dr K Sivan announced, “The EOS 3 mission could not be fully accomplished mainly because of a technical anomaly observed in cryogenic stage.” The mission was significant since this was the first time Isro was to place an earth observation satellite in a geo-stationary orbit instead of a polar orbit that it usually uses.