Bangalore: Indias effort at joining the elite club of space faring nations with indigenous cryogenic fuel technology hit a roadblock on Thursday as the geo-synchornous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) carrying the geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT-4) deviated from its path.
The rocket was launched at its scheduled time of at 16.27 IST from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan informed those present at the location that though the cryogenic engine ignited, the other two linear, control rockets failed to work up the ignition.
As a result, the controllability to steer the rocket on its path was lost at an altitude of 60kms. He said Indian scientists had worked hard for the past 18 years and that they would go for another launch within a year.
The launch was normal till the second stage when after 500 seconds, the rocket tumbled off its path and data link to it was also lost. He said detailed analysis would be carried out to determine what caused the deviation from flight and why the systems did not work at time.
"Mission objectives were not fully met," he declared.
The crucial launch exercise was about 19-20 minutes, with the first stage taking 150 seconds (2.5 minutes) to lift-off and soar into the sky. The second stage was fired for 290 seconds (4.8 minutes) to zoom further and shut off to fire the cryo stage to enter the higher earth orbit in the next 12 minutes. It is this stage that didnt go as planned.
Only five countries - United States, Russia, France, Japan and China - have the cryogenic engine upper stage technology to launch heavier satellites in geostationary orbit.
India is the sixth country to design and develop the cryogenic technology.
When the US prevented Russia from transferring its cryogenic technology to India in 1992, the state-run ISRO embarked on a mission in 1994 to design and develop the cryo engine for achieving self-reliance in such complex technology at a cost of Rs 335-crore (Rs.3.35 billion) in 16 years. "The technology denial regime has spurred us to develop our own cryogenic upper stage to launching heavier satellites in the higher orbits, about 36,000 km from the earth," Radhakrishnan earlier told reporters here recently.
India, however, had imported seven cryo engines from Russia but used five to launch heavy satellites (above two-tonne class) in GSLV-Mark I and Mark-II rockets during the last decade.
The Rs 150-crore GSAT-4 has one Ka-band regenerative transponder and a navigation payload that will operate in C-band and L1 and L5 bands for global positioning system (GPS) aided geo augmented navigation (Gagan).
Being an experimental mission and wholly funded by the Indian government, there is no insurance cover for the launch as well as the satellite.
"As a technology demonstrator, GSAT-4 will enable testing of many future communication satellite technologies. After reaching GTO, the satellite will use its own propulsion system to reach its geostationary orbital home and will be stationed at 82 degrees east longitude there," Radhakrishnan noted.
Besides the cryogenic engine, the GSAT-4 has advanced telemetry system and advanced mission computers and larger composite payload faring.
The advanced version of the GSLV is a three-stage rocket with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages. The solid core motor of the first stage is one of the largest rocket motors in the world and uses 138 tonnes of propellant (fuel-oxidiser).
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