GSLV engine fails to ignite; Isro loses rocket, satellite
ISRO plans to place an earth observation satellite failed as the rocket GSLV-F10 did not place the satellite EOS-03 into the intended orbit due to a 'technical anomaly' identified in the cryogenic stage, in Sriharikota on Thursday
Sriharikota: Failure of the ignitor or failure of the cryogenic engine to get ignited or even the failure of the avionics in sending the ignite signal are contemplated as the reasons for Indian rocket going down on Thursday early morning.
The rocket systems could have failed as it was kept idle for over a year, due to technical and also due to the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10 (GSLV-F10) carrying the country's first Geo-Imaging Satellite (GISAT-1) lifted off from the spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The failure resulted in the loss of rocket and satellite both valued over several hundred crores of rupees and also the revenue opportunity for 10 years. Ironically, Thursday's failure comes on the birth anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space sector.
The GISAT-1/EOS-03, with a life span of 10 years, would have been the country's first eye in the sky or earth observation satellite to be placed in geostationary orbit.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in a statement after the rocket's failure said: "GSLV-F10 launch took place on August 12, 2021 at 0543 Hrs IST as scheduled. 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."
What is that technical anomaly is the moot question.
"The cryogenic engine is a complex system and the failure is not due to design flaw," former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair said.
According to him, the ignitor/pyro systems could have ignited but the fuel might not have due to various reasons.
Nair also agreed the rocket being kept idle for more than a year after it was readied for flight could have also affected the functionality of the components.