Mission Unsuccessful Due to ‘Technical Anomaly’: ISRO After Satellite Launch

ISRO said in a tweet, "The mission couldn't be accomplished as intended."

ISRO launched Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-03 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Thursday, 12 August.

(Photo: Twitter/@isro)

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-03 onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10 (GSLV-F10), from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 5.43 am on Thursday, 12 August.

ISRO said in a tweet, "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."

About GSLV-F10/EOS-03 Mission

India's first Geo Imaging Satellite-1 (GISAT-1) was renamed as EOS-03. It is a state-of-the-art agile Earth Observation Satellite, which was to be placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by GSLV-F10. Subsequently, the satellite was to reach the final geostationary orbit using its onboard propulsion system, as per ISRO's website.

It added, "A 4-metre diameter ogive-shaped payload fairing is being flown for the first time in this GSLV flight. This is the fourteenth flight of GSLV."

The satellite will help in real-time monitoring of natural disasters like cyclones, cloudbursts, and thunderstorms.

Once placed in the geostationary orbit, the satellite will have a steady eye on the areas of interest, moving in sync with the rotation of the earth and hence seeming stationary, unlike other remote sensing satellites placed in lower orbit that can come over a spot only at regular intervals, reported news agency IANS.

We Will Recover From This Shock: Former ISRO Chairman

Reacting to the news of unaccomplished mission, former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said, "It's a shock for all of us. But we will recover from this shock soon and we will be back on track. The ISRO community is resilient enough to face such difficulties," news agency PTI reported.

Nair explained, "This is a very complex mission. Normally, the cryogenic stage is the most difficult one compared to all other rocket propulsions."

He added, "This is the eighth launch of cryogenic stage. The first one was a problem (unsuccessful). Subsequently, all other launches turned in text-book performance."

"There is a finite possibility of failure with any such complex system. We need not be disappointed. But at the same time, we should go to the root cause (of the failure) and fix it so that we don't repeat."

Former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair

Comparing India's track record with European countries and Russia, Nair said that ISRO had mastered the cryogenic technology over the years and added that around 20 percent missions in the cryogenic-stage fail for European countries and Russia.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)