Senior space scientist describes GSLV failure “a tragic incident”

NEW DELHI - Senior space scientist Professor Yashpal described the failure of the GSAT-5P communication satellite launch today as a very tragic incident.

In his first reaction to the failure of the satellite launch, Prof Yashpal said, “It is very tragic. I think something has happened in early stages. I have never heard of such a thing, as we have had several successes before.”

“We did not get up to the liquid stage. It is terribly sad that something somewhere has gone amiss. A lot of data is available. So, they will be able to find out what went wrong,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the launch of India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-5P on board GSLV-F06 vehicle from the Sriharikota rocket launch centre in Tamil Nadu failed due to technical failure at Stage One.

According to Prof Yashpal it was a strange incident as the early stages of the launch vehicle had been tested several times by India and have an 100 percent success rate.

“It cannot be something fundamentally wrong. It must be something big. It is unfortunate. This is an accident of some sort,” said Prof Yashpal.

Doubting that there would be some kind of technical problem in the first stage of the launch vehicle and not with the Russian cryogenic stage, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) engineer, Madan Lal, said: “Cryogenic stage is the third stage of the launch. It appears not to be linked with the cryogenic stage.”

The 30-hour count down for the launch of the satellite, which will ensure continuity of telecom, television and weather services after an earlier satellite is retired, had begun on Friday.

The launch of the satellite, which was originally scheduled for December 20, had been postponed after a leak in the Russian cryogenic engine on board the launch vehicle.

GSAT-5P with 24 C-band transponders and 12 extended C-band transponders is meant for augmenting communication services currently provided by Indian National Satellite System (INSAT).

It is meant to boost TV, telemedicine and tele-education, and telephone services.

The satellite, developed by ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, is the fifth in the GSAT series. It has a designed mission life of 12 years. (ANI)