Indian Rocket Launching Failure

Indian Rocket Launching Failure

Thurday's launch of the GSLV-D3 rocket had made waves in the aeronautical community because it was the first time India was putting t... 1:58 PM

Thurday's launch of the GSLV-D3 rocket had made waves in the aeronautical community because it was the first time India was putting to check its own liquid cryogenic engine.

The much-anticipated launch of an Indian rocket using home-grown engine technology has failed, with mission controllers losing control of the pioneering spacecraft minutes after launch.

A successful launch would have represented a major breakthrough for India, which is investing heavily in developing its space industry.

But problems emerged minutes after the rocket left its launch-pad in Sriharikota, southern India, when scientists on the ground lost contact with it. The spacecraft was carrying a satellite in to orbit.

Steering failure

Officials from India's space agency confirmed that the mission had been a failure.

"There are indications that the cryogenic engine ignited but the vehicle was tumbling & controllability lost," said Dr. K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, adding that a steering engine failure appeared to have caused the problem.

"We saw the vehicle tumbling uncontrollably & it developed deviation. Seven vernier engines would not have ignited."

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Excitement had been building in the country at the prospect of becoming the sixth country to use cryogenic engines successfully, which would make it an pretty prospect for communications companies seeking to launch satellites for a relatively low cost.

The quest to create an Indian cryogenic rocket engine has taken 18 years, & has cost $73 million.

That the rocket had been developed entirely indigenously had been a considerable source of pride for Indian scientists, who developed much of the technology while the country faced sanctions for carrying out a nuclear check in 1998.

The Indian space agency said that details of the flight information from the ill-fated rocket would be analysed to find out what went wrong, ahead of another check launch planned for later this year.