ID :
116965
Fri, 04/16/2010 - 08:41
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https://oananews.org//node/116965
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India's 1st homegrown cryogenic-powered rocket mission fails
C S Satish Anand
Sriharikota, Apr 15 (PTI) India's Rs 330 crore mission to
flight test the first indigenous cryogenic engine failed on
Thursday after the rocket powered by it crashed into the sea
five minutes after a perfect lift-off in a setback to its
space programme.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
carrying a 2,200 kg communications satellite plunged into the
Bay of Bengal after it deviated from its flight-path dashing
the country's hopes of joining an exclusive club of five
nations that has mastered the complex cryogenic technology on
which Indian Space Research Organisation was working for 18
years.
The satellite was to have been put into a Geostationary
orbit, 36,000 km above earth, but the initial euphoria after
the textbook launch turned into disappointment.
Announcing the ambitious mission that would have given
India self-reliance in all areas of launch vehicle technology
waws unsuccessful a grim Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) Chairman K Radhakrishnan said scientists would test
another cryogenic engine-powered GSLV within a year.
"Flight testing of indigenous cryogenic technology
during the GSLV space mission was not successful,"
Radhakrishnan told reporters at the Satish Dhawan Spaceport
here shortly after shocked scientists watched blips on huge
computer screens tracking the rocket's path disappear. The
rocket swerved off its path 505 seconds after the launch in
perfect weather.
Hundreds of space scientists were visibly disappointed by
the sudden turn of events and former ISRO chairman K
Kasturirangan was seen comforting Radhakrishnan for whom
GSLV-D3 was the first mission after becoming the ISRO chief.
The 49-metre tall three-stage GSLV-D3, carrying the
GSAT-4 advanced communications satellite, blasted off at 4.27
pm at the end of a 29-hour countdown. But soon scientists
tracking the launch found that the rocket had deviated from
the flight-path only to splash in the sea.
Cryogenic boosters are very complex engines that use
supercooled liquid fuel for combustion and only five countries
-- the US, Russia, France, Japan and China have mastered it.
"Our team has all the capability and the necessary
resilience to build a cryogenic engine and within one year be
ready to have the next flight test," the ISRO chief said.
In his initial remarks, Radhakrishnan said the
cryogenic engine had ignited but the two Vernier engines had
failed to develop the necessary controlling force. However, at
the press conference, he said that it was not clear whether
the cryogenic engine had ignited at all.
"We will carry out an analysis over the next two to three
days to come to a conclusion on what exactly had happened,
why it happened and what corrective measures needed to be
taken," he said.
Radhakrishnan said performance of the vehicle was normal
upto the "burn out" of the second stage.
"Everything was okay till the end of GS2 (second stage)
upto 293 seconds after which the cryogenic stage was to ignite
...we are not very sure whether it did ignite," he said.
Cryogenic engines, giving additional thrust, help in
launching heavier satellites into higher orbits.
ISRO scientists announced that they stopped receiving
data from the rocket, giving way to gloom at the centre as the
mission failed after 18-year long effort to develop the
cryogenic technology and demonstrate the country's space
prowess as its answer to technology denial by major powers.
During the flight, "the vehicle was tumbling and we will
carry out detailed analysis of what went wrong. In another 2-3
days we will come to a conclusion to find out what exactly had
happened," he said.
Earlier, GSLV flights were powered by the ready-to-fly
cryogenic engines supplied by Russia.
India has been developing the cryogenic engine since 1993
as its answer to technology denial regime as the US not only
refused the technology but also put pressure on Russia to
backtrack on its commitment to New Delhi.
This is the second failure in the GSLV series after
GSLV-F02 carrying INSAT-4C satellite plunged into the Bay of
Bengal in July 2006.PTI SA
KAB
Sriharikota, Apr 15 (PTI) India's Rs 330 crore mission to
flight test the first indigenous cryogenic engine failed on
Thursday after the rocket powered by it crashed into the sea
five minutes after a perfect lift-off in a setback to its
space programme.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
carrying a 2,200 kg communications satellite plunged into the
Bay of Bengal after it deviated from its flight-path dashing
the country's hopes of joining an exclusive club of five
nations that has mastered the complex cryogenic technology on
which Indian Space Research Organisation was working for 18
years.
The satellite was to have been put into a Geostationary
orbit, 36,000 km above earth, but the initial euphoria after
the textbook launch turned into disappointment.
Announcing the ambitious mission that would have given
India self-reliance in all areas of launch vehicle technology
waws unsuccessful a grim Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) Chairman K Radhakrishnan said scientists would test
another cryogenic engine-powered GSLV within a year.
"Flight testing of indigenous cryogenic technology
during the GSLV space mission was not successful,"
Radhakrishnan told reporters at the Satish Dhawan Spaceport
here shortly after shocked scientists watched blips on huge
computer screens tracking the rocket's path disappear. The
rocket swerved off its path 505 seconds after the launch in
perfect weather.
Hundreds of space scientists were visibly disappointed by
the sudden turn of events and former ISRO chairman K
Kasturirangan was seen comforting Radhakrishnan for whom
GSLV-D3 was the first mission after becoming the ISRO chief.
The 49-metre tall three-stage GSLV-D3, carrying the
GSAT-4 advanced communications satellite, blasted off at 4.27
pm at the end of a 29-hour countdown. But soon scientists
tracking the launch found that the rocket had deviated from
the flight-path only to splash in the sea.
Cryogenic boosters are very complex engines that use
supercooled liquid fuel for combustion and only five countries
-- the US, Russia, France, Japan and China have mastered it.
"Our team has all the capability and the necessary
resilience to build a cryogenic engine and within one year be
ready to have the next flight test," the ISRO chief said.
In his initial remarks, Radhakrishnan said the
cryogenic engine had ignited but the two Vernier engines had
failed to develop the necessary controlling force. However, at
the press conference, he said that it was not clear whether
the cryogenic engine had ignited at all.
"We will carry out an analysis over the next two to three
days to come to a conclusion on what exactly had happened,
why it happened and what corrective measures needed to be
taken," he said.
Radhakrishnan said performance of the vehicle was normal
upto the "burn out" of the second stage.
"Everything was okay till the end of GS2 (second stage)
upto 293 seconds after which the cryogenic stage was to ignite
...we are not very sure whether it did ignite," he said.
Cryogenic engines, giving additional thrust, help in
launching heavier satellites into higher orbits.
ISRO scientists announced that they stopped receiving
data from the rocket, giving way to gloom at the centre as the
mission failed after 18-year long effort to develop the
cryogenic technology and demonstrate the country's space
prowess as its answer to technology denial by major powers.
During the flight, "the vehicle was tumbling and we will
carry out detailed analysis of what went wrong. In another 2-3
days we will come to a conclusion to find out what exactly had
happened," he said.
Earlier, GSLV flights were powered by the ready-to-fly
cryogenic engines supplied by Russia.
India has been developing the cryogenic engine since 1993
as its answer to technology denial regime as the US not only
refused the technology but also put pressure on Russia to
backtrack on its commitment to New Delhi.
This is the second failure in the GSLV series after
GSLV-F02 carrying INSAT-4C satellite plunged into the Bay of
Bengal in July 2006.PTI SA
KAB
