Cyclone Gaja kept ISRO officials on tenterhooks

However, subsequent bulletins of the IMD stating that Gaja would make landfall between Cuddalore and Pamban, brought a huge relief to scientists. Further, the sky in Sriharikota on Wednesday, the launch date of GSLVMKIII, was clear raising the hopes of the ISRO team.

Though the GSLV Mk-III had the potential to carry satellites even during heavy rain, the launch vehicle was not powerful enough to wade through strong winds, informed ISRO authorities.

A senior official from ISRO said that it would be difficult to launch the rocket even if a cyclone makes landfall 100 km away from Sriharikota. Had the cyclone crossed between Chennai and Cuddalore, as predicted earlier, we would have been forced to postpone the launch to the weekend.

The official said the weather watch official constantly kept in touch with IMD in Delhi and Chennai. While at the launch pad, the GSLV could withstand any kind of inclement weather as it would be held firm by the straps.

The official also pointed out that Chandrayaan mission was carried out when northeast monsoon was fully active in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu region. 

However, at that time there was no cyclone threat. But, it (Chandrayaan) was launched when rains were lashing the region, the senior official said.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists Wednesday for the successful launch of the heavy-lift GSLV rocket, carrying a latest communication satellite, saying it would boost the communication services in the remotest corners of the country.

“Congratulations to #ISRO scientists for successfully launching GSAT-29 communication satellite today, which will help in providing broadband connectivity in remote areas of Jammu & Kashmir and the North-Eastern States,” the vice-president’s secretariat said in a tweet.

Echoing similar sentiments, Modi said the satellite would provide communication and internet services to the remotest corners of the country.

“My heartiest congratulations to our scientists on the successful launch of GSLV MK III-D2 carrying GSAT-29 satellite. The double success sets a new record of putting the heaviest satellite in orbit by an Indian launch vehicle,” he tweeted.