Glitch setback to ISRO’s big plans with small satellites

NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday faced a blip in its plan to tap the small satellite launch vehicle market, as an anomaly in the placing of the satellites by the rocket led to deviation on its path thereby becoming ‘no longer usable’, Chairman S Somanath said on Sunday.

However, he said that apart from the ‘anomaly’ which surfaced, the entire “architecture of the rocket” performed well and the scientists were happy with every stage of the rocket operating as per the plan.

The 34-metre tall Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on its maiden journey to place an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) and students satellite AzaadiSAT lifted off at the precise 9.18 hrs from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, here in this spaceport. Emanating orange colour fumes and thick grey color smoke on its tail, the rocket was supposed to place the two payloads into the intended 356 kms circular orbit around 13 minutes after lift off. However, scientists were unable to receive data from the rocket even after the payloads got separated from the launch vehicle.

“The satellites were placed in an elliptical orbit in place of circular orbit. The 356 kms circular orbit was our intended orbit but it could place the satellite in an orbit of 356 /76 kms,” Somanath said. “As the 76 kms elliptical orbit was the lower most point and closer to the surface of the earth, the satellites placed in such an orbit will not stay for longtime due to the atmosphere and will come down. The (two satellites) have already come down from that orbit and are no longer usable”, he said. To probe into the incident, Somanath said an expert committee has been formed which would identify the ‘specific’ problem and undertake a detailed evaluation in days to come.