ISRO pegs loss due to INSAT 4-C crash at Rs 1,600 crore

SRIHARIKOTA: In a major jolt to India's ambitious space programme, a rocket carrying the heaviest communication satellite INSAT-4C on Monday burst into flames shortly after lift-off.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F02) carrying the 2,168 kg satellite, that could have boosted Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service and digital news gathering, veered from its projected path and hurtled down into the Bay of Bengal after the launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 1738 hours.

ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair, admitting the failure of the mission, said, "things have gone wrong in the stage of separation (of the booster from the launch vehicle). We have to analyse the data why it went wrong".

The jubilation among the scientists at the control station of the Space Centre immediately after the launch soon turned into despair as the launch vehicle hurtled down into the Bay of Bengal.

Nair said it appeared from preliminary data that the pressure had dropped to zero in one of the four strap-on motors and it failed to give the required thrust to the GSLV.

Following this, the vehicle deviated to about 10 degrees, leading to the mission control giving the 'destruct command'.

The INSAT-42 launch debacle came a day after the Agni-III nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a range upto 3,500km, failed to hit its target off the coast of Orissa and splashed into the sea.

"We have activated and analysed the data and we will get to the bottom of it", Nair said adding, "Today's happening is a setback, especially after we had 11 continuous successful launches".

On the delay in the schedule, he said there was a leak in the relief valve, leading to some leakage of the cryogenic propellant. "We isolated the valve and took corrective action," Nair said.

The ISRO said the trajectory of the launch vehicle deviated in the fourth or fifth second after the launch. The vehicle, after deviation, exploded and fell in the Bay of Bengal.

The failure of Monday's mission has put a big question mark on future space programmes of the country.

Whether the country's plan for an unmanned moon mission will be delayed by today's failure is a topic that might crop up in the minds of scientists.

This was the first launch of GSLV from the Rs 350 crore sophisticated launch pad, commissioned in May 2005.

The 49-metre-tall, 414 tonne GSLV was a three-stage vehicle. The first stage, GS1, comprised a core motor with 138 tonne of solid propellants and four strap-on motors, each with 42 tonnes of hypergolic liquid propellant.

The second stage had 39 tonne of the same hypergolic liquid propellant. The third (GS3) was a cryogenic stage with 12.6 tonne of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2).

The INSAT 4-C, the second satellite in the INSAT 4 series, was aimed at strengthening video picture transmission besides providing space for National Informatics Centre's VSAT connectivity. The lifespan of the satellite was expected to be 10 years.

After the launch vehicle exploded, the debris fell into the Bay of Bengal, Nair said in his post-launch press conference.

The total expenditure on the vehicle and satellite was Rs 256 crore, he said.

However, an ISRO official has estimated the cost of the mission at Rs 1,600 crore.

Asked what would be the fate of those who had booked transponders in the ill-fated sattelite, he said, "we will negotiate with them and also find other capacities".

Admitting that Monday's mission had been a failure, Nair said, "it is a setback. But we had continuous success 11 times. Our boys did an excellent job for this mission. We have to see why it has happened."

Asked whether Monday's mishap would have an effect on ISRO's marketing plans of satellite launches, he said, "once we analyse the data and find a solution, our market will come back to us".

The setback would not affect the Mark III GSLV launch, he added.

Narrating the sequence of events, Nair said the lift off was normal and was following the trajectory but it suddenly deviated at about 60 seconds after lift off. Some parts of the launch vehicle also broke up, he said.

"Out of four strap on motors, the pressure in one dropped to zero. It did not have the required thrust beyond 40-45 seconds. We noticed divergence of angle. Normally, a four degree deviation is okay but it deviated by 10 degrees. In any case, we have a huge volume of video data which we will analyse. We have already initiated this," he said.

"When the flight deviated beyond permissible limits, we gave a destruct command for safety," he said.

On Agni III's failure on Sunday, he said, "I am not aware of the reasons for Agni III's failure. Unless I analyse the data, I can't say anything."

On ISRO's future plans, he said, "We are building another satellite to be launched in early 2007 (INSAT-4B). It is a heavier satellite and would be launched from Kouvarv".