GSLV mission fails, rocket explodes

Sriharikota, Dec 25 (PTI) In a jolt to India's space
programme on Saturday, the launch of a communication satellite
aboard a homegrown vehicle failed after the rocket exploded
midair minutes after the lift-off from the spaceport here.
The mission, aimed at putting India in a club of
countries with the technology to put heavy satellites in
orbit, failed when the rocket developed a snag soon after
lift-off in the first stage itself.
GSAT-5P, carrying 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band
transponders, was meant for augmenting communication services
currently provided by the Indian National Satellite System.
Built at Rs.125 crore, the satellite was to replace the
INSAT-2E that was sent up more than a decade ago.
The rocket blasted-off at around 4 pm from the second
launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the end of the
29-hour countdown but was hit by a snag in the first stage
itself, ISRO sources said.
"The incident occurred in the first stage itself", the
sources said, adding, details would be disclosed later.
This is the second failure this year for ISRO after
the previous (Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle) GSLV
mission with the country's maiden cryogenic engine hit a snag
and the rocket plunged into the Bay of Bengal on April 15 this
year.
ISRO had postponed the December 20 launch of the
Geo-Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06), in its seventh
mission, after a minor leak was noticed in the Russian
Cryogenic engine during the pre-countdown checks.
The last GSLV mission (GSLV-D3) failed after the
malfunctioning of indigenous cryogenic stage, dampening the
country's hopes of joining the elite club of five nations with
such capability. PTI