GSLV WEATHERS SNAG, PUTS SATELLITE IN ORBIT

GSLV WEATHERS SNAG,

PUTS SATELLITE IN ORBIT

A last-minute delay due to an anomaly in the indigenous cryogenic upper stage of the GSLV-F05 gave some anxious moments to ISRO officials, but this did not deter them from putting the INSAT-3DR, an advanced weather satellite with four payloads, into a precise Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).“The naughty boy has turned into an adorable boy,” K. Sivan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) said from mission control, summing up the feeling of the ISRO community about the vehicle that also marked a hat-trick of successful launches for the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle on Thursday.

At 4.50 p.m., after a delay of 40 minutes, the GSLV-F05 in its tenth flight soared beautifully in an arc into the clear blue skies.Exactly 17 minutes after take-off, the satellite was injected into orbit. ISRO had aimed at a perigee of 170 km plus or minus 5 km before launch, but ended up injecting the satellite at 169.7 km. Scientists found one of the valves on the ground circuit opening while filling propellants in the indigenous cryogenic upper stage and isolated it through remote command.The INSAT-3DR carries four payloads. “This is the third consecutive flight of the GSLV Mark II with our indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine,”A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO said.

Prof. John Kurakar