Tag Archives: isro launch

ISRO’s GSAT-6A failure? Army, other stakeholders have to wait longer now

Posted on by
2

As Indian space agency ISRO is running out of any hope to get in touch with the GSAT-6A communication satellite, the Indian army, which was among the possible beneficiaries, will have to wait for some more time now.

The communication satellite GSAT-6A was successfully launched on March 29, but it went dead during its third orbit-raising manoeuvre to place it at 36,000 km above the ground. With a life span of 10 years, the Rs.240-crore worth satellite, was meant to provide communication through the satellite phones for the army and other government agencies in inaccessible, remote and hilly border areas.

For the first time, GSAT-6A was fitted with high thrust Vikas engine for the second stage and ISRO had reported that its second orbit raising operation of GSAT-6A satellite was carried out successfully by LAM Engine firing for about 53 minutes on March 31, 2018 in the morning.

The third stage, to be propelled by the cryogenic engine, could not be undertaken as the spacecraft communication with the ground control at Hassan near Bangalore failed on Sunday, April 1, 2018.

Had it been a momentary switch-off by the satellite to go into safety mode, by now it should have returned to life or should have been revived. Currently, ISRO scientists are hoping to track its current orbit path nearer to the Earth, so they can try to send or retrieve its signals.

ISRO has repeatedly said that the GSAT-6A was similar to the GSAT-6 with technologies such as demonstration of 6m S-Band Unfurlable Antenna, handheld ground terminals and network management techniques, useful in satellite-based mobile phone applications, especially for the mobile units of border forces.

But failure of GSAT-6A should force ISRO engineers to retreat into their labs and reckon the viability of two new techniques used in the rocket’s second stage — induction of high thrust Vikas engine and electromechanical actuation system. Or the engineers should find out whether the cryogenic propellant meant for the Third Stage was the real culprit.

As of now, GSAT-6A will keep orbiting the Earth as another space debris.


​

Shocked at ISRO Feat of Lofting 104 Satellites, Says Trump Nominee to Head CIA

Posted on by
Reply

US President Donald Trump’s nominee for National Intelligence, Dan Coats, told the Senate Hearing Committee that he was “shocked” to learn India’s space agency successfully launched more than 100 satellites in one go, saying that the US cannot afford to be laggard.

“I was shocked the other day to read that India, on one rocket launch, deposited more than 100 satellites in space,” said Coats during his confirmation hearing for the position of Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday.

“They may be small in size with different functions but one rocket can send up, I think it was 104 platforms,” said Mr Coats, who will be supervising even the CIA.

In fact, out of 104, 96 satellites were for the US companies and most of them were launched for Planet Labs Inc, a San Francisco-based Earth-imaging company.

The successful launch of 104 has relegated even the US which had created a record in 2014 launching 37 satellites in a single go. All 104 satellites were lofted off by India’s PSLV rocket in a precisely timed method and all the 104 were put in their respective orbits in a span of 18 minutes, each travelling at 27,000 kmph.