New Delhi: The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-10) launched by ISRO was going off as planned by the scientist of the space research centre. It took off from the Satish Dhawan space centre and went off well during the initial phase. But 4 minutes 55 seconds later, it suffered a “technical” glitch and failed to enter the cryogenic stage that led to its failure. The space lovers were hopeful about its launch when it burned the four strap-on boosters and entered the 1st and 2nd stages successfully but the hopes shattered soon after.
The moment the satellite could not successfully enter the next stage and the telemetry screens showed it losing control and velocity, there was a moment of silence in the ISRO control room. A few moments later, the mission was declared ‘failed’ by the team. The ISRO chairman, K Sivan came out and gave a public statement by just saying, “The launch could not be fully accomplished mainly because of a technical anomaly observed in the cryogenic stage”. He did not provide any details further on the failure.
For those unaware, the cryogenic stage is the “last leg” of the launch mission. In this stage, the satellite uses extremely low temperatures to lift heavier objects and place them in space. This launch could have been a “game-changer” for India because it could have allowed better defense and security for the country due to its ability to real-time monitoring of the oceans and landmass through high-resolution cameras. But with its failure to launch successfully, dreams have been shattered once again for the Space community of the country.