NavIC fleet faces setback after Isro failed to hurl replacement satellite

This is the first failure of the PSLV rocket in 38 launches and only its second one since 1993

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) failed to hurl a backup navigation satellite into space on Thursday, setting back the country's attempts to complete the constellation of reliable homegrown GPS satellites for its strategic needs.

The IRNSS-1H, a backup satellite with new atomic clock was to replace the first of the two failed NavIC satellites that had faulty rubidium atomic clocks, essential to provide accurate positional data.

The NavIC fleet, India's answer to the US built Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites or Europe's Galileo, will help in providing accurate position for vehicles on roads or fisherman on high seas, besides used for strategic needs.  

In its attempt to leverage India's private sector to build spacecraft in the country, the satellite was also the first one Isro built jointly with a private consortium, 

The textbook launch of Isro's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a journey of around 20 minutes into outer space was marred after the heat shield or the upper most container of the rocket where the 1455-kg satellite is housed failed to open up to be released into space.

"The satellite is inside the heat shield and we have to go through a detailed analysis to see what has happened," said A S Kiran Kumar, Isro chairman soon after the failed launch. " Apart from the heat shield separation, all the rest of the activities has gone on smoothly, but in terms of the mission, it is unsuccessful because we are not in a position to put it to the actual orbit."

This is the first failure of the PSLV rocket in 38 launches and only its second since 1993, when the rocket began hurling satellites to lower earth orbit.  Isro has so far positioned PSLV as a reliable launcher for satellites globally and has been the vehicle for its deep space missions such as Chandrayaan-1 to the moon and Mangalyaan-1 to Mars, both of which have been successful. The rocket also has hurled 104 satellites for foreign customers, making it the preferred launcher for small and micro satellites globally.

The setback also puts off by a year India's attempt to complete the NavIC constellation. Since 2013, Isro has launched seven navigation satellites to form its fleet, but has seen two of them fail due to faulty atomic clocks. IRNSS-1H was the first of the two replacement satellites.

The IRNSS-1H was jointly built by a consortium of private firms led by Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies at the Isro satellite centre.  It now will have to work on the second satellite and a replacement for the failed IRNSS-1H satellite.

So far, private firms have only built components and systems for India's satellites and rockets. Isro had planned to tap private players over a decade ago to build its satellites, but the experiment failed as it found the industry wanted large-scale commitment before it began work. Isro has already announced a tender to invite private firms to build bigger satellites.