The launch of India's latest navigation satellite onboard its polar rocket failed today following a technical glitch just prior to its scheduled orbiting in space.
The rare setback for the ISRO in India's space history involving the workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) came shortly after a perfect lift off of the PSLV C-39 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here at 7 pm.
In a brief announcement, A S Kiran Kumar, chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO), said the mission was unsuccessful because the satellite housed within the heat sink could not be injected.
"The C39 launch vehicle had a problem, heat shield has not separated. As a result of that the satellite is inside the heat shield and we have to go through the detailed analysis to see what has happened," a dejected Kumar announced at the Mission Control Centre.
But for the failed heat shield separation, the remaining activities had gone on smoothly, he said, adding a detailed analysis would be undertaken.
A successful launch of India's eighth navigation satellite--IRNSS-1H--would have ushered a new era in the country's history of space exploration as, for the first time, the private sector has been actively involved in assembling and testing of a satellite. Earlier, the private sector's role was limited only to supplying components.
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