Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered a setback after the SSLV-D1 rocket placed satellites into the wrong orbit rendering them unusable.
“SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit. Satellites are no longer usable. The issue is reasonably identified. Failure of logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action caused the deviation. A committee would analyze and recommend. With the implementation of the recommendations, ISRO will come back soon with SSLV-D2,” ISRO tweeted.
On Sunday, ISRO day announced the successful launch of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). Launched from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, the SSLV-D1 took off at 9:18 am on Sunday, deploying two small satellites in a low-Earth orbit (LEO) of about 365km above the equator.
The SSLV was 34m tall, about 10m less than the PSLV and it has a vehicle diameter of two meters as compared to the 2.8 meters PSLV. The SSLV was carrying Earth Observation Satellite -02 and a co-passenger satellite AzaadiSAT
The latter was built as part of a government outreach program. Contributions from 75 female students from across the country to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers among women.
After the launch, ISRO experienced data loss in the final phase of the flight. ISRO Chairman S Somanath had informed the space agency’s maiden Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) suffered “data loss” at the terminal stage, although three stages “performed and separated,”
ISRO informed that the SSLV had placed the satellite in an unstable orbit – 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit- therefore rendering the satellite unusable. ISRO cited the failure of the mission as a ‘failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action caused the deviation’.
