The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has failed to put the EOS-09 radar satellite into orbit. The reason for the accident was the failure of the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket.
The PSLV rocket has been in operation since 1993, being the main workhorse of the Indian space program. It is used for launching cargo into sun-synchronous orbits, launching interplanetary missions, and so-called assembly missions, during which a large number of small satellites from different commercial customers are launched into orbit.
PSLV is considered to be a fairly reliable carrier. Not counting a few early accidents in the 1990s, the last serious incident involving it was dated August 2017, when the satellite on board failed to reach orbit due to an unseparated payload fairing. Since then, the rocket has recorded a series of 21 accident-free launches.
Unfortunately, that series was interrupted on May 18, during a launch held from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. Initially, the PSLV flight proceeded normally. However, six minutes after launch, the rocket’s velocity began to decrease in the solid-propellant third stage section, deviating from the planned profile. Shortly thereafter, ISRO interrupted the live broadcast of the flight.
In a statement released shortly after, ISRO admitted the failure. According to preliminary data, its cause was a drop in pressure in the working chamber of the third stage, because of which the rocket failed to develop the first space velocity. The accident resulted in the loss of the 1,700-kilogram EOS-09 satellite. It was designed for remote sensing of the Earth and was equipped with synthetic aperture radar.
We had earlier reported on ISRO’s decision to postpone the date of the first manned flight of the Gaganyaan spacecraft.
According to Spacenews
