India's satellites placed on new rocket mission no longer usable
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday said the satellites placed on its maiden Small Satellite Launch Vehicle "are no longer usable" as the SSLV-D1 placed them in an elliptical orbit instead of a circular one.
It said failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action caused the deviation. The space agency said a committee would analyse and make recommendations into the episode, adding that with the implementation of those recommendations "ISRO will come back soon with SSLV-D2".
"SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit. Satellites are no longer usable. Issue is reasonably identified," ISRO said in its latest update on the new mission. It further said a detailed statement by chairman will be shared soon.
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Earlier in the day, the space agency launched a historic mission as its small-lift launch vehicle – carrying an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) and co-passenger student satellites AzaadiSAT – lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
In a later update, ISRO said the maiden SSLV had suffered 'data loss' in its terminal stage, after performing "as expected" in all stages.
