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Snapping of connectors caused GSLV crash: ISRO

The connectors were encased in the Russian cryogenic engine
Last Updated 31 December 2010, 17:10 IST

The higher-efficiency cryogenic engine is the third and final stage of the three-stage GSLV, which in its latest flight was to put into orbit the exclusive communication satellite GSAT-5P. But the mission was aborted after the launch vehicle radically swerved from its trajectory path and crashed.

Releasing the “preliminary findings and further steps to be taken” on last week’s GSLV-FO6’s failure, the ISRO in a statement said the findings of the preliminary failure analysis team has traced the primary cause to “the untimely and inadvertent snapping of a group of 10 connectors located at the bottom portion of the Russian Cryogenic stage.”
ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan had told reporters at Sriharikota that evening that they had lost “controllability” of the rocket-launcher which broke up into two parts in mid-air at an altitude of eight km as four connectors that took the signals to the “electronics actuation stage” had snapped. Now, the ISRO has made clear that not only a larger number of 10 connectors had severed, but also it took place inside the Russian cryogenic stage, a technology so complex to master and quite contentious so far. 

Stating that the flight was normal up to 47.5 seconds from lift-off, ISRO giving further details said the “events leading to the failure got initiated at 47.8 seconds after lift-off.”
Soon the vehicle started developing larger errors in its orientation, leading to “higher angle of attack and higher structural loads.” Hence, it resulted in the rocket’s break-up at 53.8 seconds. Then, as per the range safety norms, a destruct command was given at 64 seconds after lift-off and the flight was terminated in the first stage itself.

Shortly later, a team under the chairmanship of former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair, along with members of the Launch Authorisation Board, and other senior project scientists and experts.

Further, ISRO has now set up a Failure Analysis Committee to carry out an in-depth analysis of the flight data of GSLV-F06 as well as the data from the previous six flights of GSLV, establish reasons for the flight’s failure and recommend corrective actions.

Also, the organisation has constituted a Programme Review and Strategy Committee chaired by Planning Commission member and former ISRO chairman Kasturirangan to look into the future of the GSLV programme.

While these two committees are expected to submit reports early next year, panel chaired by former member of Space Commission S C Gupta will be guiding and facilitating an internal exercise by Radhakrishnan eliciting views from the ISRO community at all levels to gear up for the complex and challenging space missions ahead.

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(Published 31 December 2010, 17:10 IST)

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