GSLV-D5 probe to begin on Monday

Scientists working on the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-D5 (GSLV-D5), the launch of which had to be postponed earlier this month after a leakage was spotted in the second stage, have said that there is no major glitch with the vehicle prima facie, but a clear picture would emerge only after Monday.

Sources at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said: “Primary checking has only detected the leak, and there seem to be no other problem.”

Another source said that a thorough probe would be initiated on Monday, when the launch vehicle would be taken to the vehicle assembly building in Sriharikota.

“Right now, the spacecraft is sitting on top of the vehicle at the launch pad. All the propellants have been drained out and the vehicle has to be decontaminated for safety reasons. After this, it would be moved back to the vehicle assembly building,” he said.
Stating that the spacecraft would be separated from the vehicle on Monday and shifted to the clean room, he said the inspection would then begin in the assembly building, where scientists would have access to the various stages.

The launch vehicle has three stages: core stage plus strap-ons, the liquid stage and the cryogenic stage.

The leakage was detected in the second stage on August 19, when the vehicle was to put into space the GSAT-14.

While Isro can fix another date for the launch only after the inspection and correction, the failure of the GSLV continues to haunt the space agency.

Isro was supposed to have launched the GSLV-F06 with the GSAT-5P satellite on December 20, 2010, but had to postponed the launch to December 25 after scientists had detected a leak in one of the valves of the Russian-made cryogenic engine.

The December 25 launch was eventually a failure, making it the second failure for GSLV that year, after an earlier April 15 launch had also failed.

This has been Isro’s first attempt to launch the same platform since December 25, 2010.