What was the GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission and why did it fail?

The satellite was meant for quick monitoring of natural disasters such as cyclones, cloudbursts and thunderstorms

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s GSLV rocket carrying the earth observation satellite into orbit suffered a setback minutes after it was launched in the early hours on Thursday.

The satellite, meant for quick monitoring of natural disasters such as cyclones, cloudbursts and thunderstorms, was launched on a geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

What went wrong?

India's latest earth observation satellite EOS-03 could not be injected into the orbit due to a techinal failure to ignite the cryogenic stage of the launch vehicle, prompting ISRO to declare the mission could not be achieved as intended.

However, the first and second stages of the rocket had performed normally, the Bengaluru-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation said. "Performance of first and second stages was normal. However, Cryogenic Upper Stage ignition did not happen due to technical anomaly. The mission couldn't be accomplished as intended," the Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement.

Also read: GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission could not be accomplished fully due to performance anomaly in cryogenic stage: ISRO

According to ISRO, the cryogenic upper stage ignition was scheduled to take place 4.56 minutes after the lift-off. As the 26-hour countdown concluded on Thursday, the 51.70-metre tall rocket with four stages lifted off majestically at 05.43 hrs, leaving behind a trail of thick orange-coloured fumes. The four-stage rocket was the first to carry a four-metre dia 'Ogive Payload Fairing' at the top of the vehicle to accommodate larger payloads. The rocket was supposed to place the EOS, an agile state-of-the-art satellite, into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, 19 minutes after lift-off.

Delayed GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission

Thursday's unsuccessful attempt to launch the satellite came in the wake of scientists postponing the earlier planned missions earlier. The satellite, originally titled GISAT-1 weighing 2,268 kg was slated to be launched on March 5, 2020, but it was postponed a day before the lift-off due to 'technical reasons'. The Covid-induced lockdown further delayed the mission and once again it was scheduled for a March 28, 2021 launch but a 'minor issue' with the satellite forced yet another postponement.

(With agency inputs)