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ISRO to probe rocket failure

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CIOL Bureau
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CHENNAI, INDIA: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will set up a Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) to examine the reasons for the failure of its rocket launch Saturday, an official said.

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"The committee will be set up in a week's time to look into the failure of GSLV (geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle) rocket on Saturday," S. Satish, a director at ISRO, told IANS.

The ISRO's rocket carrying an advanced communication satellite GSAT-5P exploded just a minute after the launch.

"The control commands to the four strap-on motors of the first stage did not reach. We suspect the four connectors to the strap-on motors got snapped," ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan told reporters soon after the rocket failure.

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The GSLV rocket has three stages. The first stage is fired by solid fuel. The four strap on motors give additional thrust during the lift-off and the initial phase of the rocket's flight.

The second stage is fired by liquid fuel. The third stage, which is more complex than the others, involves the cryogenic engine powered by liquid hydrogen as fuel and liquid oxygen as oxidiser.

According to Satish, a team of experts was pouring over the telemetry data and the FAC will be set up after that.

Speaking to IANS about the failure, R.V. Perumal, retired ISRO rocket scientist, said: "The ISRO has to launch more GSLV rockets to get the systems correct. Launch failures are common for any space agency," he added.

Till date, ISRO has launched seven GSLV rockets, of which three failed.

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