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April 2001
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India aims for rocket re-launch
Bangalore, India, April 16, India's relaunch of the aborted geostationary satellite rocket is on schedule with the help of a new strap-on engine. The new launch date has been set tentatively for Wednesday April 18, almost one month after the initial launch was cancelled due to a snag in one of the four strap-on engines, according to news agency UNI.
The country's first test flight of the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle- the GSLV-D1, failed to take off on March 28, resulting in a major blow to India's nascent space program.
Saved by safety system
This week's planned relaunch was made possible because the vehicle's on-board safety system immediately shut down the first mission when one of the four engines did not develop the required thrust. This ensured minimum damage to the vehicle.
''The whole operation, including assessment of the problem, took around 15 days and the strap-on motor was replaced in just seven days,'' sources at the Sriharikota Space Center told UNI.
The abortive flight both baffled and distressed India's Space Research Organization, a group that though poised to deploy communication satellites on its own, has yet to do so. Up to now, India has been depending on foreign countries for launching its communication satellites.
The country has already built a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV), which puts satellites in a north-south orbit along the poles. Geostationary satellites move in an east-west orbit. With the launch of the GSLV satellite, India hopes to join the United States, the European Space Agency, Japan, Russia and China as a member of an elite satellite launch club.
Related News:
India's GSLV-D1 launch likely on March 28
GSLV D-1 fails to lift off
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