India to find reasons for its rockets’ failures
By IANSFriday, December 31, 2010
BANGALORE/CHENNAI - India will analyse the flight data of its heavy rockets, including the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F06) that broke up on Christmas Day, to find out reasons for its failure and take corrective measures, the space agency said Friday.
“A failure analysis committee has been constituted to analyse the flight data of the GSLV-F06 and that of the previous six similar flights to establish reasons for its failure and recommend corrective action,” the state-run Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO) said in a statement here.
To be chaired by former ISRO chairman and rocket scientist G. Madhavan Nair, the committee will have 11 experts from within the space agency and outside.
ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan has also set up a seven-member programme review and strategy committee to look into the future of the GSLV programme and the launch of INSAT/GSAT series, INSAT-3D and Chandrayaan-2.
The committee, to be headed by former ISRO chairman and Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan, will “review the realisation and operationalisation of the indigenous cryogenic stage and draw a strategy for meeting the demands of communication transponders in the immediate future, the statement noted.
The first indigenous cryogenic engine failed in the GSLV-D3 due to a snag in the upper/third stage of the rocket April 15.
The twin committees have been asked to submit their reports by January 2011.
The reports will be presented to eminent national experts, including former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, M.G.K. Menon, Yash Pal, R. Chidambaram and space commission member R. Narasimha.
