Loss of thrust in liquid propellant led to GSLV fiasco

Bangalore, Sep 6 (UNI) The sudden loss of thrust in one of the four liquid propellants in the strap-on stage 0.2 seconds after lift off was the primary cause for the failed mission of GSLV-F02 on July ten.

The Failure Analysis Committee, headed by Mr K Narayana, former Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, concluded that the performance of all sub-systems of the vehicle, except for one strap-on stage, was normal until 56.4 seconds after lift off. Consequent to the malfunctioning of the strap-on motor, the launch vehicle carrying INSAT-4C, had to be destructed 62 seconds after lift off.

Announcing the FAC findings here, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told newspersons here that the recommendations of the Committee have been accepted and necessary action has been initiated to implement them. The FAC had concluded that the design of GSLV was robust and recommended implementation of strict control on fabrication, inspection and acceptance procedures, he added.

It may be recalled here that the FAC had submitted its report to ISRO yesterday.

The launch vehicle carrying the fourth generation INSAT satellite INSAT 4C, aimed at giving a fillip to Direct-to-Home television broadcast, had taken off at 1738 hrs on the fateful day, but moved away from the pre-determined path and was later destroyed mid-air.

Mr Nair had initially said the mission failed due to a glitch in the separation of booster from the launch vehicle and announced the setting up of the 15-member FAC to go into the details of the failure and recommend necessary remedial measures. It was asked to review the performance of all the sub-systems from lift off to termination of the flight.

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