Satellites no longer usable: ISRO's maiden SSLV mission fails

New Delhi, Aug 07: Two satellites that were onboard the first flight of a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket got placed in an unstable orbit and are no longer usable, said the space agency.

The space agency said a committee would analyse and make recommendations into today's episode and with the implementation of those recommendations "ISRO will come back soon with SSLV-D2."

"SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit. Satellites are no longer usable. Issue is reasonably identified. Failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action caused the deviation," ISRO said in an update on its official Twitter handle.

(1/2) SSLV-D1/EOS-02 Mission update: SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit. Satellites are no longer usable. Issue is reasonably identified. Failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action

— ISRO (@isro) August 7, 2022

It added a detailed statement by ISRO Chairman S Somanath will be "uploaded soon." In its maiden SSLV mission, the launch vehicle carried The Earth Observation Satellite EOS-02 and the co-passenger student satellites AzaadiSAT.

Indian Space Research Organisation suffered a setback on Sunday, as the maiden Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) suffered "data loss" at the terminal stage, although three stages "performed and separated" as planned and the scientists were "currently analysing" the data to ascertain the cause behind it.

ISRO embarked on its maiden small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) mission, carrying earth observation satellite EOS-02 and co-passenger students satellite AzaadiSAT on Sunday.

The SSLV-D1/EOS-02 mission by the Indian space agency is aimed at garnering a larger pie in the small launch vehicles market, as it can place the satellites into Low Earth Orbit. At the end of a seven and a half hour countdown, the 34 metre long SSLV soared majestically at 9.18 am amid cloudy skies to place the satellites into the intended orbit.

The EOS-02 is an experimental optical remote sensing satellite with a high spatial resolution. It is to realise and fly an experimental imaging satellite with a short-turnaround time and to demonstrate launch-on-demand capability. EOS-02 belongs to the microsatellite series of space crafts.

The AzaadiSAT is a 8U Cubesat weighing around 8kgs. It carries 75 different payloads each weighing around 50grams. Girl students from rural regions across the country were provided guidance to build these payloads.