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The failure of ISRO’s PSLV rocket could trigger multiple mission delays for India
On May 18, India’s PSLV rocket failed for the second time in this century. ISRO’s Chief V. Narayanan said during the post-launch media briefing that “a fall in the chamber pressure of the motor case” of PSLV’s solid-fueled third stage prevented the dual-use 1700-kilogram EOS-09 radar imaging satellite onboard the rocket from attaining orbit. PSLV’s failure comes as a shock to many in the space industry because this is the rocket that has notably launched a lunar orbiter, a Mars orbiter, a space telescope, a solar observatory to the Earth-Sun L1 point, a record 104 satellites in one flight, and also important missions for other space agencies such as last year’s launch of the Proba-3 Sun-studying craft for ESA.
A failure analysis committee is examining PSLV’s failure. Between solid rocket motors being a staple element across ISRO’s entire rocket family and the PSLV notably sharing the liquid fueled Vikas engine with the more powerful GSLV Mk II and LVM3 rockets, one of the first things ISRO will try to get clarity on is if any aspect of PSLV’s failure would affect its other launch vehicles or not. While the PSLV’s Vikas engine performed fine on May 18, the Mk II rocket is soon slated for a high-profile launch of the joint Indo-US NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Earth observation satellite. Every…
