The explosion showered debris over the Bay of Bengal
Posted on 07/10/2006 3:02:00 PM PDT by kinetics
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The explosion showered debris over the Bay of Bengal
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The launch of India's heaviest communications satellite has failed after the rocket carrying it veered off course and exploded.
The Insat-4C satellite weighed more than 2,000kg and was expected to significantly enhance India's telephone and business communications.
It came a day after a test-fire of India's longest-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile ended in failure.
The Agni-III surface-to-surface missile crashed into the Bay of Bengal.
Setback
Television pictures showed the Insat-4C satellite being launched from the Sriharikota Space Research Centre in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Seconds after lift-off, the satellite's launch vehicle veered sharply off course before disintegrating into a ball of fire and smoke. Debris from the satellite and its rocket fell into the Bay of Bengal.
 India is hoping to break into the commercial satellite launch market
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Emergency crews were immediately alerted. It is still not clear what caused the malfunction.
"A mishap happened in the first stage of the separation and it will be some time before we know what went wrong," Madhavan Nair, the mission chief, told reporters.
"We have to analyse the sequence of events to see what happened."
India has been hoping to break into the lucrative commercial satellite launch market, and correspondents say Monday's failure represents a setback for its ambitions.
The country is one of the world's largest operators of communication satellites and the disaster follows 12 successful launches.
Monday's flight was also supposed to set the stage for an Indian mission to the Moon.
On Sunday, the Agni-III surface-to-surface missile was test-fired off the coast of Orissa state but crashed into the Bay of Bengal without reaching its target.
Analysts say it has a range of more than 3,000km (1,865 miles) and could hit targets in China.
Maybe it should be Outsourced......
English is widely used in India even in govt. communications. press releases are usually given in english. this rocket probably has names written in hindi somewhere.
as for the failure, its a disappointing day for ISRO scientists. but hope they will have success next time.
After calling Dell "Tech Support" and spending two hours in Dell Hell, I would be shocked if India could launch a Roman Candle successfully.
In other news, the war between India and North Korea has been postponed until further notice.
I don't believe so. It was explained to me that Hindi is the official language, but English is the language of business.
Is there a pool for "Who's test rocket will hit and kill innocent people?"
If so, I think it is a close race between India and North Korea.
from fas.org:
Despite its limited resources, India has and is continuing to develop a broad-based space program with indigenous launch vehicles, satellites, control facilities, and data processing. Since its first satellite was orbited by the USSR in 1975 and its first domestic space launch was conducted in 1980, India has become a true space-faring nation and an example to other Eurasian countries wishing to move into the space age. Today's Indian remote sensing, communications, and meteorological satellites are comparable to many similar space systems operated by more affluent countries, and by the end of the decade India may be one of only a half dozen countries/organizations with a geostationary launch capability.
and
Comparison with other space agencies
The ISRO currently has a level of funding similar to the Russian Space Agency, but not as much past experience. The current budget is likely to expand in future due to India's economic growth. India has a series of reliable and very cost effective launchers, with some estimating that commercial costs of launching on Indian vehicles may be halved. With the launch of the GSLV-III India will have a launch capability of 4000kg into GTO, with expansion potential towards 6000kg. The technological experitise and experience of the ISRO seems to be similar to the other major asian space powers, China and Japan, the latter having experienced some setbacks in recent years. In terms of budgetary comparison, United States of America spends $16bn, Europe spends $3.5bn, Japan spends $1.6bn, China spends $1.2bn, Russia spends $800mn, India spends $700mn, Canada spends $300mn, and Brazil spends $35mn. However, some people have pointed out that the bugdet figure is much higher for India and China when accounting for purchasing power parity {PPP). India is counted amongst the six major space powers of the world, and is sometimes counted amongst the top five in terms of success and future potential. Indian launch vehicles have the capacity for human spaceflight, however, the ISRO has stated that it can achieve all India's commercial and scientific needs through unmanned spaceflight alone, raising the question of whether a crewed spaceflight will occur.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation
so read and learn before you rant from you behind! if you are against outsourcing, thats your opinion. doesnt mean you have to rant against India.
why dont you ask the same question to your islamic pakistani and commie chinese masters?
So besides craters, were going to have dots on the moon?
Lol, did you write that yourself. Honestly why do people keep refering to an encyclopedia for opinionated references that any Joe Schmoe can edit. Note that the particular paragraph was added by one "Vastu" on April 14, 2006. Betch you all the curry in India hes desi.
Being among the "six major space powers" doesn't mean much when you are 6th does it? Fact of the matter is, India's launch vehicles are technically inferior to the other space agencies, having both lower thrust rocket motors and payloads than other principal expendable launch rockets such as the Ariane. The launch vehicles are not only more inefficient thrust/weight wise, they are also more prone to failure.
Oh yes,our resident PRC apologist.Well This is the first failure in a long while for Indian SLVs.Not good,but nothing to be sad about.The Chinese,American & every other programme has had & do have plenty of problems.
You really should be-they've been launching satellites since 1982.
Like every nation,India is working to upthrust it's SLVs.The MK-4 GSLV variant is to be in the same category as the newest Ariane 5.
"Note that the particular paragraph was added by one "Vastu" on April 14, 2006. Betch you all the curry in India hes desi. "
So what? That doesnt mean what he has written is wrong.
"Being among the "six major space powers" doesn't mean much when you are 6th does it?"
why not? Is it then better to not be one among those six?
"The launch vehicles are not only more inefficient thrust/weight wise, they are also more prone to failure."
The former is true but not the latter. The former is due to lack of technological sophistication since Indian scientists are "catching up". I dont have to remind you that India is very much a developing country.
Their track record in terms of launching satellites is in fact very good. This lastest launch was the first launch that failed in many years.
Thanks for your comments. If you or your beloved lost your job to outsourcing, maybe you should be working hard on gaining new skillsets instead of taking your frustration out on Indians.
this is why you are said to rant thru ur ass! neither me nor that article states that India has the best space program in the world. we are not claiming we are superior to anyone in rocket making. but we have a decent enough space program that satisfies the requirements of our nation. also, wiki is not an authentiated source. but fas (federation of american scientists) is a good and trustable source.
and merely posted this to inform that ahole who said India cant even make a decent roman candle, just because he is frustrated with outsourcing!
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