Guwahati: The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D1) used by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) reportedly launched satellites into elliptical orbits rather than circular ones, rendering them worthless.
In an update to its satellite launch, ISRO provided a status report stating that “SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into a 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit rather than a 356 km circular orbit. We can no longer use satellites. The problem has been reasonably located. The divergence resulted from a logic breakdown that prevented taking salvage action after identifying a sensor failure. A committee would review and make suggestions. ISRO will return with SSLV-D2 soon after the recommendations have been put into practise.
AzaadiSAT, a satellite developed by 750 students and launched by ISRO earlier today from Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. The ISRO chairman S. Somanath, however, reported that they were experiencing data loss shortly after the lift-off.
According to Somanath, the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) was injected into both Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV-D1), but the orbit was “less than expected” and hence unstable.
“Every stage ran smoothly. It was administered into both satellites. It is unstable because the orbit achieved was less than anticipated, he added.
“In the terminal phase of the mission, some data loss is occurring,” Somanath remarked in reference to the data loss. In order to determine the mission’s ultimate success in terms of attaining a stable orbit, we are analysing the data.