ISRO?s GSLV mission fails

Sriharikota : Launch of India?s India’s heaviest and powerful communication satellite into the orbit by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) failed on Saturday evening.

The rocket was hit by a snag at the first stage after it blasted-off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the end of the 29-hour countdown at around 4 pm.

ISRO sources said details would be disclosed later.

The latest GSLV mission was the first after the failure of the flight test of the home made cryogenic stage in the GSLV-D3 mission in April this year.

The launch of the satellite, which was originally scheduled for Dec 20, had been postponed after a leak in the Russian cryogenic engine on board the launch vehicle.

GSAT-5P with 24 C-band transponders and 12 extended C-band transponders is for augmenting communication services currently provided by Indian National Satellite System (INSAT).

It is meant to boost TV, telemedicine and tele-education, and telephone services.

The satellite, developed by ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, is the fifth in the GSAT series. It has a designed mission life of 12 years.