TECHNICAL anomaly in the cryogenic stage of launch resulted in the failure of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) attempt to send the country’s latest earth observation satellite into the orbit. The GSLV-F10 rocket carrying the EOS-03 observation satellite had performed naturally and really well in first and second phase but ignition at the cryogenic stage could not take place forcing the agency to declare the mission as “not accomplished”.

 

The failure is definitely a setback for ISRO’s plans but the premier space agency has shown great resilience in the past episodes to lose heart from the latest unaccomplished mission. ISRO will have to recalibrate its programmes to set in motion a re-entry of the observation satellite but given the mass its work has assumed over the years, the country should rest assured that the task will be achieved sooner than the set deadline. The space agency has been there and done that for years together to get counted among the best in the world. Small glitches form essential part of space programmes undertaken by every agency in the world, including NASA. It is their ability to bounce back and emerge smarter from the experience that matters.