Two back-to-back failures of its workhorse rocket the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is under pressure. At a time when the space market is growing as is the demand for reliable launch systems, successive failures reflect on ISRO.
Space scientist Dr Chaitanya Giri, who was answering questions on The Gist, pointed out that “It’s not that the rocket is exploding within the Earth’s atmosphere. There’s something that is going wrong in its third stage, in Earth orbit, very close to the deployment of satellites.”
While an ISRO report into the cause of the failure is with the government, it’s not been shared with the public as yet. In fact, Dr Giri believes that since ISRO is a strategic agency of the government, there’s no need for all information relating to the accident to come out. So what could have gone wrong?
“One issue definitely could be around structural errors related to the components that go into building the PSLV. They might be playing around with a certain component because this PSLV 62 is a new iteration.
“Now there have always been structural changes with new components getting added on and microscopic advancements that keep happening with every launch,” he said. “So there could be a glitch. Number two could be that one of the components is failing. The third could be human error when it comes to integration of that particular component.”
There is also the possibility of sabotage. Space is already heavily militarised and the PSLV has both civil and military applications, meaning it can launch satellites for civil or military purposes. Adversaries or competitors may therefore see advantage in carrying out some kind of industrial sabotage.
Dr Giri says that government must come out at the earliest with reasons for the failure and the corrective measures being taken. Investors and customers of ISRO’s launch services need to be reassured that matters are under control and their interests will be safeguarded.
Dr Giri noted that the days when ISRO charged the lowest price per launch are long gone with Starlink and others stepping in. At all costs, ISRO needs to step up strategic communication with its customer base.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Dr Chaitanya Giri, well known space scientist.
