The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) faced a last-minute setback on Saturday, October 21, as the highly anticipated test for the Gaganyaan human space flight mission was halted, seconds before the scheduled liftoff. In a brief interaction with media, ISRO Chief, S Somanath said, "Engine ignition has not happened in the nominal course. We have to find out what went wrong. The vehicle is safe, and we will announce the reason after an investigation."
Originally slated for an 8:00 AM launch, the Test Vehicle D1 mission's liftoff time was revised to 8:45 AM. However, the countdown came to an abrupt halt with only five seconds remaining.
There was a very smooth air lift and automatic launch sequence leading up to the command to lift off, "but the engine ignition has not happened in the nominal course due to anomaly," Somanath said soon after the mission was put on hold.
"And we have to find out what went wrong with that. The vehicle is safe, the entire vehicle is very safe. We will have to reach the vehicle and then look at what has happened now," he said, adding ISRO will come back soon after analysing what triggered the automatic launch sequence holding the vehicle.
"So what has happened is that the ground support computer doing this function has withheld the launch in view of the anomaly observed. We will come back after understanding the anomaly, correct it and schedule the launch very soon," the space agency's Chairman said from the Mission Control Center.
The Test Vehicle D1 mission serves as a precursor to the Gaganyaan program, which seeks to send humans into space, placing them in a Low Earth Orbit approximately 400 kilometers above the Earth's surface for a duration of three days before safely returning them to our planet.
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
10% discount on fare on Mumbai Metro lines 2 and 7A on May 20
May 3, 2024 2:40 PM
'Rahul Gandhi deserted Amethi due to fear of Smriti Irani': How BJP plans to puncture Congress' UP plan
May 3, 2024 1:12 PM