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Thursday, August 12, 2021
THE HAPPENING WORLD: Indian Space Research Organization Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle F10 Launch Failure
An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle tumbled out of control five minutes after liftoff Wednesday when an upper stage engine didn't ignite, dooming an Earth-imaging spacecraft and ending a streak of 16 straight successful Indian space launches. https://t.co/952LblExWU pic.twitter.com/DKQICqF3BN
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) August 12, 2021
I have cued the launch video to start ninety seconds before launch. Things go all Kerbal at 37:09 into the video, the point where the cryogenic upper stage separates and is supposed to ignite. The animation shows it firing, but telemetry shows it tumbling and following a ballistic trajectory, indicating the engine did not start. There follows a Soviet-style long silence, with people staring at consoles clearly indicating the failure. Near the end is the announcement “Performance anomaly observed in the cryogenic stage. Mission will not be accomplished fully”. This is a polite way to say, “Oops. The rocket and payload are tumbling toward burning up in the atmosphere, with debris falling into the Andaman Sea”.
Jeb, check your staging!
Posted at August 12, 2021 09:06