Hope Floats In Space

ISRO’s lost satellite could turn up to say ‘hi’ years later. Meanwhile, ISRO hopes to stick to its timetable of planned launches

- Rekha Dixit

It was a textbook launch. As the GSLV rocket took off from the second launch pad at Sriharikota at 4.56pm on March 29, watchers on the rooftop gallery clapped. The Indian Space Research Organisation immediately began releasing updates, even videos from the on-board camera, showing details of the flight that was carrying a communication satellite—GSAT-6A. The updates continued till April 1, when ISRO announced the successful second orbit raising operation, carried out on March 31. The next orbit raising was to happen shortly afterwards, which would insert the satellite into the orbit it was destined for. But, after the flurry of updates, an ominous silence followed. ISRO finally confirmed it lost communication with the satellite on April 1. The satellite was on the last leg of its journey when the communication snapped.

The announcement created ripples in spacefaring circles across the globe. ISRO, with its series of successful and record-breaking launches and missions in recent times (low-cost moon and Mars missions, the latter being the first by any country in its maiden attempt, as well as the record-making 104 satellites in one launch) is a major player in spacefaring. Its launches are watched keenly. Coming months before Chandrayaan 2, an ambitious attempt at sending a rover to the south pole of the moon, this mission failure has raised a question—will the slated missions get postponed? There is also Aditya, a mission to study the sun, in the pipeline.