Article Posted on : - Dec 25, 2010

A file photo

SRIHARIKOTA (PTI): Launch of India's latest communication satellite GSAT-5P onboard home-grown GSLV-F06, powered by Russian cryogenic engine, failed Saturday when the rocket developed a snag soon after lift-off from the spaceport here.

The rocket blasted-off at around 4 pm from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the end of the 29-hour countdown but was hit by a snag in the first stage itself, ISRO sources said.

"The incident occurred in the first stage itself", the sources said, adding, details would be disclosed later.

This is the second failure this year for ISRO after the previous GSLV mission with the country's maiden cryogenic engine hit a snag and the rocket plunged into the Bay of Bengal on April 15 this year.


GSAT-5P, carrying 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, was meant for augmenting communication services currently provided by the Indian National Satellite System.

ISRO had postponed the December 20 launch of the Geo-Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06), in its seventh mission, after a minor leak was noticed in the Russian Cryogenic engine during the pre-countdown checks.

The last GSLV mission (GSLV-D3) failed after the malfunctioning of indigenous cryogenic stage, dampening the country's hopes of joining the elite club of five nations with such capability.