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Recently, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered the loss of an important earth observation satellite (EOS-03) during launch when the GSLV rocket carrying it malfunctioned about five minutes from the lift-off.
Earth Observation Satellites
- Earth observation satellites are the satellites equipped with remote sensing technology. Earth observation is the gathering of information about Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems.
- Many earth observation satellites have been employed on sun-synchronous orbit.
- Other earth observation satellites launched by ISRO include RESOURCESAT- 2, 2A, CARTOSAT-1, 2, 2A, 2B, RISAT-1 and 2, OCEANSAT-2, Megha-Tropiques, SARAL and SCATSAT-1, INSAT-3DR, 3D, etc.
Important points:
- It was capable of imaging the entire country four to five times every day.
- It was riding on a GSLV rocket (GSLV-F10), which has a new payload carrier designed to significantly reduce aerodynamic drag and thus carry larger payloads.
- The rocket was supposed to deposit the satellite in the geostationary transfer orbit, from where the satellite’s onboard propulsion system will guide it to a geostationary orbit, 36,000 km from earth’s surface.
- Geostationary transfer orbit is a circular orbit positioned approximately 35,900 km above Earth’s equator and having a period of the same duration and direction as the rotation of the Earth.
- An object in this orbit will appear stationary relative to the rotating Earth.
Significance:
- EOS-03, part of the new generation of earth-observation satellites, was meant to provide almost real-time images of large parts of the country.
- The images could be used for monitoring natural disasters like floods and cyclones water bodies, crops, vegetation and forest cover.
- EOS-03 was being sent ahead of EOS-02 which has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- EOS-02 was supposed to be launched around March-April this year, but now has been rescheduled for September-October.
- EOS-02 was supposed to ride on ISRO’s new SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket.
- SSLVs will broaden ISRO’s current rocket range that comprises PSLVs and GSLVs, and cater to the increasing demand for launching of small commercial satellites.
Failure
- Liquid fuel strap-on boosters start the launch of the satellite by providing the extra thrust needed to lift the rocket off the ground.
- Then, follows a solid fuel first stage with another liquid fuel stage coming next. These two stages operated as expected.
- It was the rocket’s crucial third stage, which uses an indigenously-made Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) which then failed to ignite.
- The cryogenic stage is “technically a very complex system compared to solid or earth-storable liquid propellant stages due to its use of propellants at extremely low temperatures and the associated thermal and structural problems”.
SOURCE: THE HINDU ,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT
