Speaking to newsmen after the failed mission, ISRO chairman Mr. K.Radhakrishnan said the destruction command was issued by the safety officer 63 seconds after lift off after the launch vehicle broke.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said, the command was issued at a time when the vehicle was at an altitude of 8 kms and a distance of 2.5 kms from sriharikota coastline. Stating that there were no problems with the design of GSLV, Mr Radhakrishnan said the problem seemed to be of some chord snapping. He said senior scientists and the review board will hold discussions tonight and tomorrow to make an assessment of what went wrong with the mission. ISRO chairman said the failure of today’s launch will have no impact on the future launches lined up in the next couple of months.
The sun shinned brightly, the sky was blue and the setting seemed perfect for the launch of GSLV on its seventh flight. It was a majestic lift off but within 4o seconds things went awry as the vehicle tumbled and burst into flames. The first signs of trouble could be seen as the colour of the flames emanating from the vehicle changed dramatically as GSLV made its way into the sky. Pieces of the rocket were seen falling down into the sea. A pall of gloom descended at the mission control centre as the destruction command was given. GSLV flight today cost 325 crores and the mission was all over in 63 seconds. Despite the setback, ISRO scientists were confident that they would be back on track in the next couple of months.