Leaky valve, low pressure led to GSLV failure: ISRO

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New Delhi, March 26

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today attributed the failure of the GSLV mission last August to a leaky valve and low pressure in the hydrogen tank connected to the cryogenic engine of the GSLV rocket that was to place EOS-03, an important earth observation satellite, into an orbit.

The GSLV-F-10 rocket took off fine from Sriharikota on August 12, 2021, but the flight was aborted 307 seconds later after the launch vehicle lost course. In its report, the ISRO failure analysis committee (FAC) said, “Detailed studies indicate that the most likely reason for the observed reduction in liquid hydrogen-2 tank pressure is a leak in the respective vent and relief valve (VRV), which is used for relieving the excess tank pressure during the flight. Computer simulations as well as multiple confirmatory ground tests, closely simulating the conditions in the GSLV-F10 flight, validated the analysis by the FAC.”

The GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission lifted-off normally from Sriharikota at 5.43 am on August 12, 2021, after a smooth countdown of 26 hours.