ISRO’s GSAT-6A May be lost

ISRO’s GSAT-6A May be lost

ISRO’s confirmation of loosing contact with its GSAT - 6A satellite, which was launched on March 29 by the indigenously designed geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle, the GSLV, comes as a huge setback for the Indians whose impeccable trust that ISRO can do no wrong, may come down. Although ISRO officials, after remaining tight lipped about the status of the satellite for quite a long while, have confirmed this news, their saying that they are trying to establish links with GSAT-6A has kindled a ray of hope that all is not lost with this mission. I hope ISRO is honest about this information and does not unduly create an aspiration of hope in the minds of the public.

It was not long ago that news reports and Information that 39 Indians (from Punjab) were killed in Iraq by the ISIS, was denied by the Government only to announce much later in the parliament that the news of death is confirmed. This understandable stand of the government, while providing temporary relief to the family of these departed souls, had unfortunately created a false sense of hope, which came crashing down when the honourable Videsh Mantri on the floor of the house confirmed the news of their death. Therefore it is hoped that ISRO is honest about the condition of its satellite and does not unduly create a false sense of hope and aspirations, primarily to assuage the sentiment of the people who by now have started feeling ISRO is infallible.

The environment of outer space is quite hostile to the spacecrafts that continue to be deployed in Earth orbit and beyond. There are many hazards in terms of severe thermal gradients, space weather from the sun and beyond, and intense radiation as well as strong magnetic forces. Although ISRO has been highly successful and made India proud by repeated successes, that too at such unimaginable low costs, it must not be forgotten that space missions are a highly complex technological challenges and therefore we Indians and the ISRO scientists must be prepared for failures, which can and may happen. After all it is not for nothing that there exists what is called the Murphy’s law.

Assuming that the current mission is a failure and that the satellite cannot be retrieved, let us not take away any credit from the indefatigable engineers, scientists and others at ISRO who work with passion, commitment and dedication to make India proud with their space missions. However, let us hope that the current missions setback will hopefully lead to more circumspection by the team ISRO in future. Kiran Kumar former chairman of ISRO was known for his over arching insistence to check and re check and recheck flight and mission parameters innumerable times before the actual mission. Many insiders will confirm that most times the scientists and engineers used to be irritated with Kiran Kumar that he goes overboard while it comes to pre mission testing and simulations. Perhaps this attitude of, more you sweat in peace less you bleed in war, Kiran Kumar resulted in back to back successful launches. Time for the new chief to introspect. Redundancy is central to every engineering marvels and therefore even if the checks and rechecks are an irritant and time consuming let there not be any shortcuts to this. I continue to remain a great admirer of ISRO even if this mission turns out to be a failure. Jai Vigyan.