GSLV mission fails as rocket explodes mid-air

Sriharikota (AP), Dec 25 (PTI): India's space programme suffered a setback today when one of its communication satellites aboard a Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) exploded mid-air less than a minute after lift-off from the spaceport here and fell into the sea.

GSAT-5P, carrying 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, aboard a homegrown vehicle GSLV F06 failed after the rocket veered from its flight path and broke into pieces.

The destruct command was issued when the control and command signal failed to reach the activation system at the first stage itself, ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan told a press conference shortly after the aborted launch, the second in nine months in the Indian space programme.

The satellite was meant for augmenting communication services currently provided by the Indian National Satellite System. Built at Rs 125 crore, it was to replace the INSAT-3E that was sent up in 2003.