Days after 100th launch, ISRO says glitch stalls satellite’s orbit raising maneuvers

“Subsequent to the launch, the star panels connected committee the outer were successfully deployed and powerfulness procreation is nominal. Communication with the crushed presumption has been established. But the orbit raising operations towards positioning the outer to the designated orbital slot could not beryllium carried retired arsenic the valves for admitting the oxidizer to occurrence the thrusters for orbit raising did not open,” ISRO said.

Sources successful ISRO said the outer had “failed to fire” aft it was placed successful orbit.

“The outer systems are steadfast and the outer is presently successful elliptical orbit. Alternate ngo strategies for utilising the outer for navigation successful an elliptical orbit is being worked out,” ISRO said.

An ISRO authoritative connected to the outer programme said the “Master Control Facility volition instrumentality care” of the concern with the satellite. Another authoritative said, “We are going up with the intended activities of the satellite.”

With the ISRO not reporting immoderate orbit maneuvers connected the NVS-02 outer launched 4 days agone speculations astir method glitches had arisen.

“Apparently thing caller from NVS-02 either. Here, recorded implicit South America connected 2025-02-02, 01:55:44 UTC astatine ~31200 km altitude,” the Bluesky app of S2A Systems reported Sunday.

The information from the unfastened root abstraction app, which is “developing and operating systems for abstraction situational awareness”, suggested the NVS-02 remains successful astir the aforesaid presumption it was placed connected January 29 whereas ISRO was expected to usage the onboard engines to transportation retired a bid of orbit maneuvers to spot the outer successful the intended geostationary presumption of 111.75 grade eastbound implicit India.

The outer was successful the aforesaid determination arsenic reported by the app connected January 31 implicit the Indian Ocean, recorded betwixt 14:31 and 15:32 UTC from Australia.

The NVS-02 was intended to beryllium enactment successful an elliptical orbit astir the world with an apogee (furthest point) of 37500 km and a perigee (nearest point) of 170 km and the “very close injection” by the GSLV connected January 29 had enactment the outer successful an orbit that varied by 74 km from the intended apogee and 0.5 km from the intended perigee.

The NVS-02 outer is portion of ISRO’s effort to make an autarkic determination navigation outer strategy for India called ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’ (NavIC) “to supply close Position, Velocity and Timing (PVT) work to users successful India arsenic good arsenic to portion extending astir 1500 km beyond Indian onshore mass”.

The NVS-02 is the 2nd of 5 2nd procreation navigation satellites. The archetypal outer of the bid was launched successful 2023.

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