NEWS
Disaster struck the Indian space programme on April 15 when the largest rocket using a home-made cryogenic propulsion system failed after being in flight for close to five minutes. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle—as tall as a 17-storey building—took off at 4.27 pm, leaving a trail of fire and smoke in the clear evening sky at the launch site at Sriharikota on India’s eastern seaboard. There was joy for a while as the first two stages of the rocket worked as planned. But within seconds, gloom descended on the control room as the crucial third stage—the cryogenic engine—did not ignite.

VIEWS
The failure of the launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-D3 with India’s first cryogenic engine and the GSAT-4 communications and navigation satellite payload, has disappointed not only scientists and engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) but also the entire nation. It was evident that the first two liquid propellant stages had worked flawlessly after a perfect lift-off the GSLV had stuck to its flight path, both in time and space. The problem occurred after 300 seconds when the vehicle started to decelerate and deviate from its assigned flight path. The initial reaction of ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan was that the two Vernier engines had failed to function even though the main cryogenic engine had ignited. But later, he accepted that the first flight of the cryogenic engine had failed. The failure was unexpected because the engine, in the making for years had been tested to the best of technological satisfaction. The ‘cryo’ stage was required to work in space for only 720 seconds but had been tested successfully on the ground for up to 1,000 seconds. It was not tested in weightless conditions but this may not have been possible and perhaps was not even needed.

Cryogenic propulsion is a highly complex and strategic technology. It makes the launch vehicle ‘icy hot’ because when the lower stages of the rocket are igniting with temperatures reaching 3,000 degree celsius and more, the upper cryogenic stage remains super cool at 250 degree celsius and less. This stage with super cooled liquid hydrogen and oxygen is much more efficient and provides more thrust for every kg of propellant it burns compared to others. This permits space agencies to launch heavier payloads with the same overall weight of the launch vehicle. Therefore, the technology is a heavily guarded secret. Cryogenic propulsion has been on the agenda of ISRO for almost two decades now. Cutting no ice with the US firms in early 1990s, India had approached Russia to supply the cryogenic engines and transfer the technology. Initially, this attempt was torpedoed under US pressure, but later on Russians did supply cryogenic engines and the first flight of the GSLV using Russian ‘cryo’ stage took place in 2001. But what the Russians promised in 1992, in terms of transfer of technology based on their 11D56 cryogenic engine and what was later supplied, differed vastly. The Russian cryogenic stages are highly complicated compared to engines developed by other countries. Any effort based on the Russian design is bound to be more vulnerable to failure at least in the initial stages till the design, materials and engineering is mastered to perfection.