New Indian Rocket Hits Snag On Maiden Launch

India's space agency on Sunday said that the inaugural flight of a small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) failed to place two satellites into the targeted orbit.

According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the SSLV lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's southeastern coast on Saturday at 9: 18 a.m. local time.

A statement by the agency on Sunday afternoon said: "Satellites are no longer usable. The issue is reasonably identified."

It said a committee would analyze and recommend further action.

Earlier, the agency had said that the maiden flight of SSLV is completed.

"All stages performed as expected. Data loss is observed during the terminal stage. It is being analyzed," the agency had said after the launch.

On Saturday, a day before the launch, the agency had said that SSLV-D1 mission would launch EOS-02, a 135 kg satellite, into low earth and the mission also carries AzaadiSAT satellite.

"EOS-02 is an earth observation satellite designed and realized by ISRO. This microsat series satellite offers advanced optical remote sensing operating in an infra-red band with high spatial resolution," the statement said.​​​​​​​ -