PHUKET: Parts from a rocket that successfully put an Indian satellite into space today are believed to have fallen into the Andaman Sea off the coast of Thailand this evening.
Fishermen reported seeing ''a very large, bright object'' splash down about 30 kilometres from land.
Monitors are reported to have tracked the falling 44-metre rocket into the target zone off Phuket and Phang Nga.
Shipping was warned in advance to stay well clear of the expected landing zone of the 320-tonne chunk of metal - however, 30 kilometres from the land mass that is Thailand would be considered too close for comfort.
The booster discharged at Satish Dawan Space Centre on schedule on Saturday, then the expendable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C27) headed for the Andaman while its cargo, the 1425 kg IRNSS-1D, was propelled into orbit.
The rocket blasted off from the second launch pad at the centre, around 80 kilometres from Chennai.
For the onlookers the rocket looked like an inverted flare/torch with a long handle as it gathered speed amidst the cheers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials and the media team assembled at the rocket port, Indian media reports said.
Scientists clapped when 20 minutes into its high-speed flight, the rocket separated from its satellite payload.
''Despite the initial hiccup in the form of some problem with one of the sub-systems in the satellite and postponement of the launch date, today the satellite has been successfully put into orbit,'' ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said.
The satellite's solar panels were deployed soon after.
The Indian system is similar to the global positioning system (GPS) of the US (24 satellites), Glonass of Russia (24 satellites), Galileo of Europe (27 satellites) and China's Beidou (35 satellites).
With this success, India moved closer towards joining a select group of nations possessing their own satellite navigation system.
Three satellites launched earlier have all been integrated with the ground stations and are working well.
With IRNSS-1D functioning in orbit, an independent regional navigation satellite system over India can be established.
Two more navigation satellites are expected to be launched in 2015 and the seventh and the last one of the system will probably go up in early 2016.
Fishermen reported seeing ''a very large, bright object'' splash down about 30 kilometres from land.
Monitors are reported to have tracked the falling 44-metre rocket into the target zone off Phuket and Phang Nga.
Shipping was warned in advance to stay well clear of the expected landing zone of the 320-tonne chunk of metal - however, 30 kilometres from the land mass that is Thailand would be considered too close for comfort.
The booster discharged at Satish Dawan Space Centre on schedule on Saturday, then the expendable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C27) headed for the Andaman while its cargo, the 1425 kg IRNSS-1D, was propelled into orbit.
The rocket blasted off from the second launch pad at the centre, around 80 kilometres from Chennai.
For the onlookers the rocket looked like an inverted flare/torch with a long handle as it gathered speed amidst the cheers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials and the media team assembled at the rocket port, Indian media reports said.
Scientists clapped when 20 minutes into its high-speed flight, the rocket separated from its satellite payload.
''Despite the initial hiccup in the form of some problem with one of the sub-systems in the satellite and postponement of the launch date, today the satellite has been successfully put into orbit,'' ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said.
The satellite's solar panels were deployed soon after.
The Indian system is similar to the global positioning system (GPS) of the US (24 satellites), Glonass of Russia (24 satellites), Galileo of Europe (27 satellites) and China's Beidou (35 satellites).
With this success, India moved closer towards joining a select group of nations possessing their own satellite navigation system.
Three satellites launched earlier have all been integrated with the ground stations and are working well.
With IRNSS-1D functioning in orbit, an independent regional navigation satellite system over India can be established.
Two more navigation satellites are expected to be launched in 2015 and the seventh and the last one of the system will probably go up in early 2016.
I saw that this evening, I had forgotten about the Indian Rocket Launch. 320 tonnes is a very sizable object, but like the article says, it was 30 kms away from Phuket. That is not very far at all. Glad it was a successful lift off and deployment. Well done India.
Next one up, could you have the falling aux motor come done closer, much closer to yourselves.
Posted by Robin S on March 29, 2015 04:18