EOS-0312, an advanced reconnaissance satellite that India has high hopes for, suffered a launch failure on The launch of EOS-0312. This is not only the failure of India's first space launch since 2017, but also means that India's "Eye in the Sky" plan to monitor China has been shelved.
Another three-stage rocket malfunctioned
The Times of India said on the 12th that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirmed that the Indian domestic Earth observation satellite EOS-03 launched from the Space Center of Sri Khrigoda Island on the same day "failed to enter the established orbit due to technical anomalies."
The Indian Space Research Organization said that the launch mission was carried out at 5:43 a.m. local time on the 12th, and the GSLV-F10 carrier rocket developed by India itself lifted off on the satellite. After the rocket launch, the first and second stage rockets performed normally, but shortly after the second stage rocket engine was shut down, the cryogenic engine of the third stage rocket failed to ignite successfully, resulting in the mission failure.
Describing the mission's failure, ISRO Chairman Siwang used a very vague statement: "Due to the anomalies detected during the cryogenic phase, the EOS-03 satellite launch mission was not successfully completed." He did not disclose specific details, ISRO has set up a failure analysis investigation committee to analyze the causes of this technical anomaly.
The US "space" website said on the 12th that this technical failure is very similar to the failure of india's domestic GSLV Mk.2 rocket launch in 2010. At that time, it was also the third stage engine that failed after ignition, and the failure was due to the engine developed in India. The GSLV-F10 rocket launched on the 12th is also equipped with India's domestic liquid hydrogen /liquid oxygen cryogenic engine, which is likely to be due to the failure of the Indian engine technology, resulting in the launch failure.
According to the report, the launch of the EOS-03 satellite can be described as "three twists and turns". It was originally scheduled to launch on March 5 last year, but was forced to postpone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ISRO was supposed to launch again in early 2021, but due to a voltage failure with a "low power problem," the launch mission was canceled a few minutes before the countdown began. The launch mission on the 12th was its third attempt to lift off, but it still failed. This is also the first time since 2017 that India's space launch has failed.
Launch the "Eye of the Sky" to spy on China
ISRO revealed that the satellite weighs 2268 kilograms and is equipped with 6-band multispectral visible and near-infrared imaging sensors with a resolution of 42 meters, 158-band hyperspectral visible and near-infrared sensors with a resolution of 318 meters, and 256-band hyperspectral visible and near-infrared sensors with a resolution of 191 meters. If successfully launched, the EOS-03 satellite in geosynchronous orbit could take pictures of the entire Indian subcontinent every half hour, imaging India 4 to 5 times a day, and taking smaller areas every 5 minutes, providing near-real-time images of large areas of "areas of interest", while rapidly monitoring natural disasters, including disaster warning, cyclone monitoring, thunderstorm monitoring, and obtaining spectral features of agriculture, forestry, and water bodies.
According to the Times of India, the EOS-03 satellite is also an advanced "eye in the sky" with the ability to help the Indian military plan operations. Located in geosynchronous orbit, it can continuously monitor the area of interest and transmit the captured information back to the ground in real time, which can greatly enhance India's surveillance capabilities. "This is different from other remote sensing satellites in lower orbits, which can only photograph a certain area on a regular basis."
According to the geopolitical analysis website Foreign Newsletter, considering the border disputes between China, India and India and Pakistan, the EOS-03 satellite may be mainly used for India's national security. The launch of the EOS-03 partly represents India's close monitoring of the movements of Chinese and Pakistani troops, with the intention of strengthening India's control over the border area.
India will also send reconnaissance satellites
The failure of the launch of the EOS-03 satellite is undoubtedly a heavy blow to India's plan to spy on China's "Eye in the Sky" program. The "Foreign Newsletter" website believes that even if the EOS-03 satellite is successfully launched, it will not be able to reverse China's space reconnaissance advantage over India compared with China's military reconnaissance technology network. However, this failure of the launch will not stop India's plans to strengthen its space reconnaissance capabilities, and the next step is likely to be to launch smaller, low-Earth orbit reconnaissance satellites.
India Today's website confirmed that India intends to launch the EOS-04 satellite in September, which is a radar imaging satellite that can detect ground targets through clouds during the day and night, "will play a strategic role in India's defense." In addition, India plans to launch a small satellite launch vehicle by the end of this year.
A military expert told the Global Times on the 12th that India has spent a lot of effort in recent years to enhance its situational awareness of the Sino-Indian border area. In addition to launching satellites, India has leased MQ-9B large drones from the United States, purchased Heron drones from Israel, purchased additional radar and other equipment for the border police force, and plans to deploy more surveillance cameras on the China-India border.
Source: Global Times