INSAT-2D failure may affect INTELSAT deal
D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram
The failure of the INSAT-2D satellite, which had to be abandoned after an onboard power failure on Sunday, may affect the Rs 3.5 billion deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the International Telecommunication Satellite Organisation.
Eleven of the 24 transponders on INSAT-2D were leased to INTELSAT. Only seven transponders were in use when the satellite malfunctioned.
K Narayanan, INSAT programme director at ISRO, Bangalore, claimed this failure will only slow down India's communication capacity, not hamper it seriously. But others are not so sure.
ISRO may have to renegotiate with INTELSAT to make the deal operational next year by which time it hopes to shift all the functions INSAT-2D performed to INSAT-2C, scheduled to be launched next May. Scientists are also considering building and launching another satellite in double quick time to minimise the impact of future failures though the four INSAT satellites in orbit now are functioning normally.
ISRO is now engaged in damage control, trying to move all those already on INSAT-2D to other satellites. On that count, they are luckier – four transponders on INSAT-2D were being used by the department of telecommunications though the other four were being used by the National Stock Exchange and some private Very Small Aperture Terminal operators. There are 63 transponders overall on all Indian satellites, but it is uncertain how long some of the satellites housing them will last. Each transponder earns India about Rs 5.4 million annually.
Senior space officials, who are discussing the fallout of the mission's failure with the minister on Monday in New Delhi, are also working on moving the satellite out of its present position in geostationary orbit so that it will not endanger other satellites in the same orbit. The task is rendered more difficult since the satellite's thrusters are not functioning normally.
The INSAT series have witnessed several ups and downs since the programme was launched in 1975. The first in the series, INSAT-1, launched by a American Delta rocket in April 1982, had to be abandoned after five months due to technical snags. The second, INSAT-1B, survived its full seven years while the US-built INSAT-1C was delayed two years by the Challenger space shuttle disaster and finally went up in July 1988. It too suffered a short circuit like INSAT-2D and, though half its transponders kept going, it had finally to be abandoned in November 1989.
Other than INSAT-2D, the INSAT-2 series, which was launched with INSAT 2A in July 1992, has been functioning satisfactorily. But the current failure has affected morale in ISRO, since it came just four days after the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle put the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite-1D in a skewed orbit.
The current problem with INSAT-2D began with a short-circuit on Wednesday, which apparently sent the satellite into a spin that made it lose "earth lock", the ability to position itself in relation with the earth. The satellite was brought back to an operational state the following day.
When the satellite lost "earth lock" again on Sunday, the problem could not be corrected since the heaters, which maintain temperature in critical areas, could not function due to the lack of proper power supply.
EARLIER REPORT:
INSAT-2D almost dead
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