The Russians have pointed their fingers at the rocket's bigger heat shield (4 metre) as the proximate cause for high atmospheric load on the rocket that broke it. Refuting that theory, Indian officials cited an earlier GSLV rocket that went up with a heat shield of similar size.
The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) 418-tonne Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket (cost Rs.175 crore) carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-5P (weight 2,310 kg, cost Rs.150 crore) veered off its flight path and began disintegrating within one minute after lift-off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh Dec 25, 2010.
"The Russians have attributed the failure to bigger heat shield. However, we have established why it can't be," former ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair, who heads the failure analysis committee (FAC), told a news agency.
Till date the FAC has met thrice - the first meeting was in January and the subsequent two meetings were held Feb 7 and Feb 14 at Thiruvanathapurm in Kerala.
According to the ISRO, the rocket's failure was due to the snapping of 10 connectors that carry command signals from the onboard computer to the control electronics of the four strap-on motors in the first stage.
The German made connectors are fixed on a metal plate. The plate, in turn, is fixed to a shroud or cylindrical cover that comes between the cryogenic engine and the lower stage (engine).
