GSLV failed to take off after snag set in at the last moment. The first test flight , which was scheduled for the first test fire at 3.47 p.m. from the Sriharikota space centre at 100 km north of Madras on the Bay of Bengal, was aborted due to `some problems.` It was expected that the powerful rocket would put the country in a small club of nations capable of launching heavy geo-stationary satellites.
Earlier in the day, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) spokesman S Krishnamurthy had said, "Everything is as per schedule. The blastoff is at 3:47 p.m."
As the entire mission staff anxiously watched the countdown for a smooth lift off and the countdown was completed at 1547 hrs, thick flames engulfed the motors at the take-off stage.
"The mission is aborted," said a commentator from the launch site on Doordarshan which was telecasting the launch live.
Bureau Report