'A solid motor, once ignited, burns until the propellant is exhausted. It cannot simply stop mid-burn,' said a retired senior ISRO official. 'That is what makes this failure puzzling.' Venkatachari Jagannathan reports on the latest PSLV failure.
Based on the broadcast visuals, a rocket expert said the failure appeared similar to the anomaly seen during the PSLV-C61 mission.
The year ended with the launch of the PSLV's 50th mission.
This is the first mission by the Indian Speace Research Organisation this year.
Microsat-R, an imaging satellite, is meant for military purposes, but the ISRO did not give any details about it.
