Indian navigation satellite suffers technical glitch in space

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) – A navigational satellite launched by India has suffered a technical glitch in orbit, the country's space agency has confirmed.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said late Sunday night that a technical issue had occurred with its NVS-02 navigation satellite, which was launched on Jan. 29, marking the organization's 100th successful launch.

It noted that the technical glitch in the satellite had disrupted the orbit-raising maneuvers.

"The orbit-raising operations towards positioning the satellite to the designated orbital slot could not be carried out as the valves for admitting the oxidizer to fire the thrusters for orbit raising did not open," the statement said.

Despite the setback, ISRO said other systems on the satellite remain operational.

"The solar panels on board the satellite were successfully deployed and power generation is nominal. Communication with the ground station has been established," the ISRO said.

The agency is exploring options to ensure the satellite continues functioning despite the orbit-raising issue.

"The satellite systems are healthy and the satellite is currently in elliptical orbit. Alternate mission strategies for utilizing the satellite for navigation in an elliptical orbit are being worked out," ISRO added.