The launch of India's first private-sector manufactured satellite, the IRNSS-1H, was declared unsuccessful today. AS Kiran Kumar, the chief of space agency ISRO, which handled the launch, said the satellite's protective heat shield, which is expected to separate and drop off, failed to do so. The 1,425 kg satellite had piggybacked on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which was on its 41st mission. Launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, the satellite was expected to fill in for one of the seven orbiting satellite of NAViC, which is malfunctioning. NAVIC, which is a system of seven satellites, powers India's homegrown Global Positioning System. (Video courtesy: DD Puducherry)
