NEW DELHI, 13 August 2021, (TON): Indian rocket carrying a powerful earth observation satellite failed to fire fully, the state-run space agency said, in a setback for the country’s space programme.

The satellite, meant for quick monitoring of natural disasters such as cyclones, cloudbursts and thunderstorms, was launched on a geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) at 0013 GMT, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in southern India.

The Indian Space Research Organisation said “but while the liftoff was smooth, the rocket failed in its final phase.”

ISRO said “performance of first and second stages was normal. However, Cryogenic Upper Stage ignition did not happen due to technical anomaly. The mission couldn’t be accomplished as intended.”

It did not say what happened to the GSLV spacecraft and the EOS-03 satellite it was meant to place in a geostationary orbit nearly 36,000km (22,500 miles) above the equator.

Scientists had mounted a large telescope on the satellite to look down on the Indian subcontinent.