NEW DELHI, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Efforts by India's Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch navigational satellite IRNSS-1H, the eighth satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), failed Thursday, officials said.
The launch was declared unsuccessful minutes after television images showed the rocket blasting off normally from the launch pad, emitting a bright orange flame from its tail and moving upwards lighting up the dark sky.
"A S 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," a local television news channel NDTV said.
The satellite carried by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, failed to deploy after lift-off from the spaceport.
The satellite weighing 1,425 kg was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh at 7:00 p.m. local time.
Reports said it was supposed to replace one of seven satellites that is malfunctioning.
