Agni-III flight unsuccessful - This Post

• Countdown was normal; lift-off was smooth
• It crashed into the sea after climbing to a height of 12 km

The maiden flight of Agni-III, India's most powerful and advanced long-range ballistic missile, from Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, on Sunday was unsuccessful.

Although the lift-off at 11.03 a.m. was smooth, the two-stage missile crashed into the sea after climbing to a height of 12 km. Official sources attributed the failure of the flight to the non-separation of the first stage from the second stage.

"The launch did not meet all the mission requirements," the sources said. A "design failure" is said to be the reason behind the non-separation of the first stage. Both the stages are powered by solid propellants.

The countdown for the launch of the surface-to-surface missile, with a range of 3,500 km, went off smoothly at the Integrated Test Range of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). "Around the separation time, there was a problem. It appears that the separation did not take place normally," the sources said. So the vehicle tumbled into the sea.

"We have to analyse the data. By tomorrow, we will know what went wrong. We will take corrective measures for the next flight," the sources added.

A Defence Ministry press release said, "Agni III A took off successfully. Details of the flight performance are being analysed by the mission team."

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister M. Natarajan, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and a host of top scientists from various defence laboratories watched the lift-off from the Mission Control Room.

The indigenously built Agni III is meant to carry nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. It is expected to be the mainstay of India's credible nuclear deterrence programme, providing a second-strike capability to places as far as northern China once the mission is fully operational. The missile is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes.

According to DRDO sources, many new technologies were tried in the missile. They included rocket motors with a burn duration of more than 100 seconds, fault tolerant avionics and launch control systems. The mission team also tested the velocity of the vehicle that is capable of flying at 16 to 17 times the speed of sound.

Agni III belongs to India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Other missiles in the Agni series that have undergone several flights include Agni, Agni II and Agni I.

Agni-III was to be launched in 2003-04 when the Vajpayee Government was in power but was postponed due to technical snags. Another launch scheduled for February too was dererred. India waited for the approval of the U.S. Congressional committees in the House and Senate of the draft law empowering Mr. Bush to permit sale of nuclear reactors to India before it went ahead with the launch.

Courtesy: The Hindu