The Hindu : Fire at Sriharikota minor, contained: ISRO

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Friday, Jul 04, 2003

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Fire at Sriharikota minor, contained: ISRO

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE JULY 3. A "minor" fire which broke out in the cable trenches at the rocket launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) at Sriharikota during the night of June 30 and the morning of July 1 was quickly contained, according to the official spokesperson at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters here today.

The cables ran from the launch pad to the control station and the ground station, a senior ISRO scientist said. Among other things they connected the launch site to the computers at the control station.

Prior to any launch, there would be intensive monitoring of the launch vehicle. This was done via two routes, one using radio frequency wireless signals, the other using signals coming through the cables, the scientist said.

The computers monitor about 1,500 parameters relating to the launch vehicle's status. Any glitch would lead to the computers stopping the launch.

The cables were not continuous but disjointed, the scientist said. So, if there was damage, the particular part could be pulled out and replaced "easily''.

The ISRO spokesperson said the fire would not affect any of the future launches scheduled from SHAR.

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