In a setback to India’s space programme, the launch of GSLV-D5, carrying the 1,982-kg GSAT-14, was called off after scientists noticed fuel leaking from the rocket just two hours before liftoff.
The launch was due at 4.50 pm Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, 90 km from here, after a 29-hour countdown that began Sunday. It was suspended 74 minutes before launch.
Isro chairman K. Radhakrishnan said a new launch date will be set later.
“We need to make an assessment of the cause of the leak and what action we need to take,” he said.
This setback follows the failure of two earlier missions in April and December 2010.