Kestrel Initial Demonstrator capsule
NEW DELHI: When its third phase failed on Monday, Isro’s PSLV-C62 launch vehicle lost 15 satellites from several countries and Indian companies, including the primary payload. However, a football-sized Spanish satellite called KID (Kestrel Initial Demonstrator), survived, though it transmitted “critical data” back to Earth for only about 3 minutes.The 25-kg satellite separated “against all odds” from PSLV’s fourth stage despite the third-stage anomaly that caused the mission to fail. The satellite’s developer, Orbital Paradigm, said on X, “Our KID capsule… separated from PSLV C62, switched on, and transmitted data…”KID, designed for re-entry testing towards a splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean, endured peak deceleration forces and thermal stresses that would pulverise most experimental hardware. “We’re reconstructing trajectory. We survived peak heat and peak g-load (~28g recorded). We have internal temps. Full report will come,” the company said.Developed with French partner RIDE, KID validates Orbital Paradigm’s reusable re-entry technology, crucial for future satellite servicing and de-orbiting. The startup plans a detailed report soon and is likely to accelerate Kestrel’s full-scale development programme. Tragedy struck PSLV when an “anomaly” in the third stage diverted the rocket from its flight path, preventing sun-synchronous orbit insertion of its payload.Isro chairman V Narayanan said on Monday, “Near the end of the third stage, we observed some disturbance in the vehicle, and there was a deviation in its flight path. As a result, the mission could not proceed as expected.” After his statement, it was assumed that all the 16 satellites, including primary payload EOS-N1 (Anvesha), a hyperspectral earth imaging satellite developed by DRDO for national security and surveillance, were lost.KID turned out to be the only to survive long enough to transmit signals. Orbital Paradigm is yet to confirm if the capsule later burned out or splashed down on Earth.
