THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - April 4, 2018 - Topic 2
The loss of communication between the ground
station and the Indian Space Research Organisation’s latest satellite after its
launch on March 29 is deeply disappointing. ISRO’s mission aimed to place the
communication satellite, GSAT-6A, in space. However, shortly after the second
orbit-raising operation, the ground station lost track of the satellite on
March 31, when it was on course for the final firing. Understanding why this
happened is crucial.
A launch operation can be simplified into the initial three
stages, during which the satellite is boosted to different heights by the
launch vehicle and then placed in a geosynchronous transfer orbit. This is an
elliptical orbit into which a satellite is placed initially before being
transferred into a geosynchronous orbit where it maintains a position above a
fixed longitude. During each of these stages, a part of the rocket completes
its role and disengages from the bulk. Then the satellite moves towards its
final and desired orbit. The GSAT-6A was first raised to the elliptical orbit
marked by the following parameters: its perigee, or point of closest approach
to Earth, was 5,054 km; and its apogee, or point of farthest approach, was
36,412 km. This was followed up by a second orbit-raising operation on March 31.
It was after this and during the third such operation that the ground station
lost contact with the satellite. This is why it is being conjectured that the
failure occurred because of a flaw outside the launch vehicle, the GSLV,
perhaps from a short circuit or power glitch within the satellite itself.
The last word has not been said on the mission,
as ISRO officials continue to try to establish contact with the satellite. Yet,
in complex scientific feats such as ISRO’s projects, there is no mission so devoid
of a learning aspect to it that it is deemed a total failure. The GSLV has had
several successes in the past, and this is its 12th flight. For instance, it
was used to launch the advanced communication satellite, GSAT-6, in August
2015. GSAT-6A’s predecessor, GSAT-6, provides S-band services for two-way
communications as in the case of mobile phones. The present mission, launched
on March 29, was endowed with additional features, such as the high-thrust
Vikas engine that gave it the capacity to carry a heavier payload. It had been
reported that the mission would be a testing ground for ISRO’s next moon
mission. Given this background, ISRO should be open about the specific learning
points from this launch exercise. Space science is exciting not just for the
experts, but to many outside the field. Therefore, it is important that the
agency presents itself more openly to the world.
Vocabulary
Disappoint: fail to fulfill the hopes or
expectations of (someone).
Example: I have no wish to disappoint
everyone by postponing the visit
Synonyms: let
down, fail, dissatisfy, dash someone's
hopes, upset, dismay
Crucial: decisive or critical,
especially in the success or failure of something.
Example: Negotiations were at a crucial
stage
Synonyms: pivotal, critical, key, climacteric, decisive, deciding
Boosted: help or encourage
(something) to increase or improve.
Example: A range of measures to boost
tourism
Synonyms: improve, raise, uplift, increase, enhance, encourage, heighten
Elliptical: using or involving ellipsis,
especially so as to be difficult to understand.
Example: An elliptical lyrical style
Synonyms: cryptic, abstruse, ambiguous, obscure, oblique, Delphic, terse
Disengage: separate or release (someone
or something) from something to which they are attached or connected.
Example: I disengaged his hand from mine
Synonyms: remove, detach, disentangle, extricate, separate, release
Perigee: the point in the orbit of
the moon or a satellite at which it is nearest to the earth.
Example: The most favourable conditions for
a total eclipse are when the Moon is at its perigee
Conjecture: an opinion or conclusion
formed on the basis of incomplete information.
Example: Conjectures about the newcomer
were many and varied
Synonyms: speculation, guesswork, surmise, fancy, presumption, assumption
Thrust: a sudden or violent lunge
with a pointed weapon or a bodily part.
Example: He drove the blade upward with one
powerful thrust
Synonyms: shove, push, lunge, poke
Agency: action or intervention,
especially such as to produce a particular effect.
Example: Canals carved by the agency of
running water
Synonyms: action, activity, means, effect, influence, force, power