back to article India’s latest rocket flies but payloads don't prosper

India's small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) made a spectacular debut launch on Sunday, but the mission fell short of overall success when two satellites were inserted into the incorrect orbit, rendering them space junk. The SSLV was developed to carry payloads of up to 500kg to low Earth orbits on an "on-demand basis". India …

  1. 105kayem

    Verbing Nouns

    “The satellites were placed in an elliptical orbit in place of a circular orbit,” caveated the chairman.”

    In what way does “ caveated “ make any sort of sense in that sentence?

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: Verbing Nouns

      In English caveat has been nounified to mean a warning, but it is actually a verb. Third person active present subjunctive of cavere: "Let him/her/it beware" as in "caveat emptor" (buyer beware). Grey beards from posh schools would know it from the first person perfect active "cavi" (pronounced kay vee) meaning "I have looked out" or "the teacher is coming". The proper Latin here would probably be "cavit" (she warned) but only ex-public school kids now in their dotage would understand that.

      1. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Verbing Nouns

        So we're saying the actual error is declining a Latin verb like an English verb and then surrounding it with other English words...?

        1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

          Re: Verbing Nouns

          I am not convinced there is an error. It sounds a little odd but going back to the source of the word does not make things any better.

      2. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Boolian

      Re: Verbing Nouns

      Maybe it's a misprint for 'Cavitated'

      "Under pressure, the chairman was reduced to blowing bubbles"

      Variously: to talk nonsense, to mislead, misdirect, blather, blethers. bllithering.

      Bubbling - Scot:. to cry, cying

      Burst bubble' - to show a belief to be false; the termination of a succesful period (Bubble burst)

      Refer also: 'Economic bubble' - Asset prices higher than underlying fundamentals reasonably justify. etc.

      Yeah, probably a misprint...

  2. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
    Coat

    Caveated

    It's late here but

    Biriyani beware!

    1. adam 40

      Re: Caveated

      That's aphalling!

      1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: Caveated

        Ghee!

        It was the early AM for me when I wrote that, korma do better at that hour.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Failure of logic

    = software failure.

    Indian developers, releasing stuff that's incomplete or improperly tested, I can't believe that could possibly happen.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Failure of logic

      Because they couldn't find the code on Stack Overflow to copy from?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Failure of logic

      Better than the NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter that was lost due to using wrong units of measurement! Probably, NASA hired school dropouts for this mission.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Failure of logic

      No no... the target was 356km and 356km was achieved... working as designed

      Circular!?!?... that wasn't in the spec! You need to put in a supplementary request for that, get it approved, get it budgeted, get the budget approved, get...........

  4. Mr F&*king Grumpy

    Indian developers, releasing stuff that's incomplete or improperly tested PHBs (any nationality) pushing to release stuff too early to meet arbitrary deadlines and trouser their bonuses, I can't believe that could possibly happen.

    Fixed that for you....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yeah but - in my experience - cultural differences mean Indian Devs are generally much less likely to raise concerns with their superiors, if they've been told it's ready, then it's ready. Whereas if I was told to release something that wasn't ready to the point of it being a car-crash, I'd make noise about it, and if it was safety critical I'd be prepared to make so much noise that I'd risk my job, or certainly my career prospects.

      1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

        My own but limited experience of Indian space engineers are they are very good, but there is a strict military/civil-service style of hierarchy that few will every speak out of place if the PHB decrees something will be done in XYZ manner that is wrong or simply ill-advised.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ... it's hard to imagine the emotions of the school children ... According to the space org, the satellite was built by female students in rural regions across the country, with guidance from the team of of student space-enthusiast org Space Kidz India.

    So they get to build it again! Twice as fun.

    It was a much safer idea than sending a schoolteacher into space.

  6. Potemkine! Silver badge

    As long as you learn from failure, it still can be a positive event.

    Like they said in the old days, errare humanum est, sed perseverare diabolicum

  7. steamnut

    Whose money?

    Whether this failed or not there is a question over the funding used by a nation that still receives over £55m a year in foreign aid from the UK.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Whose money?

      The article notes:

      - India hopes the craft will let its space agency target commercial launches.

      i.e. this is hopefully a precursor to them actually making money with this launcher.

      Furthermore, the prime satellite was for earth observation intended for "cartographic applications at a cadastral level, urban and rural management, coastal land use and regulation, utilities mapping, development and various other GIS applications." - information which is all vital for the allocation of many forms of development aid and for confirmation that it has been used correctly.

  8. ThatOne Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Priorities

    > "The vehicle took off majestically"

    Oh, it's all right then...

    1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Priorities

      That has all the hallmarks of a Douglas or Pterry* style of writing.

      *New Icon please as Paris has left us with a gaping hole.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Priorities

      "The vehicle took off majestically"

      ...then failed to do the needful.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is an ellipse…

    Better than a pear shape?

    1. Spherical Cow Silver badge

      Re: Is an ellipse…

      It went titsup... did it then come titsdown? I suppose it did, with a premature re-entry.

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