India's newest satellite ran out of gas too early

September 13, 1982

The $100 million-dollar, US-made satellite on which India hung much of its technological future ran out of fuel just 148 days after its Cape Canaveral launching, the Boston Globe reported.

The Insat-1A was a communications satellite. Officials of India's three government ministries most affected by the casualty began mapping alternatives to plans that were in the making for over a decade. A post-mortem investigation is underway. So far, no one has been blamed.