ISRO’s 101st launch takes off but encounters failure in third stage

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday said its latest mission, launching an earth observation (EO) or surveillance satellite, “could not be accomplished”. The EOS-09 launched at 5:59 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre encountered an anomaly in the third stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61).

This was the space agency 101th launch onboard the reliable PSLV, which was taking its 27th using the PSLV-XL, configured to handle heavier satellites.

ISRO on X said, “Today 101st launch was attempted, PSLV-C61 performance was normal till the 2nd stage. Due to an observation in the 3rd stage, the mission could not be accomplished.”

EOS-09 is a follow-up mission to EOS-04 and the earlier RISAT-1 satellite. It is designed to deliver consistent remote sensing data, especially for operational users needing real-time imagery.

The satellite uses C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), enabling it to take high-resolution images under all weather conditions, throughout day and night. Sectors such as agriculture, forestry, disaster management, and defence have immense applications for the data generated.

ISRO chairman, V Narayanan said in the four-stage vehicle, the performance of the PSLV was normal uptill the second stage. “The third stage motor started perfectly, but during the functioning of the third stage, we are seeing an observation, and the mission could not be accomplished,” he told the media after launch.

He explained that there was a fall in the chamber pressure of the motor case. “We are studying the entire performance. We shall come back at the earliest,” Narayanan said.

This is the third failure of PSLV. The last mission that failed was the PSLV-C39 mission to deploy the IRNSS-1H navigation satellite on August 31, 2017. The mission failed due to a malfunctioning heat shield.

Former ISRO Chairman, S Somanath, who led India to the Moon, said, “Failure is never defeat, but a formidable tutor.” Acknowledging the challenges of a launch, he wrote his LinkedIn that there are formidable challenges during the development of the third-stage solid motor and “it’s an endeavour marked by multiple failures.”

Somanath further wrote, “Over the years, such challenges have only strengthened our conviction that failure is never defeat, but rather a formidable tutor. Every towering success of ISRO has been forged in the crucible of adversity — shaped by lessons deeply learnt and courageously applied.”