Technical snag in PSLV-C61 mission causes EOS-09 launch failure

India's latest satellite launch attempt using the PSLV-C61 rocket ended in failure early Sunday morning due to a malfunction in the third-stage propulsion system. The mission, which began with a launch at 5:59 AM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, initially proceeded as planned but encountered issues when the rocket's third stage, powered by HTPB fuel, did not perform as expected approximately 203 seconds after liftoff. As a result, the EOS-09 satellite, weighing 1,696 kg, could not be placed into its targeted 524 km sun-synchronous polar orbit.

Also Read:ISRO to launch All-Weather EOS-09 satellite on May 18 from Sriharikota

The satellite, equipped with a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) designed for all-weather Earth imaging, was part of a larger effort to bolster India’s border monitoring and emergency management capabilities. This incident marked a rare failure for ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which had previously achieved 58 uninterrupted successful launches since 2017.

ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan acknowledged the malfunction shortly after the mission was aborted. Engineers are currently studying telemetry data to identify whether the failure was due to inconsistent propellant flow, nozzle faults, or structural weaknesses. A dedicated committee has been formed to investigate the cause, with a focus on production and testing stages of the third-stage motor.

The failed mission also impacts the timeline for India's planned satellite-based surveillance network, temporarily slowing down progress. However, ISRO has shown resilience in the past, recovering from setbacks quickly, sometimes within half a year. Despite the loss, the agency still plans to carry out four more PSLV launches in 2025.