ISRO’s PSLV-C61 Mission Fails Due to Anomaly in Third Stage

India’s space ambitions faced a temporary setback on Sunday morning after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was unable to complete the launch of its Earth observation satellite EOS-09. The failure occurred due to an anomaly in the third stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61).

The launch took place at 5:59 AM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and was set to be the 101st mission from the launch site. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan confirmed that while the rocket’s first and second stages performed nominally, the issue arose during the third stage.

“The PSLV is a four-stage vehicle and up to the second stage, performance was normal,” Narayanan said. “The third stage motor ignited as expected, but an anomaly was observed during its operation. As a result, the mission could not be accomplished. A detailed analysis is underway and we will share more information once it is complete.”

The mission was carrying EOS-09, an advanced Earth observation satellite equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), capable of capturing high-resolution images regardless of weather or lighting conditions. The satellite was designed to support various applications including agriculture, forestry, urban planning, disaster management, and national security.

EOS-09 was intended to be a follow-up to EOS-04, launched successfully in 2022, and aimed to enhance the availability and frequency of remote sensing data for diverse users. This was also the second PSLV mission assembled at ISRO’s new Payload Integration Facility, following the Spadex mission in December last year.

ISRO is currently investigating the cause of the anomaly and is expected to provide further updates in the coming days.

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