Saturday, March 29, 2025
India’s space agency, ISRO, faced a major hurdle on Sunday morning when its latest satellite mission ended in failure. The launch vehicle, PSLV-C61, could not place the EOS-09 satellite into orbit due to a malfunction in the rocket’s third stage.
At 5:59 AM, ISRO launched the EOS-09 satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The mission aimed to boost India’s earth observation capabilities using advanced radar imaging. The rocket’s first and second stages operated normally. However, a fault occurred during the third stage, which caused the satellite to miss its target orbit.
ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan confirmed this in a public statement. “We observed normal performance during the early stages. A problem in the third stage affected the mission. We will analyze the issue and return with improvements,” he said.
The EOS-09 satellite featured C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology. It was designed to take high-quality images of Earth, even during cloudy weather or nighttime. These images were to support areas like agriculture, forest monitoring, disaster response, and national defense.
EOS-09 also included systems for responsible end-of-mission disposal. Its onboard fuel would have allowed ISRO to remove it safely from orbit after completing its tasks, reducing space debris.
This mission marked the 63rd launch using the PSLV rocket and the 27th flight of its XL version. PSLV has carried out many successful launches in the past, earning it a strong reputation. The failure of this mission, however, highlights the challenges that even experienced space agencies face.
ISRO posted on X (formerly Twitter), “PSLV-C61 performed normally up to the second stage. A technical issue in the third stage affected mission success.”
Hundreds of visitors, including students and families, had come to Sriharikota to witness the launch. Many had traveled long distances. Due to security concerns and growing tensions between India and Pakistan, the general public was not allowed to view the launch directly.
Still, visitors shared their mixed emotions. A student from Ranipet said, “We came all the way but couldn’t see the launch. Even then, being here was exciting. We’ll try again next time.” Another young visitor added, “I came from a village 150 km away. I’m a little sad, but I’ll come back. I dream of leading ISRO one day.”
ISRO announced that it will carry out a full investigation into the failure. The team will study the technical fault, make corrections, and prepare for another launch attempt in the future.
Despite this setback, ISRO remains focused on advancing India’s space goals and restoring confidence with its upcoming missions.
