Sriharikota, May 18, 2025 — In a rare setback for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the launch of its 101st satellite, EOS-09, aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61), ended in failure on Sunday after the mission encountered a critical issue during the third stage of flight.
The rocket lifted off at 5:59 am IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Although the initial phases of the mission proceeded as planned, the vehicle suffered a malfunction in its third stage, prompting ISRO to abort the operation.
“Today, the 101st launch was attempted, PSLV-C61 performance was normal till 2nd stage. Due to an observation in the 3rd stage, the mission could not be accomplished," ISRO stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan, addressing the issue during a live stream following the launch, confirmed that the vehicle’s first and second stages performed as expected, but a complication emerged in the crucial third stage.
“Today we attempted a launch of PSLV-C61 vehicle. The vehicle is a 4-stage vehicle. The first two stages performed as expected. During the 3rd stage, we are seeing observation… The mission could not be accomplished. We are studying the entire performance, we shall come back at the earliest," Narayanan said.
The third stage of the PSLV is a solid rocket motor that provides critical thrust to propel the payload into orbit after the vehicle exits the Earth’s atmosphere. According to ISRO, this stage is designed to produce a maximum thrust of 240 kilonewtons.
EOS-09, the mission’s intended payload, is an advanced Earth Observation Satellite equipped with C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology. It was designed to capture high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface in all weather conditions, day or night — a capability that would have significantly enhanced India’s monitoring, surveillance, and resource management capacities.
The PSLV-C61 mission was also notable for its emphasis on sustainable space operations. EOS-09 carried deorbiting fuel to ensure its safe disposal at the end of its operational life — a step toward responsible space practices.
Sunday’s attempt marked the 63rd flight of the PSLV rocket and the 27th using the PSLV-XL configuration, making it the 100th PSLV launch ahead of May 18. The failure, however, is expected to prompt a detailed analysis by ISRO's technical teams to determine the cause and prevent similar issues in future missions.
Despite the setback, ISRO reiterated its commitment to identifying the fault and resuming launch operations promptly.
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