ISRO Chief Confirms EOS-09 Satellite Mission Failure

Satellite Mission Failure: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed that the EOS-09 mission "could not be accomplished" after the PSLV-C61 rocket launched at 5:59am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

"During the functioning of the third stage, we are seeing an observation and the mission could not be accomplished. After analysis, we shall come back," the ISRO chairman said.

The ISRO also posted on X about the development. "Today 101st launch was attempted, PSLV-C61 performance was normal till 2nd stage. Due to an observation in 3rd stage, the mission could not be accomplished."

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Isro Chairman V Narayanan said, "The PSLV is a four-stage rocket, and its first and second stages performed as expected. The third stage motor ignited successfully, but an issue arose during its operation, preventing the mission from succeeding.”

He added, “We will return after conducting a thorough analysis.”

Notably, this launch was also aligned with promoting sustainability and carrying out responsible space operations, as the EOS-09 is equipped with deorbiting fuel for safely disposing it off after the mission.

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Meanwhile, ISRO is preparing for another significant mission—NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)—scheduled to launch aboard GSLV-F16. A collaboration with NASA, NISAR will monitor changes in Earth's surface and ecosystems and help track natural disasters, reinforcing India’s growing role in global climate and environmental science.

In the 1993 maiden flight, for example, a programming error and retro-rocket malfunction led to loss of attitude control at the second-to-third stage separation, resulting in mission failure.

Historically, failures in PSLV missions have been rare, with only a handful of incidents since its debut in 1993. Previous failures have often been linked to issues during stage separation or propulsion anomalies, such as attitude control disturbances or underperformance of a particular stage.

EOS-09 was the second orbital liftoff of the year for India. The first occurred in January, when a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle launched the NVS-02 navigation spacecraft to the final frontier.

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