India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61) mission, aimed at placing the EOS-09 satellite into a sun-synchronous polar orbit, failed to achieve its intended objective on Sunday, with preliminary assessments suggesting a critical anomaly in the rocket’s third stage.
The launch, conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, marked the 63rd flight of the PSLV series and the 27th in its XL configuration. Despite the initial stages performing as expected, the mission faltered during the third stage, a critical solid motor system tasked with propelling the payload closer to its designated orbit.
ISRO chief V. Narayanan, speaking shortly after the unsuccessful launch, said, “Today we targeted the 101st launch from Sriharikota, the PSLV-C61 EOS-09 mission. The PSLV is a four-stage vehicle and up to the second stage, the performance was normal. The third stage motor started perfectly but during the functioning of the third stage, we are seeing an observation and the mission could not be accomplished.”
Narayanan further explained the issue, stating, “…and the motor pressure—there was a fall in the chamber pressure of the motor case and the mission could not be accomplished. We are studying the entire performance, we shall come back at the earliest.”
The EOS-09 satellite, an advanced Earth observation satellite, was expected to enhance India’s remote sensing capabilities. However, the mission's failure marks a significant setback for the Indian space agency, which has long prided itself on the PSLV’s reliability.
Also read: ISRO's 101st launch ends in setback as EOS-09 misses orbit
Historically, PSLV missions have had a strong track record, with only a handful of failures since its maiden flight in 1993. These incidents have often been linked to stage separation issues or propulsion anomalies, such as attitude control disturbances or underperformance in a particular stage.
For instance, during its maiden flight in 1993, a programming error and retro-rocket malfunction led to a loss of attitude control at the second-to-third stage separation, resulting in mission failure. Another notable failure occurred in 2017 when the payload fairing failed to separate, trapping the satellite within the rocket and preventing it from reaching its designated orbit.
In this latest setback, experts have suggested that the anomaly could stem from multiple factors, including propulsion system faults, stage separation errors, or malfunctions in the guidance and control systems. The exact cause will be determined through a comprehensive analysis by a failure review committee, which will examine telemetry and flight data to identify the root cause and recommend corrective measures.
Despite this latest failure, the PSLV remains one of the world’s most reliable launch vehicles, known for its versatility and cost-effectiveness, with a long history of successful missions.
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