The mission could not be accomplished, as the launch vehicle performed normally up to the second stage, but encountered issues during the third stage.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday launched its 101st satellite, EOS-09, aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61), but the mission suffered a failure just minutes after liftoff.
The rocket lifted off at 5:59 am (IST) from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre. However, the mission could not be accomplished, as the launch vehicle encountered issues during the third stage, forcing ISRO to terminate the mission.
“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,” the Space Agency said in an X post.
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.
— ISRO (@isro) May 18, 2025
The launch involved placing the Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-09, into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO) using the PSLV-C61. ISRO Chief V Narayanan said the Space Agency is analysing the entire performance of the rocket on the live stream shortly after the launch.
“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 flight sequence of PSLV-C61 involves multiple stages, beginning with the ignition of the PS1 and PSOM boosters at liftoff, followed by the separation of various components, and culminating in the deployment of the satellite.
According to the ISRO Chief, the issue was identified in the third stage—a solid rocket motor responsible for delivering high thrust to the upper stage after the vehicle exits the atmospheric phase. This stage is designed to produce a maximum thrust of 240 kilonewtons.