The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its 101st launch on the morning of 18 May, which could not be completed unfortunately. ISRO launched the PSLV-C61 at 5:59 am with the EOS-09 satellite. Everything was normal in the first two phases, but the mission could not be completed due to a problem in the third phase.
According to ISRO, the mission was affected due to the fall of pressure in the motor case chamber in the third phase. ISRO President V Narayanan said that he is reviewing the entire performance and will give detailed information soon.
ISRO said in a post on X, ‘Attempted to launch the 101st today, the performance of PSLV-C61 was normal till the second phase. Due to an observation in the third phase, the mission could not be completed. ‘ Let me tell you, the EOS-09 satellite was an Earth observation satellite, capable of monitoring the weather and environment.
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
What did ISRO chief say
According to ISRO President V Narayanan, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is a 4-phase rocket and the first two phases were normal. He said, ‘Today we targeted the 101st Launch from Sriharikota, PSLVC 61 EOS-09 Mission. The PSLV is a four-phase vehicle and its performance was normal till the second phase. The third stage motor was completely operational, but during the work of the third phase we were watching an observation and the mission could not be completed.
What would have happened if the mission had been successful?
After the success of the mission, after deploying the EOS-09 satellite, Orbit Change thrusters (Oct) are used to reduce the height of the PS4 phase. This could have used inactivity to limit the orbital life of the satellite.
The EOS-09 satellite is an advanced version of EOS-04, which is designed with the objective of ensuring remote sensing data for the user community engaged in operational applications and improving the frequency of observation. This satellite would be able to provide high quality photos and data to users in various fields.
