India’s space agency ISRO faced a failure on Saturday after its PSLV-C61 rocket launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre didn’t go as planned. This was ISRO’s third mission of the year, and it could not be completed successfully.
ISRO Chief V. Narayanan confirmed that the mission was incomplete due to issues in the third stage of the rocket after a normal performance in the first and second stages.
ISRO posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) saying, “This was the 101st launch attempt. PSLV-C61 performed normally up to the second stage. But a problem in the third stage caused the mission to stop.”
The goal of this mission was to place the EOS-09 (Earth Observation Satellite-09) into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit (SSPO). This satellite was meant to strengthen India’s remote sensing capability.
EOS-09 was designed as a follow-up version of EOS-094, built to support Earth observation and data collection for various uses including agriculture, urban planning, and disaster monitoring.
PSLV-C61 Mission Quick FactsDetail Information Launch Site Satish Dhawan Space Centre Rocket Name PSLV-C61 Launch Date Jeth 4, 2082 (May 18, 2025) Mission Status Failed during third stage Satellite EOS-09 Orbit Type Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO) Mission Purpose Earth observation and remote sensing enhancement Satellite Type Successor of EOS-094 ISRO Chief V. Narayanan Total Launch Attempts by ISRO 101