ISRO's PSLV-C61 EOS-09 launch aborted midway; ISRO Chief V. Narayanan explains why

PTI Sriharikota: ISRO chairman V Narayanan addresses media after PSLV-C61 rocket carrying Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-09) lifted off from the first launch pad, in Sriharikota. After a precise liftoff, Chairman V Narayanan said that the mission could not be accomplished as planned. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) India's 101st space mission from Sriharikota suffered a major setback early Sunday when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) failed to complete the launch of its Earth observation satellite EOS-09. The mission lifted off as scheduled at 5:59 AM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre but encountered an anomaly in the third stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61).'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,' ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said in a post-launch statement.He added, '...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.'
Though the PSLV-C61 launched without delay and performed reliably through its first two stages, the solid-fuel third stage failed to maintain the required pressure. This disruption halted the progress of the 1,696.24 kg EOS-09 satellite, which was designed for all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation. The rocket, towering at 44.5 metres and weighing 321 tonnes, was carrying the high-performance Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, intended to support sectors like agriculture, disaster response, urban planning, forestry and national security.
The mission was also structured to be debris-free, with fuel reserved for de-orbiting the satellite after its operational life to prevent long-term space debris.
This mission was the 63rd overall flight of the PSLV and the 27th using its heavier-lifting XL configuration. PSLV failures are rare. Since its first flight in 1993, ISRO has recorded just three setbacks, including Sunday's mission.
The previous failures were PSLV-D1 in 1993 and PSLV-C39 in 2017, the latter due to a faulty heat shield that prevented satellite deployment. The current failure is expected to prompt an internal review as well as the formation of a Failure Analysis Committee.The EOS-09 satellite, similar to the EOS-04 launched in 2022, was developed to enhance the frequency and reliability of remote sensing data. The SAR payload inside the satellite could have delivered high-resolution images even in cloudy or dark conditions—key for precision-based resource management.ISRO has confirmed that a detailed review will be undertaken to assess what went wrong. '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 stated on its official X handle.Sources told CNN-News18 that a Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) will be set up to probe the issue. The FAC will include ISRO experts and members from the academic sector, and is likely to be headed by a former ISRO Chief or a senior retired scientist. The committee will comb through flight data, launch preparations, and all associated systems.While ISRO has not yet released its final technical report, Chairman Narayanan's assurance suggests the agency will soon regroup for another attempt. 'After analysis we shall come back,' he said.Despite Sunday's setback, ISRO maintains a strong reputation for dependable launch missions. The EOS-09 failure may delay upcoming plans temporarily, but it also offers the opportunity to reinforce technical rigour.For now, the space agency turns inward to evaluate its systems and regain momentum. India's ambitious space programme—marked by achievements like the Chandrayaan and Mars missions—remains undeterred. The mission may have failed, but the resolve remains intact.(With inputs from ANI, PTI)

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Time of India

5 hours ago

• Time of India

Putting man in space is India's next giant leap: AS Kiran Kumar

Mangaluru: The former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), AS Kiran Kumar, stated that the space agency aims to establish India's own space station by 2035. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He was speaking during an event titled 'Igniting the future: Isro's legacy and beyond' organised by the Ramakrishna Mission Mangaluru and Samatha Mahila Balaga at the Ramakrishna Math hall on Sunday. "Visionaries like Vikram Sarabhai and Homi J Bhabha laid the foundation for Isro. Today, Isro plays a pivotal role in India's development. While other countries have used space activities for military purposes, India initially focused on non-military objectives like finding solutions to its problems such as weather monitoring, communication, broadcasting, and navigation. After centuries of foreign rule, providing basic necessities like shelter and housing for all citizens was a major challenge in India. In such a context, many naturally questioned whether priority should be given to the development of space technology," he explained. "By the time we reach 100 years of Independence, and when we aspire to reach the topmost, we also need to build capacity and capability. Putting man in space is one such capability. Originally, the plan was, by the 75th year of Independence, we should have put humans into orbit and brought them back. However, because of Covid-19 and other reasons, it got delayed," he said. On the Gaganyaan programme, he said probably within a year or two, we will have Indian astronauts going around the orbit. "The ambitious — to send a human to space — is India's next giant leap. The Gaganyaan programme requires large vehicles to be human-rated. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Once we achieve this mission, we will become the fourth country in the world, beyond America, Russia, and China. It is an essential requirement because the world recognises only those who demonstrate capability," he said. "Apart from launching its own satellites, India has successfully launched over 450 satellites from more than 34 countries. Through landmark missions like Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, and Aditya, India's capabilities have gained global recognition," he noted. He called upon students to engage in space research and become scientists to contribute to the nation's growth. Swami Jitakamanandaji, secretary of Ramakrishna Math, Mangaluru, graced the event. The programme was inaugurated by Sumana Ghate, general manager, Karnataka Bank. The session was presided over by Katyayini Bhide, president of Samatha Mahila Balaga, Mangaluru. MM Nayak, former director of Isro's INSAT programme, Vijayalakshmi Rao, honorary president of Samatha Mahila Balaga, and MLC Manjunath Bhandary were present. 'Space on Wheels' exhibition A mobile scientific exhibition titled 'Space on Wheels', curated by UR Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, was also held. A specially designed exhibition bus arrived from Bengaluru. The exhibition, which presented the history, achievements, and future vision of Isro, attracted more than 1,000 students from various schools and colleges.

The Hindu

13 hours ago

• The Hindu

Work hard to enable India to take humans to moon by 2040: Former ISRO Chief tells youth

Former ISRO Chief and Space Commission member A.S. Kiran Kumar on Sunday asked youth to work hard to make India a space capable nation and enable the country to take humans to moon by 2040. Speaking on the topic 'Igniting the future: ISRO's legacy and beyond', at the Ramakrishna Mutt in Mangaluru on Sunday, Mr. Kumar said the nation, which is moving towards becoming world's largest economy, cannot ignore space economy. The space economy is a trillion dollar economy. Space tourism and space adventure provided tremendous opportunity. Mr. Kumar said, 'Unless our capability in space mission is demonstrated other nations will not take note of India. Youngsters should become leaders and showcase our capability in space science.' Works are on towards having country's own space station by 2035. 'By 2040 we have to take humans to moon and bring them back,' the former ISRO chief said. The government is allowing more people to work in space science. Private entities and consortium of firms are being allowed to launch their satellites. Since the start of the space programme for non-military purpose in October 1957, ISRO has leapfrogged in space technology to indigenously develop different launch pads and launch a number of satellites, he said. 'NavIC, the country's own satellite-based navigation system developed by ISRO, is helping fishermen to navigate through sea in a safe way and find fish. With the feed from satellites and other information, there is advance information about cyclones, which has helped government to evacuate and save lives of people from places that are likely to be affected,' he said. The feed from satellites is also helping forecast crop yield. The use of satellites in hitting precise targets in enemy nation was demonstrated in the recent Operation Sindoor, he said. The youth, he said, are left with lot of problems to solve. 'You have tremendous capability. Rise and lead the country to regain the glory as the place of harmony and peace,' he said.

First Post

14 hours ago

• First Post

Will humans go extinct if people stopped having babies?

In many countries, women are having fewer babies than their previous generations. As birth rates fall, how long will it take for humans to vanish if people do not reproduce anymore? read more Very few people live beyond a century. So, if no one had babies anymore, there would probably be no humans left on Earth within 100 years. But first, the population would shrink as older folks died and no one was being born. Even if all births were to suddenly cease, this decline would start slowly. Eventually there would not be enough young people coming of age to do essential work, causing societies throughout the world to quickly fall apart. Some of these breakdowns would be in humanity's ability to produce food, provide health care and do everything else we all rely on. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Food would become scarce even though there would be fewer people to feed. As an anthropology professor who has spent his career studying human behaviour, biology and cultures, I readily admit that this would not be a pretty picture. Eventually, civilisation would crumble. It's likely that there would not be many people left within 70 or 80 years, rather than 100, due to shortages of food, clean water, prescription drugs and everything else that you can easily buy today and need to survive. A catastrophe in the making To be sure, an abrupt halt in births is highly unlikely unless there's a global catastrophe. Here's one potential scenario, which writer Kurt Vonnegut explored in his novel 'Galapagos': A highly contagious disease could render all people of reproductive age infertile – meaning that no one would be capable of having babies anymore. Another possibility might be a nuclear war that no one survives – a topic that's been explored in many scary movies and books. A lot of these works are science fiction involving a lot of space travel. Others seek to predict a less fanciful Earth-bound future where people can no longer reproduce easily, causing collective despair and the loss of personal freedom for those who are capable of having babies. Two of my favourite books along these lines are ' The Handmaid's Tale,' by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, and ' The Children of Men,' by British writer PD James. They are dystopian stories, meaning that they take place in an unpleasant future with a great deal of human suffering and disorder. And both have become the basis of television series and movies. In the 1960s and 1970s, many people also worried that there would be too many people on Earth, which would cause different kinds of catastrophes. Those scenarios also became the focus of dystopian books and movies. Population to touch 10 billion To be sure, the number of people in the world is still growing, even though the pace of that growth has slowed down. Experts who study population changes predict that the total will peak at 10 billion in the 2080s, up from 8 billion today and 4 billion in 1974. The US population currently stands at 342 million. That's about 200 million more people than were here when I was born in the 1930s. This is a lot of people, but both worldwide and in the US these numbers could gradually fall if more people die than are born. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD About 3.6 million babies were born in the US in 2024, down from 4.1 million in 2004. Meanwhile, about 3.3 million people died in 2022, up from 2.4 million 20 years earlier. The population will peak at 10 billion in the 2080s. Pixabay/Representational Image One thing that will be important as these patterns change is whether there's a manageable balance between young people and older people. That's because the young often are the engine of society. They tend to be the ones to implement new ideas and produce everything we use. Also, many older people need help from younger people with basic activities, like cooking and getting dressed. And a wide range of jobs are more appropriate for people under 65 rather than those who have reached the typical age for retirement. Falling fertility rates In many countries, women are having fewer children throughout their reproductive lives than used to be the case. That reduction is the most stark in several countries, including India and South Korea. The declines in birth rates occurring today are largely caused by people choosing not to have any children or as many as their parents did. That kind of population decline can be kept manageable through immigration from other countries, but cultural and political concerns often stop that from happening. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At the same time, many men are becoming less able to father children due to fertility problems. If that situation gets much worse, it could contribute to a steep decline in population. Will humans go extinct? Our species, Homo sapiens, has been around for at least 200,000 years. That's a long time, but like all animals on Earth we are at risk of becoming extinct. Consider what happened to the Neanderthals, a close relative of Homo sapiens. They first appeared at least 400,000 years ago. Our modern human ancestors overlapped for a while with the Neanderthals, who gradually declined to become extinct about 40,000 years ago. Some scientists have found evidence that modern humans were more successful at reproducing our numbers than the Neanderthal people. This occurred when Homo sapiens became more successful at providing food for their families and also having more babies than the Neanderthals. If humans were to go extinct, it could open up opportunities for other animals to flourish on Earth. On the other hand, it would be sad for humans to go away because we would lose all of the great achievements people have made, including in the arts and science. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In my view, we need to take certain steps to ensure that we have a long future on our own planet. These include controlling climate change and avoiding wars. Also, we need to appreciate the fact that having a wide array of animals and plants makes the planet healthy for all creatures, including our own species. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.