New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) faced a setback on Sunday as its trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61) mission failed to deliver the EOS-09 satellite into its intended orbit after launching from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. However, the mission encountered a critical anomaly during flight, resulting in the satellite failing to reach its designated orbit.
ISRO has not yet released a detailed technical report, the space agency’s chief, V Narayanan, confirmed the issue on the livestream, pointing to a problem with the rocket’s third stage, which was a solid motor system. This critical stage is responsible for propelling the payload closer to its intended orbit after the initial boost phases.
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 said after the unsuccessful launch.
While ISRO has not yet released a detailed technical report, the space agency’s chief, V Narayanan, confirmed the issue on the livestream, pointing to a problem with the rocket’s third stage, which was a solid motor system. This critical stage is responsible for propelling the payload closer to its intended orbit after the initial boost phases.
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 said after the unsuccessful launch. Further explaining, he said, “…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”.
Historically, failures in PSLV missions have been rare, with only a handful of incidents since its debut in 1993. Previous failures have often been linked to issues during stage separation or propulsion anomalies, such as attitude control disturbances or underperformance of a particular stage. In the 1993 maiden flight, for example, a programming error and retro-rocket malfunction led to loss of attitude control at the second-to-third stage separation, resulting in mission failure.
Another notable failure in 2017 was traced to the payload fairing not separating, which left the satellite trapped inside the rocket. In the case of PSLV-C61, such failures can stem from various factors, including faults in the propulsion system, errors during stage separation, or malfunctions in the guidance and control systems.
The space agency has announced that a failure analysis committee will thoroughly investigate the telemetry and flight data to determine the exact cause and implement corrective measures. Isro’s PSLV remains one of the world’s most reliable launch vehicles, with a long record of successful missions.