Additionally, this reduces the cost per satellite for each one onboarded. When ISRO’s PSLV-C61 failed to launch on May 18, 2025, it marked a rare setback in India’s space program. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) needed to wrap their efforts in advanced technical scrutiny while the country was forced to mark their place post-triumph space race.
The satellite was an advanced EOS-09 Earth Observation Satellite and is today’s spotlight for discussion. EOS-09 did not fail to add value; instead, it globally enriched India’s remote sensing scope along with surveillance capabilities. The global space agency, along with the defense analysts, was engaged in following up with PSLV, which serviced the 1.7-ton satellite.
S. K. Barmesh, the program’s SR & S director, earlier assigned planned all-encompassing strap-on rockets for multistep space launches—“Strapped-on multiple access rockets for space vehicles with wings,” or MORE.
A Groundbreaking Development: Enhanced Imaging Along the Borders
We expect the satellite to come closer as we approach framing the earth in a more suit-based format as sustainable urban dominance begins to work out. That still provides scope for improvement in Ku-strength-enabled scopes. EOS-09 is fitted and functions as an addition with heavy C-band SAR as RISAT-1 improves subducting. The satellite was supposed to enable surveillance in real time for border monitoring and anti-terror activities, especially during the recent security alarms in particular areas of concern.
The Failure: What Went Wrong in the Third Stage
The first and second stages of the rocket worked perfectly; however, there were issues during the critical third stage burn. Telemetry was reporting a sudden drop in chamber pressure, which resulted in the vehicle deviating from its expected trajectory. Initial analysis suggests that there is some sort of problem with the control mechanism of the flex nozzle in the third-stage solid motor. This system is responsible for controllable thrust vectoring, which provides accurate steering, suggesting that a thrust misalignment and rapid trajectory adjustment caused the satellite to be unable to reach the intended sun-synchronous orbit at 525 kilometers.
Technical Insights: The Flex Nozzle Defect
A survey conducted by the ISRO shows that most launches tend to fail around the 1st and 2nd stages as the surge in rocketry fires decreases during these stages, quickly reducing rotational inertia. While those stages deal with propulsion or stage-separation issues, most tend to overlook the flex bearing in the 3rd stage, which divisively shifts the rocket’s axis of rotation, granting better control; misusing the 114 seconds of throttle gives precise azimuth control over the bearing thrust. An FMEA team has been assembled, tasked with collating the first three stages of the PSLV.
Effect on India’s space program and its future endeavors
This mission failure highlights the third unsuccessful PSLV mission against ISRO’s record of 32 missions and the first unsuccessful mission since 2017, further highlighting the reliability of the workhorse rocket. This initial setback also comes as a delay for India with plans to add further surveillance satellites to the existing 52 and follows the NVS-02 navigation satellite fiasco earlier this year, which marks the second consecutive failure of ISRO missions planned in 2025. Regardless, though, India’s ISRO is known to bounce back and come after a failure because the technical review suggested a detailed recovery ahead of the technical review that the institution is known to depend on.
Taking responsibility towards operated space
The EOS-09 mission, however, cast light on the growing awareness that space sustainability goes to another level for ISRO. The satellite deployed was designed equipped with fuel for deorbiting, which entails safe disposal on mission completion. Furthermore, the plan for PSLV-C61 also included passivation of the fourth stage to reduce debris, and further action helps align its policies with those of global policies and create a cleaner environment while operating in orbit space.
Conclusion
The 109th launch of ISRO’s flagship mission had highlighted bulletins of both praise and challenge snapping the borderless marvels of technology. As EOS-09 is a recommended loss, the mission’s clear vision, accompanied by the agency’s open approach, continues to strengthen India’s reputation as a keen contender in space exploration. Highly visible on the horizon is the excursion of scientific superiority and global competition awaiting ISRO post analyzing this console’s breaches.
