Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) 63rd PSLV launch to put the EOS-9 surveillance satellite in orbit could not be accomplished as the launch failed during the third of four stages due to a fall in pressure.
The space agency said the on Sunday morning that an anomaly during the solid fuel stage was observed after successful first and second stages, minutes after PSLV's lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5.59 am. This was the agency's 101st mission launch from Sriharikota.
ISRO's workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's (PSLV) launch failed due to a fall in chamber pressure, the space agency's chairman V Narayanan, instrumental in determining the cause of Chandrayaan-2 lander failure in 2023, said. "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," Mr Narayanan said.
"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," Mr Narayanan said post the unsuccessful launch. During the third stage, a solid rocket motor provides the upper stage with a high thrust after the atmospheric phase the launch.
As per standard procedure, ISRO's internal failure analysis committee and the government's external committee are now expected to probe the failure of the PSLV, considered a reliable rocket that launched the Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions. The conclusions of these committees' findings are usually expected in a few weeks.
On board the rocket was the Earth Observation Satellite - 9 (EOS-9), designed to provide continuous and reliable remote sensing data for operational applications across various sectors. Had it been placed into orbit 500 kilometres above the Earth's surface, it would have enhanced India's surveillance capabilities shortly after a ceasefire brought cross-border tensions to a halt.
Though EOS-9 was not put into orbit today, four radar satellites and eight cartosats continue to maintain vigil. EOS-9, however, had the capability to continue surveillance in all weather conditions and at night owing to its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Apart from maintaining a hawk's eye along India's borders, it would have been vital for applications ranging from agriculture and forestry monitoring to disaster management, urban planning and national security. Its replacement will take a few years to build.
The mission was planned keeping in mind the compounding space debris problem. A sufficient amount of the fuel had been reserved for de-orbiting the satellite after its effective mission life by lowering it to an orbit that ensures its decay within two years, towards ensuring a debris-free mission, according to scientists.
