NEW DELHI: In another blow to its strategic ambitions, India suffered a major setback on Sunday when its latest satellite mission, EOS-09, failed to reach orbit following a launch anomaly.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed the failure shortly after liftoff of the PSLV-C61 mission at 5:59 AM IST on May 18, 2025.
The mission’s first and second rocket stages performed nominally, but an unexpected anomaly occurred in the third stage, resulting in the loss of the Earth Observation Satellite-09 (EOS-09).
ISRO has launched a technical investigation to determine the exact cause of the malfunction.
ISRO Chairman publicly acknowledged the failure, marking it as a rare but significant misstep for the otherwise globally respected space agency.
EOS-09, previously known as RISAT-1B, was designed to provide round-the-clock radar imaging capabilities for various sectors, including agriculture, forestry, disaster management, and defence surveillance.
The satellite carried a sophisticated C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), allowing for all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation.
With a launch weight of 1,710 kilograms, EOS-09 was intended to enter a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of approximately 529 kilometres.
Its mission was to complement existing remote sensing satellites, including Resourcesat, Cartosat, and the RISAT-2B series.
