Launch of PSLV-C61 vehicle mission could not be accomplished: ISRO chief
The EOS-09 satellite aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61) was launched on Sunday. This was ISRO's 101st launch.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) 101th mission aimed at enhancing the country’s land observation abilities, could not be accomplished on Sunday morning due to an anomaly in the third stage.
"Today, we attempted a launch of the PSLV-C61 vehicle. The vehicle is a 4-stage vehicle. The first two stages performed as expected. During the 3rd stage, we are seeing observation...The mission could not be accomplished. We are studying the entire performance,
"We shall come back at the earliest", ISRO chief V Narayanan said via the space agency's official YouTube channel.
Also Read | ARIES, DRDO lab sign MoU to boost India’s space situational awareness
The Polar Synchronous Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C61 rocket carrying the Earth Observation Satellite-09 (EOS-09) lifted off at 5:59 am from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota range (SHAR), Andhra Pradesh. But the launch had to be aborted due to an anomaly in the third stage.
This is PSLV rocket’s third failure after 21 successful launches - the first PSLV-D1 in 1993 and PSLV-C39 in 2017.
Also Read | India or Pakistan, which had a 'clear edge' during Operation Sindoor? What NYT report said
Had the mission been successful, the satellite, weighing 1696kg, carrying the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, was to be placed in a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO) from where it would pass over the same location on Earth at the same local time. Exposure
to the same light and observation conditions, the five-year mission through SAR was to provide images for various earth observation applications such as agriculture, forestry, soil moisture, hydrology, and flood mapping under all-weather conditions.
On January 30, Isro successfully launched its 100th mission when a GSLV-F15 rocket carried NVS-02, which is part of the NavIC constellation. NVS-02 will aid in terrestrial, aerial, and maritime navigation and precision agriculture.
