India Faces Another Embarrassment: Surveillance Satellite Mission Fails After Rocket Malfunction

In a setback to its space ambitions, India’s latest surveillance satellite mission, EOS-09, failed to achieve orbit after a launch anomaly disrupted its flight early Sunday morning.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed the failure shortly after the PSLV-C61 mission lifted off at 5:59 AM IST on May 18, 2025, according to a reports.

Initial stages of the launch, including the first and second stages, performed as expected. However, an anomaly during the third stage of the rocket led to the mission’s failure and the subsequent loss of the EOS-09 satellite.

ISRO has initiated a technical investigation to identify the precise cause of the malfunction. ISRO Chairman publicly acknowledged the incident, calling it a rare but serious failure for the agency, which is otherwise known for its reliable launch history.

EOS-09, formerly referred to as RISAT-1B, was a radar imaging satellite designed for continuous Earth observation across various applications such as agriculture, forestry, disaster management, and defence.

Equipped with an advanced C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), the satellite was capable of capturing high-resolution images in all weather conditions, both day and night. Weighing 1,710 kilograms, EOS-09 was intended to be deployed into a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of about 529 kilometres.

India’s surveillance satellite mission was aimed at enhancing India’s remote sensing capabilities, working alongside existing satellites like Resourcesat, Cartosat, and the RISAT-2B series.

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