Two PSLV Failures, ISRO Lost Million Dollar Satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been the benchmark of successful and cost-effective space missions decades long. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) by the ISRO was described as the workhorse due to its high consistency. Even the finest machines however, may have a day off. This was the the latest news today that the agency was facing recently: two failures of PSLVs one, right after another, costing the agency a number of prominent satellites worth millions of dollars.

India Latest News Today: A String of Unfortunate Events

This misfortune started on 18 May 2025 when the PSLV-C61 mission took place. Nothing went wrong initially, the rocket took off in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and the initial two stages worked as scheduled. After some twelve minutes in the air, however, there was a problem. V. Narayanan the Chairman of ISRO subsequently admitted that the third stage was characterized by a sudden decrease in the chamber pressure. The rocket was therefore unable to continue its course and the mission failed.

The EOS-09 was a high-technology Earth-observation satellite on that vehicle. This advanced surveillance system has a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which can penetrate both clouds and darkness. The experts argued that such a satellite cost around Rs. 850 crore ( more than $100 million ). This huge investment was spent when the rocket burst and the mission failed.

History Repeats Itself

Space agencies need to take time to detect failures, fix problems and make some improvements. The same process was done by ISRO. A Failure Analysis Committee was formed in order to explore the pressure drop. The agency hoped to launch the next major one on 12 January 2026, having assumed that the cause was found. The PSLV-C62 mission was supposed to be a sort of comeback and the first of the year launch of ISRO.

Sadly enough, the comeback did not happen. The PSLV-C62 worked perfectly within the first few stages. But towards the end of the third stage when the launch was about to take off, there were disturbances that started to affect the roll rates of the vehicle. The rocket took a wrong direction and the satellites did not get into the intended orbit.

This time even more assets were lost. This satellite carried the EOS-N1 (or Anvesha), a hyperspectral strategic monitoring satellite and maritime surveillance satellite. The other minor satellites that were sent by the rocket include Thai and UK commercial payloads and student constructed experiments.

When the latest news update, years of efforts by the scientists, startups, and students were turned into dust and ash in an instant.

The Cost of Failure

In the case of million-dollar satellites the price does not only go up to hardware. It includes the opportunity cost. In the case of India, these satellites act as air spies. They are to be used in managing disasters, agriculture, and national security. The EOS series is crucial in the monitoring of borders and the coastal India. Every failure of launching forces the nation to spend months or years to build another satellite and launch it, which leaves a vacuum in its data-collection resources.

Besides, the PSLV is the main product of India within the international commercial launch market. US, European and Asian companies have their satellites launched by ISRO at a cheaper cost than those of other companies since it is most reliable. Two back-to-back failures may destroy the trust of these international customers who may think of using other companies like SpaceX or Rocket Lab.

What’s Going Wrong?

ISRO continues analyzing the data of the latest failure. It has concentrated on the third stage of the rocket. The two recent accidents both took place at this point of the flight. The third step utilizes a solid fuel motor that is generally considered very reliable. However, the repeated problems indicate that there is a problem with the motor casing or the pressure systems that are yet to be fully addressed.