Launch: PSLV-XL C61 - EOS 09 (aka RISAT 1B), CGUSat, Leap-1 (DS) and 3 foreign satellites 18 May 2025

[Aaj Ka Hero]

Better form a defense space agency, whose main aim will be to make sure spy satellites are launched perfectly otherwise if we keep relying on commercial ISRO, then it's over.

As I already mentioned above all four satellites name, their cost if calculated accumulative reaches well above 200 million dollars, I am not counting their strategic benefits that's a different heart attack.

But bureaucracy and always election netas are too much to ask for.

Indian armed forces must come together to form a defense space agency and request PM and DM for this, location of which can be in Andhra.

 

[Anonymous Bharata]

outsource a few to spaceX. ISRO cannot be trusted to launch all of this on their own.

Why don't you outsource the building of satellites aswell to lockheed martin, GSAT-6A, NVS-02, the satellites which failed in orbit were built by ISRO, so as per your logic ISRO should not be trusted with building satellites either

 

[jaijaganath]

Has replacement for eos 03 and gsat 6a given
Bcoz I vaguely remember eos 05 was approved
And why hasn't replacement for nvs-01 approved yet

 

[redpanda]

One launched failed and here comes to bhosdapiller back to their RR. Dude they are now declaring ISRO a failure since COVID. Are Chandrayan 3, Spadex, etc. now failure? All these jhantus need to be beaten with stick for their low T energy. No logic, no technical discussion just usual "this didn't happen so everything is bad". And some mahanubhav here wants to go back to the glorious days of us relying on goras and ruskies for even launching weather sats. Why do our public reacts so pathetically to R&D failures & some loss of million $, then in same breath cry about why govt isn't funding R&D. I want to someone to extract the brain of an avg bhosdapiller and do some research on what goes inside their brain, what is the cause of this conflicting behaviour?

 

[swesh]

I want to say they have overcrowded their own work through gagangyan program you are taking that from someone who used to track time bound prepration of military sats assets in past. It's a fucking election gimmick that they are investing alot of manpower is gone in that project still it gets delayed also delaying other projects I've stopped tracking dual use sats project since they're interested in non strategic project than a show off
gap between sanctioned strength vs total strength widening for Department of Space suddenly after being lowest in 2017-18? Should it be concerning?

1999-2000	?	15232	?
2000-2001	?	15141	?
2001-2002	16423	14847	90.40
2002-2003	16426	14533	88.48
2003-2004&	16352	14619	89.40
2004-2005&	16280	13941	85.63
2005-2006	16192	13910	85.91
2006-2007	16192	13712	84.68
2007-2008	16192	13645	84.27
2008-2009$	17681	14657	82.90
2009-2010	17681	14782	83.60
2010-2011	?	?	?
2011-2012	17623	14859	84.32
2012-2013	18561	14716	79.28
2013-2014	18561	14246	76.75
2014-2015	17625	15809	89.70
2015-2016	16902	15656	92.63
2016-2017	16902	15881	93.96
2017-2018	16902	16072	95.09
2018-2019	18534	16139	87.08
2019-2020	20039	17222	85.94
2020-2021	20122	17099	84.98
2021-2022	20737	16786	80.95
2022-2023	20341	16079	79.05
2023-2024	20295	15676	77.24
2024-2025	20295	14556	71.72

[th]

Annual Report​

[/th][th]

Sanctioned Strength​

[/th][th]

Total Employees​

[/th][th]

Gap (%)​

[/th]​

 

[swesh]

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The 44.5-meter-tall rocket performed nominally through its first two stages. (Photo: Isro)


Pramod Madhav
Sriharikota,UPDATED: May 18, 2025 13:53 IST

In Short​

• The third-stage PS3 motor uses a flexible bearing nozzle system
• It steers the vehicle during its 114-second burn
• A failure here could cause thrust misalignment

India’s PSLV-C61 mission, intended to deploy the advanced EOS-09 Earth observation satellite, failed minutes after launch Sunday morning due to a suspected flex nozzle malfunction in its third-stage propulsion system, according to initial analysis.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle at 5:59 a.m. IST from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre, but the rocket veered off trajectory during the critical third-stage burn.

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The 44.5-meter-tall rocket performed nominally through its first two stages, with the solid-fueled PS1 core and PS2 liquid-stage operating as planned. Issues arose 203 seconds into flight during the PS3 solid motor phase, when telemetry indicated a sudden drop in chamber pressure.


Isro Chairman V Narayanan confirmed the anomaly, stating, “First two stages performed as expected. In the third stage, we observed less chamber pressure. The mission could not be accomplished”.


Sources cited a suspected failure in the flex nozzle control system – a critical component that directs thrust by adjusting the rocket nozzle’s orientation.

Why Flex Nozzles Matter​

The third-stage PS3 motor uses a flexible bearing nozzle system to steer the vehicle during its 114-second burn.

Flex nozzles, made of layered elastomeric materials, allow precise thrust vector control without complex hydraulic actuators. A failure here could cause thrust misalignment, leading to rapid trajectory deviation.

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ISRO’s PS3 stage employs hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) fuel, which generates 240 kN of thrust under optimal conditions.

The setback delays India’s plans to augment its 52-satellite surveillance constellation. (Photo: Isro)
The EOS-09 satellite, designed for all-weather surveillance using C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, failed to reach its intended 525 km sun-synchronous orbit.

This marks the PSLV’s third failure in 63 launches and its first since 2017. ISRO has convened a failure analysis committee to review manufacturing records and test protocols for the PS3 stage.

The setback delays India’s plans to augment its 52-satellite surveillance constellation.

While the agency has not confirmed the root cause, historical data shows 74% of global launch failures between 2018-2023 involved propulsion or stage-separation issues.

Nozzle failure suspected behind loss of Isro’s PSLV-C61 mission

Isro Chairman V. Narayanan confirmed the anomaly, stating, “First two stages performed as expected. In the third stage, we observed less chamber pressure. The mission could not be accomplished”.

www.indiatoday.in

 

[SKC]

Jugaad technology has served its purpose, but its limitations are becoming increasingly apparent. As we approach the end of its viability, it is essential to transition to modern platforms and implement rigorous quality control measures.

Projects like SPADEX, which focus on spacecraft rendezvous, docking, and undocking using two small satellites, demonstrate significant promise. Their advancements must extend beyond experimental missions and influence regular satellite launches to enhance reliability and efficiency.​

 

[TopWatcher]

Jugaad technology has served its purpose, but its limitations are becoming increasingly apparent. As we approach the end of its viability, it is essential to transition to modern platforms and implement rigorous quality control measures.

Projects like SPADEX, which focus on spacecraft rendezvous, docking, and undocking using two small satellites, demonstrate significant promise. Their advancements must extend beyond experimental missions and influence regular satellite launches to enhance reliability and efficiency.​

Right, cheaper than movie or jugaad will not going to work now. As we approaching complex systems, we need to come out of this mindset.

 

[angryindian]

Shut the f**k up. Failures happen, even muricans lost multi billion dollars spy satellites on launch

Failure when you launch only 6-7 rockets a year is unacceptable. Last year, China launched a whopping 67 rockets,none of which failed.SpaceX launched 134 rockets and only 1 failed.

Moreover, one can still understand if it's an electronic component failure, but a mechanical failure, as it happened in the last two launches, is a deeply worrying issue.

 

[redpanda]

Failure when you launch only 6-7 rockets a year is unacceptable. Last year, China launched a whopping 67 rockets,none of which failed.SpaceX launched 134 rockets and only 1 failed.

Moreover, one can still understand if it's an electronic component failure, but a mechanical failure, as it happened in the last two launches, is a deeply worrying issue.

All these organisations you mentioned have a budget of 10-12x more than what ISRO gets. Even with that they are trying their best for so many years. Some people here behave like that babu in sarkari office who will happily drink the chai from chhotu ki tapli while paying lump change everyday but would behave like world has collapsed the moment the tea doesn't taste that well once in a while. Forgetting the fact that organisations is working on many projects for less than 2 billion $. It easier for you to shit talk ISRO when you don't have to do anything and just have to compare some X or Y org to them. This same attitude is also found among our political class, do jackshit to fund the organisation but go critical ballistic missile when something isn't delivered for the lump change they have offered.

 

[swesh]

All these organisations you mentioned have a budget of 10-12x more than what ISRO gets. Even with that they are trying their best for so many years. Some people here behave like that babu in sarkari office who will happily drink the chai from chhotu ki tapli while paying lump change everyday but would behave like world has collapsed the moment the tea doesn't taste that well once in a while. Forgetting the fact that organisations is working on many projects for less than 2 billion $. It easier for you to shit talk ISRO when you don't have to do anything and just have to compare some X or Y org to them. This same attitude is also found among our political class, do jackshit to fund the organisation but go critical ballistic missile when something isn't delivered for the lump change they have offered.

Gagangyan is shoved down into isro through while there is clearly lack of staff problem in isro its a fucking PR STUNT for all we know

 

[TopWatcher]

All these organisations you mentioned have a budget of 10-12x more than what ISRO gets. Even with that they are trying their best for so many years. Some people here behave like that babu in sarkari office who will happily drink the chai from chhotu ki tapli while paying lump change everyday but would behave like world has collapsed the moment the tea doesn't taste that well once in a while. Forgetting the fact that organisations is working on many projects for less than 2 billion $. It easier for you to shit talk ISRO when you don't have to do anything and just have to compare some X or Y org to them. This same attitude is also found among our political class, do jackshit to fund the organisation but go critical ballistic missile when something isn't delivered for the lump change they have offered.

What you said is right. Issue is we lost sattelites, the (nasa,spacex...) can build another sattelite immediatly.
But to send replacement from ISRO will take months.

Either ISRO completly said to govt to either give good budget or we cant do anything.

We have no room of error, because we dont have industrial capacity to build & fire sattelite immediatly. Thats the main issue/concern.

 

[Cyclops]

https://www.wionews.com/india-news/...s-with-strategic-space-missions-1747648135145

 

[Miss Firing]

'Misbehaviour' By Rocket Motor Failed ISRO's EOS-9 Satellite Launch. What Next​

'Misbehaviour' By Rocket Motor Failed ISRO's EOS-9 Satellite Launch. What Next

The 'misbehaviour' of the rocket motor may have contributed to the failure of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) workhorse rocket on its 63rd flight, experts suggest.

www.ndtv.com

 

[redpanda]

What you said is right. Issue is we lost sattelites, the (nasa,spacex...) can build another sattelite immediatly.
But to send replacement from ISRO will take months.

Either ISRO completly said to govt to either give good budget or we cant do anything.

We have no room of error, because we dont have industrial capacity to build & fire sattelite immediatly. Thats the main issue/concern.

They literally asked minimum 2 billion $ but got just 1.6 billion $. That shows seriousness of our political class when it comes to space research. They should ideally get atleast 4-5 billion $ by now. We are spending more money on railway projects & freebies than this bro. For example the government spends 3-4 billion $ on Household cooking gas subsidies alone..The reason I'm angry is people are blaming ISRO everywhere while not asking for once where is the necessary funding? Where is the funding for building necessary infrastructure?

Although I would like to make it clear I'm not blackpilled, ISRO has delivered through worst days, and I have faith in them they will find ways to do what they want with whatever limited resources they have. I just hope people sitting on top someday wake up and start funding it properly.

 

[jaijaganath]

What you said is right. Issue is we lost sattelites, the (nasa,spacex...) can build another sattelite immediatly.
But to send replacement from ISRO will take months.

Either ISRO completly said to govt to either give good budget or we cant do anything.

We have no room of error, because we dont have industrial capacity to build & fire sattelite immediatly. Thats the main issue/concern.

Exactly
Until now nvs-1 replacement hasn't been announced
And pardon me has eos-3 replacement eos-5 cleared and if yes when will it be launched

 

[swesh]

Exactly
Until now nvs-1 replacement hasn't been announced
And pardon me has eos-3 replacement eos-5 cleared and if yes when will it be launched

Don't know about launch schedule but eos 5 cleared but I guess gslv mk2-3 are suffering from gagangyan delays it's more launcher readiness

 

[swesh]

Experts suggest that on the third stage of the rocket motor, there are two vulnerable points - a nozzle at the bottom and the Kevlar joint and sheathing at the top. It seems hot gases from the burning Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) fuel entered some sensitive areas and caused the failure.

Dr G Madhavan Nair, former Chairman of ISRO, said he was "shocked and surprised that the solid-fuelled rocket motor with an enviable record of 62 successive launches failed like this". Dr Nair, a rocket specialist who played a key role as project director in mastering the PSLV rocket, estimates that a "possible rupture in the fibre casing of the nearly 8-tonne rocket motor could have been the cause of the failure".

Dr Nair also suggested a quality control or check-out lapse.

 

[redpanda]

Sabotage angle can't be ignored too. There need to be thorough investigation.

 

[swesh]

Tamil newspaper reporting same with bitter reporting

101வது ராக்கெட்டை விண்ணில் செலுத்தும் இந்தியா: திருப்பதியில் இஸ்ரோ விஞ்ஞானிகள் வழிபாடு

இஸ்ரோ குழுவினர், விஐபி பிரேக் தரிசனம் மூலம் ஏழுமலையான வழிபட்டனர்.

www.dailythanthi.com

The ISRO team worshipped the seven mountains through a VIP break darshan. Thirumalai, ISRO's 101st rocket is set to blast off into space the day afte

https://www.dailythanthi.com/news/i...t-isro-scientists-worship-in-tirupati-1158181

Oshin from r/isro display his commie mind on reddit