Chidambaram backs ISRO after PSLV-C61 setback, says agency will bounce back

Chidambaram backs ISRO after PSLV-C61 setback, says agency will bounce back

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram expressed confidence in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) following the failure of the PSLV-C61 mission, calling the agency’s team “world-class”.

In a statement, Chidambaram said the reason behind the failed launch would be identified and important lessons would be learned. He also highlighted the strong legacy of the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), which has consistently delivered successful missions since 1994.

“ISRO will bounce back, as it has done before,” he said, extending his best wishes to the organisation.

ISRO will bounce back as it has done beforeThe 101st launch of the PSLV rocket may have failed to put the satellite in orbit, but the cause of the failure will be identified and lessons learnedPSLV has proved its worth time and again since 1994ISRO's team of scientists and
P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 18, 2025

The PSLV-C61 mission, which aimed to place the Earth Observation Satellite EOS-09 into orbit, suffered an anomaly during the third stage of its flight early Sunday morning. The rocket lifted off at 5:59am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and performed normally through the first and second stages.

However, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan confirmed that an unexpected issue arose during the third stage, causing the mission to fail.

“The PSLV is a four-stage vehicle. While the first two stages functioned normally, an issue was observed during the third stage. During the functioning of the third stage, we are seeing an observation and the mission could not be accomplished," Narayanan said in a brief post-launch statement.

“We will conduct a detailed analysis and come back,” he added.