In an unprecedented development, India’s trusted workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), has suffered repeat launch failures, raising serious concerns about reliability and mission assurance. The failures—PSLV-C61 on 18 May 2025 and PSLV-C62 on 12 January 2026—resulted in the loss of million-dollar satellites meant for national security, marking a troubling phase for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
PSLV has been the backbone of India’s space programme for over three decades. Since its first flight, the rocket has completed 64 missions in 33 years, with only four major failures, including the latest two. What makes these recent setbacks particularly notable is that both failures occurred mid-flight and were linked to the third stage of the four-stage launch vehicle—an uncommon pattern in PSLV’s otherwise reliable history.
What Went Wrong During PSLV-C62?
Following the failed launch on 12 January 2026, ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan addressed the nation in a televised statement from the spaceport. He explained that the mission progressed normally until the latter part of the third stage.
“We attempted PSLV-C62 mission. PSLV is a four-stage rocket. The vehicle performance up to almost the end of the third stage was as expected. By the end of third stage, we observed a disturbance in the vehicle, and a deviation was observed in the flight path. We are analyzing the data, we will come back at the earliest,”
— Dr. V. Narayanan, ISRO Chairman
The anomaly ultimately prevented the mission from being completed, leading to the loss of the launch vehicle and its onboard payloads.
Echoes of the May 2025 Failure
The PSLV-C62 mission was intended as a comeback flight after a rare setback in May 2025, when PSLV-C61 failed mid-flight. On 17 May 2025, the rocket suffered a third-stage malfunction that resulted in the loss of the EOS-09 radar imaging satellite, a critical asset designed to enhance India’s day-and-night, all-weather space-based surveillance.
At the time, Dr. Narayanan had stated:
“Up to the second stage, performance was normal. Third stage ignited, but we made an observation regarding its functioning. Mission could not be accomplished. We are studying the data.”
He later added that the third stage, which uses a solid-fuel motor system, experienced a drop in chamber pressure, and that the entire performance was under detailed study.
Following the May failure, PSLV was effectively grounded, making the January 2026 launch ISRO’s first mission of the year and a crucial test of confidence in the vehicle.
EOS-N1: A High-Value Strategic Loss
The primary payload of the PSLV-C62 mission was EOS-N1, also known as ‘Anvesha’, an Earth Observation satellite developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The satellite was intended to be placed in orbit 511 kilometres above Earth.
EOS-N1 is a hyperspectral imaging satellite, capable of observing the Earth far beyond what conventional optical satellites or the human eye can detect. Hyperspectral sensors capture reflected light across numerous wavelengths, allowing materials such as soil, water, vegetation, metal, and concrete to be identified based on their unique spectral signatures.
This capability has significant civilian and strategic applications. It can be used to study water quality, soil composition, and crop health, while also enabling the detection of military targets hidden under camouflage. The loss of such a satellite represents a substantial setback to both scientific and security objectives.
Co-Passenger Satellites Also Lost
In addition to EOS-N1, the PSLV-C62 mission carried 15 co-passenger satellites. Of these, seven were from India, two from Europe, five from Brazil, and one from Nepal. Many belonged to academic institutions and startups, and were intended to demonstrate experimental technologies and space-based research concepts.
Their loss further underscores the broader impact of the mission failure, extending beyond national strategic assets to international and commercial stakeholders.
Unreleased Failure Analysis Reports Raise Questions
ISRO, as a taxpayer-funded civilian space agency, has long been known for its practice of publicly releasing Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) reports after mission setbacks. These reports are typically prepared by in-house experts and made public within a few months.
However, the FAC report for the May 2025 PSLV-C61 failure has not yet been released, even months later. Similarly, the FAC report related to the failure of the NVS-02 strategic satellite in January 2025 also remains unpublished. While both reports are understood to have been tabled before the Government of India, their absence from the public domain is widely viewed as a departure from established ISRO culture.
Given ISRO’s role in launching satellites for foreign governments, private companies, and academic institutions, public disclosure of FAC reports is considered vital for maintaining transparency and restoring confidence among global partners.
A Moment of Reckoning for PSLV?
Both the PSLV-C61 and PSLV-C62 failures point to malfunctions in the third stage, raising serious questions about quality control and reliability in a launch vehicle long regarded as one of the world’s most dependable.
While failures are an inherent part of space exploration, the loss of strategic satellites in consecutive missions places ISRO under intense scrutiny. Whether this period represents a temporary setback or a deeper systemic challenge will depend on the findings of ongoing analyses—and on how openly and decisively those findings are addressed.
For now, India’s space agency finds itself confronting one of the most testing phases in the PSLV era, with national security, international credibility, and institutional trust all at stake.
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