On January 12, India was set to kick off its 2026 space calendar with the PSLV-C62 mission, as ISRO prepared to deploy an Earth observation satellite along with 14 co-passenger satellites into orbit from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The countdown began on Sunday afternoon, marking a critical moment for the country’s most reliable launch vehicle after its last 2025 mission was aborted due to a technical anomaly.
Just eight minutes after a seemingly flawless lift-off from Sriharikota at 10:18 am IST, the PSLV-C62 ran into trouble. A glitch in its third stage caused the rocket to veer off course, cutting short what had begun as a promising mission and leaving scientists and enthusiasts anxiously watching the unfolding situation. The main payload, DRDO's strategic surveillance satellite Anvesha, along with 15 additional satellites, are now presumed lost, indicating a second successive failure of the PSLV's third stage.
“The mission has encountered a technical anomaly,” ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said in a post-flight update. “While the initial flight stages proceeded normally, the third stage (PS3) failed to deliver the required thrust due to an unexpected drop in chamber pressure. This caused a significant deviation from the planned flight path, preventing the satellites from being placed into orbit.”
The mission started as a standard launch, with the rocket discarding its boosters as planned and everything appearing to be in order. However, during the third stage, mission control became anxious when telemetry showed a deviation. The rocket unexpectedly started to roll, and at speeds of 8,000 km/h, even a minor wobble was sufficient to divert it from its intended orbit.
In rocket science, even a small error can be catastrophic. Preliminary data suggests a drop in chamber pressure, the same issue that grounded PSLV-C61 in 2025, preventing the rocket from reaching orbit. As a result, strategic payloads including DRDO’s Anvesha and AayulSAT, India’s first orbital refueling satellite, are now likely to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up.
Narayanan stated that ISRO has begun a detailed analysis to identify the root cause and strengthen the PSLV. Echoing the PSLV-C61 review, potential issues include nozzle failures, propellant defects, or casing problems. With the second consecutive PS3 failure, India’s 2026 space calendar faces uncertainty as the workhorse remains grounded.