ISRO faces major setback: PSLV-C62 loses control in space, what happened to 16 satellites?
ISRO’s PSLV-C62 mission encountered a technical anomaly minutes after its successful launch on Monday. The technical issue was encountered during the third stage of flight, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan confirmed. The spacecraft carried Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-N1) and several commercial payloads.
ISRO Faced Major Setback: What comes as a major setback to India(BHARAT)’s space ambitions as India(BHARAT)n Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) PSLV-C62 mission ended in failure on Monday. All 16 satellites carried by the PSLV rocket were lost in space despite a successful liftoff from Sriharikota. The 260-tonne PSLV-DL variant was launched from Sriharikota at around 10:19 am. The launch was successful and the spacecraft performed normally through the first two stages and separation.
The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during end of the PS3 stage. A detailed analysis has been initiated.
— ISRO (@isro) January 12, 2026
ISRO Faced Major Setback: PSLV-C62 loses control
However, mission control team were shocked after knowing about a sudden technical after third-stage ignition, confirming a failure to insert the satellites into orbit, similar to last year’s PSLV-C61 failure.
ISRO Faced Major Setback: What Did ISRO Chief Say?
“The performance of the vehicle at the end of the third stage was nominal, and then a disturbance in roll rates and a deviation in flight path was noticed. We are analysing the data, and we will come back with more updates,” ISRO chief V Narayanan confirmed.
As the India(BHARAT)n space agency carries a high success rate and known for cost-effective satellite launches. This incident marks a rare instance of failure.
ISRO Faced Major Setback: Five Times The Space Agency Didn’t Get Success
- PSLV-C62 / EOS-N1 (January 12, 2026): This Mission was marked as failed after technical issue and flight path deviation were detected by the ISRO scientists during the third stage.
- PSLV-C61 / EOS-09 (May 18, 2025): Failed due to a drop in motor case chamber pressure. It was observed about 12 minutes into the flight.
- SSLV-D1 / EOS-02 (August 7, 2022): It suffered a logic failure due to which satellites were placed in an incorrect elliptical orbit.
- GSLV-F10 / EOS-03 (August 12, 2021): Mission failed due to ignition failure in the cryogenic upper stage.
- PSLV-C39 / IRNSS-1H (August 31, 2017): Launch failed after the heat shield did not separate, leaving the satellite trapped.
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