Bhubaneswar: C V Raman Global University (CGU) in Bhubaneswar fell short of a landmark achievement for academic-led space innovation in eastern India as PSLV-C62 mission launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) ended in failure on Monday.
The varsity had a direct stake in the launch, as one of the satellites aboard the mission — CGUSAT-1, a communication cubesat developed by CGU students and faculty in collaboration with Dhruva Space — was set to be deployed in the orbit.
The 260-tonne PSLV-DL variant, the space agency first major orbital mission of 2026, was launched successfully from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at approximately 10.17 am, with the first two stages performing nominally and drawing widespread excitement across the country. However, an anomaly occurred toward the end of the third-stage (PS3) burn.
“The performance of the vehicle up to the end of the third stage was as expected, but close to the end, there was a disturbance in the vehicle roll rates, followed by a deviation in the flight path. We are analysing the data and will come back with more updates at the earliest,” ISRO Chairman V Narayanan was quoted as saying.
The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during end of the PS3 stage. A detailed analysis has been initiated.
— ISRO (@isro) January 12, 2026
As a result, the mission could not place the satellites — including the primary EOS-N1 (Anvesha) Earth observation satellite for DRDO and the 15 co-passenger payloads (such as CGUSAT-1 and others from Indian startups, academia, and international partners) — into their planned sun-synchronous orbits.
The satellites are considered likely lost, marking a repeat of the PSLV-C61 failure from May 2025, which also involved a third-stage propulsion anomaly.
The CGUSAT-1 was among the secondary payloads on the PSLV-C62. It was built by a dedicated 31-member team of 11 faculty members and 20 students, demonstrating how small satellites can ensure communication continuity during disruptions to conventional networks. It was particularly designed for disaster management applications, enabling store-and-forward messaging to support coordination during events like cyclones, floods, and earthquakes.
