New Delhi: India’s space agency faced a major setback in its first launch of the year when the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C62) mission — carrying 16 satellites — failed to place nearly all of them into the intended orbit after liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Hindustan Times reported..
The rocket lifted off on Jan 12 at 10:18 AM IST, with its primary payload being EOS-N1 (also known as Anvesha), a strategic Earth-observation satellite developed for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Alongside were 15 co-passenger satellites from Indian private firms, academic institutions, and international partners.
According to ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan, the vehicle performed normally through the first and much of the third stage, but an anomaly occurred near the end of the third-stage burn that caused the rocket to deviate from its planned flight path. “Disturbances in the rocket and later deviation from the flight path were observed when strap-on motors were providing thrust during the flight’s third stage to propel the vehicle to the intended altitude”, ISRO chairman V Narayanan said, as quoted by Hindustan Times. Teams are analysing the flight data to determine the precise cause.
As a result, the mission failed to achieve the
required velocity and orbit, and 15 of the 16 satellites were lost. Most are believed to have re-entered the atmosphere and burned up due to the abnormal trajectory and insufficient speed.
Among the lost payloads were EOS-N1 (Anvesha) — a critical defence surveillance satellite. and multiple commercial and academic satellites from domestic and international entities.
The failure marks the second consecutive PSLV setback, following another anomaly on the PSLV-C61/EOS-09 mission in May 2025 that also encountered issues during the third stage.
In a rare twist, a small Spanish satellite named KID (Kestrel Initial Demonstrator) — about the size of a football — managed to separate from the launch vehicle and briefly transmit data back to Earth, despite the mission’s failure.
The developer, Orbital Paradigm, reported that KID switched on and relayed critical data for about three minutes after separation, making it the lone survivor and a notable outlier amid widespread losses.
The loss of a strategic military satellite and numerous co-passenger satellites is a significant blow to India’s space and defence objectives, especially as the nation had pinned hopes on EOS-N1’s advanced Earth-observation capabilities.
ISRO has convened a detailed failure analysis team to investigate the anomaly and prevent similar future outcomes. Officials say findings will be shared once the review is complete.
The PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) has been India’s most reliable workhorse over decades, boasting a strong success record that includes landmark missions like Chandrayaan-1, the Mars Orbiter Mission and Aditya-L1 — making two setbacks within months especially notable.