PSLV Fails Again — Second Time in Nine Months; Third-Stage Glitch Costs 16 Satellites

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) suffered a second failure in about nine months after an anomaly in its third stage caused the rocket to veer off course and lose all 16 satellites onboard. The setback affects a key Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) vehicle long regarded as highly reliable.

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Jan 13, 2026 - 12:03

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PSLV Fails Again — Second Time in Nine Months; Third-Stage Glitch Costs 16 Satellites

India’s trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has faced a major setback with its latest mission, marking its second failure in roughly nine months due to a technical issue during the critical third stage of flight. The PSLV-C62 mission, launched from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre, lifted off successfully and passed the first two stages, but encountered a disturbance near the end of the third stage — a solid-propellant segment — causing the rocket to deviate from its planned trajectory.

All 16 satellites aboard the rocket, including the primary EOS-N1 Earth observation satellite and 15 co-passenger payloads from Indian startups, academic institutions, and international partners, were lost as the mission failed to place them into the intended orbit. This outcome compounds concerns following the earlier PSLV-C61 mission failure in May 2025, which was also linked to a third-stage anomaly.

ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan confirmed that data analysis is underway to pinpoint the exact cause of the anomaly, which occurred in the rocket’s solid-fuel third stage and led to flight path deviation. Investigators will examine whether issues from the previous failure were fully addressed, as the consecutive setbacks have raised questions about reliability and quality assurance.

While the PSLV has historically been considered one of ISRO’s most dependable workhorse launchers, responsible for deploying numerous satellites including Chandrayaan-1 and Aditya-L1, these repeated failures have implications for India’s domestic and commercial space ambitions. The incident is likely to prompt deeper scrutiny of launch procedures and engineering checks ahead of future missions.