PSLV-C62 Mission Anomaly

On January 12, during the PSLV-C62 mission from Sriharikota, an anomaly occurred in its third stage, leading to a disruption similar to the PSLV-C61 mission in May 2025. The live telecast of the rocket's performance and trajectory was abruptly stopped.

Issues Identified

• The PSLV, known as India’s space “workhorse,” faced issues that could stem from quality assurance rather than isolated anomalies.
• The C61 mission failure was due to a loss of chamber pressure in the third stage, but the root cause was not publicly disclosed, with the Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) report submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office.
• The C62 failure showed symptoms similar to C61, termed a “roll rate disturbance.”

Implications for ISRO

• The financial impact is significant as international insurers may increase the risk profile and insurance premiums for PSLV, affecting its affordability in the global market.
• The tenure of ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan has seen a shift from scientific openness to a more bureaucratic stance, raising questions about the organization’s priorities.
• The C62 mission also carried the EOS-N1 satellite by DRDO, possibly contributing to any urgency in its launch.

Restoring Confidence

• ISRO has demonstrated the reliability of its LVM-3 rocket, with a successful M6 mission in December 2025.
• To restore confidence, ISRO and the Department of Space should release the FAC report for the C61 mission to inform the public and commercial stakeholders about the failures in 2025 and 2026.