Second failure in 8 months: PSLV mission loses all 16 satellites after mid-flight anomaly

Isro’s trusted workhorse PSLV suffered a rare setback as the PSLV-C62 mission failed after third-stage ignition, raising concerns over reliability and impacting India’s commercial space ambitions.

India’s space programme faced a major setback on January 12, 2026, after Isro’s PSLV-C62 mission failed to place its payload into orbit, resulting in the loss of all 16 satellites onboard. The failure came despite a flawless liftoff that had initially raised hopes of another successful mission.

The 260-tonne PSLV-DL variant lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota at exactly 10:17 AM IST. The launch was widely watched across the country as the rocket rose smoothly, with its first and second stages performing exactly as planned, including successful stage separation.

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Trouble began shortly after the ignition of the third stage. Mission control lost telemetry data, and the expected updates did not follow. This silence soon confirmed that the rocket had failed to achieve orbit insertion, bringing the mission to an abrupt end.

Isro Chairman V Narayanan later addressed the issue, stating that while the vehicle’s performance appeared normal at the end of the third stage, a disturbance in roll rates and a deviation from the intended flight path were detected. He confirmed that engineers are analysing the data and that further details will be shared after a thorough review.

The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during end of the PS3 stage. A detailed analysis has been initiated.

— ISRO (@isro) January 12, 2026

This failure marks the second rare setback for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle within just eight months. The previous failure occurred during the PSLV-C61 mission last year. Together, these incidents have slightly dented the rocket’s otherwise strong record, which includes 63 prior missions and a success rate of about 94 percent.

The PSLV has long been considered Isro’s most reliable launch vehicle, having played a key role in landmark missions such as Chandrayaan-1 and Aditya-L1. However, the repeat failure involving the third stage has triggered serious technical concerns.

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Experts are now examining possible issues related to the solid-fuel third-stage motor, including potential problems with the nozzle, casing integrity, or overall reliability. The tight mission schedule planned for 2026 has also come under scrutiny.

The absence of a publicly released report on the earlier PSLV-C61 failure has further fuelled concerns over transparency. With C62 showing a similar failure pattern, questions are being raised about corrective measures and system validation.