ISRO's PSLV-C62 mission fails after anomaly in third stage; 16 satellites likely lost

The PSLV-C62 mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Indian Space Research Organisation) on Monday encountered an anomaly shortly after lift-off, leading to a deviation from its intended flight path.

All 16 satellites on board the launch vehicle are likely lost in space.

ISRO said the issue occurred during the terminal phase of the third stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

“The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during end of the PS3 stage. A detailed analysis has been initiated,” the space agency said in a post on X.

The third stage of PSLV is a solid rocket motor that provides the upper stages high thrust after the atmospheric phase of the launch.

The rocket had lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota amid a thundering launch, carrying the EOS-N1 earth observation satellite, also known as Anvesha, along with 15 co-passenger satellites from domestic and international customers.

The mission was the ninth dedicated commercial launch undertaken by NewSpace India Limited, ISRO’s commercial arm, and was the first PSLV mission of the year.

EOS-N1 was intended to be placed into a polar sun-synchronous orbit a few hundred kilometres above the Earth. The PSLV-C62 flight used the PSLV-DL configuration with two solid strap-on motors and marked the 64th flight of the launch vehicle.

Among the co-passenger payloads was the Kestrel Initial Technology Demonstrator (KID), a small-scale prototype re-entry vehicle from a Spanish startup, which was scheduled to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere after deployment and splash down in the South Pacific Ocean.

PSLV is regarded as ISRO’s workhorse launcher, having completed 63 flights prior to this mission and having delivered several landmark missions. In 2017, it set a world record by placing 104 satellites into orbit in a single launch.

The PSLV-C62 lift-off time had earlier been marginally rescheduled to 10.18 am from 10.17 am, with the rocket having a lift-off mass of about 260 tonnes.

The setback follows the previous PSLV mission, PSLV-C61, launched in May 2025, which was also not fully accomplished due to an observation in the third stage of the rocket.