ISRO has confirmed a disturbance in the fourth stage (PS4), resulting in a deviation from the intended flight path. The space agency is currently analysing the flight data to determine the cause. ISRO's PSLV-C62 lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Monday, carrying an Earth observation satellite alongside 14 commercial payloads for domestic and international clients. However, following an anomaly in the third stage, the mission has been declared a failure. The ISRO Chairman has since issued a formal statement regarding the setback.
The mission was conducted under a contract secured by NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), ISRO's commercial arm. The 44.4-meter-tall, four-stage rocket launched from the first launch pad at the scheduled time of 10:18 AM. While the satellites were expected to be placed into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of 511 km after a 17-minute flight, the third-stage disturbance prevented the mission's completion.
Recent failures for the PSLV program
This marks the second recent failure for the PSLV program. Previously, on May 18, 2025, ISRO failed to place an Earth observation satellite into orbit after its reliable PSLV rocket developed a fault minutes after launching from Sriharikota.
During that mission, ISRO's 101st from the spaceport, the PSLV-C61 achieved a textbook liftoff at 5:59 AM, only to experience an anomaly in the 12th minute of flight. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan stated that a drop in the motor case's chamber pressure prevented the mission's completion.
This was only the fourth failure in the history of the PSLV, a rocket often called ISRO’s 'trusted warhorse' for its success with Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars Orbiter Mission. Prior to 2025, the only failures occurred during its inaugural flight in 1993 and a 2017 mission involving a navigation satellite. While the PSLV-C61 mission appeared to be proceeding as planned, scientists noted that the glitch surfaced shortly after it reached the third stage.
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