SRIHARIKOTA, January 12, 2026
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed that its PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during the third stage, resulting in failure to deploy the primary Anvesha earth observation satellite and 14 co-passenger payloads into the intended orbit.
The 44.4-meter-tall PSLV-DL variant rocket lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 10:18 a.m. The first two stages performed as expected, but an issue arose near the end of the third stage (PS3), causing the vehicle to deviate from its path.
ISRO stated on its official X account that an abnormal situation occurred at the end of the PS3 stage, and a detailed analysis has been initiated. Agency chief V. Narayanan addressed the mission control team, noting that performance was nominal until late in the third stage, after which a deviation was observed.
This marks the second consecutive PSLV failure linked to the third stage, following a similar issue in the PSLV-C61 mission in May 2025 due to motor pressure problems.
The primary payload, Anvesha (EOS-N1), is a DRDO-developed advanced earth observation satellite equipped with hyperspectral imaging technology capable of capturing detailed spectral data for applications including resource monitoring, environmental assessment, and defense surveillance. The mission aimed to place it in a 512-600 km sun-synchronous polar orbit, along with 14 commercial and co-passenger satellites.
All payloads are reported lost, as they could not be inserted into the designated orbit. This was ISRO’s first launch of 2026 and the 64th flight of the PSLV series, which has previously supported major missions including Chandrayaan-1 and the record 104-satellite deployment in 2017.
