ISRO’s PSLV-C62 launch hits snag as anomaly detected during third stage

ISRO’s PSLV-C62 mission, carrying an Earth Observation satellite along with multiple commercial payloads, “encountered an anomaly” during the third stage of flight, space agency chairman V Narayanan said on Monday.

The 44.4-metre-tall, four-stage rocket lifted off as scheduled at 10.18 am from the spaceport at Sriharikota. The mission was intended to place a primary Earth Observation satellite and several co-passenger satellites into a 512-kilometre Sun-Synchronous Orbit.

According to ISRO, the performance of the first two stages was within expected parameters. However, disturbances were observed towards the end of the third stage, known as PS3.

Addressing the team at the Mission Control Centre, Narayanan said, “The PSLV is a four-stage vehicle with two solid stages and two liquid stages. The performance of the vehicle up to the end of the third stage was expected. Close to the end of the third stage we are seeing more disturbance in the vehicle and subsequently, there was a deviation observed in the flight path.”

“We are analysing the data and we shall come back at the earliest,” he added.

Later, in a post on social media platform X, ISRO said, “The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during the end of PS3 (third stage). A detailed analysis has been initiated.”

The PSLV-C62 launch was ISRO’s first mission of the year and was carried out as part of a contract secured by NewSpace India Ltd, the space agency’s commercial arm.