The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Monday the failure of its latest mission to place a sophisticated Earth-observing satellite, along with 15 other small spacecraft, into their designated orbits. This announcement came after the launch vehicle experienced a sudden technical malfunction that prevented the mission from being successfully completed, posing a new challenge to New Delhi's growing space ambitions.
Details of the technical glitch in the PSLV-C62 mission
In an official statement released via the X platform, the agency explained that the PSLV-C62 mission encountered a critical technical malfunction at the end of the rocket's third-stage firing phase. The agency confirmed that a detailed data analysis is currently underway to understand the precise causes of this deviation and to determine the fate of the satellites aboard the rocket, which are presumed lost.
The four-stage PSLV rocket launched on its 64th mission at 10:18 a.m. local time (04:48 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island in southeastern India. Speaking to national television, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan said, "The rocket performed as expected until the end of the third stage, but we detected turbulence and the rocket deviated from its intended trajectory immediately afterward.".
A proven track record and ongoing challenges
The PSLV (Polar Launch Vehicle) is considered the workhorse of India's space program, renowned for its high reliability over decades and serving as the backbone of numerous successful missions, including the launch of a Mars probe and the country's first lunar missions. However, this failure follows a similar incident on May 18, when a rocket of the same type failed to place an Earth observation satellite into orbit, raising questions about the need to review quality and safety procedures for current missions.
Impact on India's space ambitions
Despite this setback, India remains a major player in the global space race, having achieved significant milestones at a lower cost than Western powers. India successfully placed a probe into orbit around Mars in 2014 and made history by landing a rover on the Moon's south pole in 2023 as part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
India is striving to maintain its position as a preferred destination for launching commercial satellites thanks to its competitive pricing. This incident is not expected to derail Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious program to send an Indian astronaut into orbit independently by 2027 and land an Indian astronaut on the moon by 2040. Such incidents are a natural part of the risks inherent in the complex space industry, which constantly requires learning from mistakes to develop safer and more efficient systems.
