Sriharikota, January 12: The PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was declared a failure on Sunday due to a technical fault.
According to the ISRO, under this mission, the highly confidential hyperspectral surveillance satellite ‘Anvesha’ (a Sanskrit word which means a quest for truth) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was launched, but due to a fault in the last stage of the third stage (PS3) of the rocket, the satellite could not be placed in the designated orbit.
According to ISRO, the PSLV rocket’s flight sequence was proceeding normally during the mission, but the rocket deviated from its path at the end of the third stage, preventing the payload from being injected into the intended orbit. Following this, the ISRO declared the mission a failure and initiated a detailed technical analysis.
The ISRO’s 64th PSLV mission (PSLV-C62/EOS-N1) launched at 10:18 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This flight was scheduled to launch a total of 16 satellites, of which ‘Anvesha’, developed by DRDO, was the most important payload.
The ISRO had previously stated that ‘Anvesha’ is a state-of-the-art hyperspectral imaging satellite, capable of detecting even the smallest objects hidden in the depths of forests and on the battlefield. This satellite was intended to provide a new boost to India’s surveillance capabilities in the defense sector, including environmental monitoring, resource mapping, and strategic surveillance.
Although the mission failure has dealt a blow to ISRO and the defense establishment, scientists have clarified that the ISRO team is thoroughly investigating the cause of the defect, so that such errors can be avoided in future missions.
It is noteworthy that this was ISRO’s first launch in the year 2026. It was also the 9th commercial mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL), which was unsuccessful due to a technical fault.