 PSLV-C62 at the FLP before Liftoff | |
| PSLV-DL launch | |
|---|---|
| Launch | 12 January 2026; 10:17 AM IST (UTC +5:30) [1] |
| Operator | ISRO |
| Pad | Satish Dhawan FLP |
| Payload | |
| PSLV launches | |
The PSLV-C62 was the 64th flight of the ISRO's PSLV and its return to flight mission following PSLV-C61. The mission was launched on 12 January 2026 with multiple payloads for customers [2] but failed to reach orbit. [3] [4] [5]
The primary payload of the mission was the EOS-N1 imaging satellite built for strategic purposes by DRDO. [7] A small 25 kg football-sized space capsule developed by the Spain-based startup Orbital Paradigm called Kestrel Initial Demonstrator (KID) flew on the PS-4 stage. Bengaluru-based space company OrbitAID Aerospace expected to perform an on-orbit satellite refuelling expiriment with AayulSAT. [8] Twelve other commercial payloads totalling about 200 kg from companies and research institutions from India, Brazil, Nepal, Thailand, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom were also manifested for this flight. [9] [10] [11] The PS-4 was planned to make an orbital re-entry with the KID payload attached following primary payload injection. This was ISRO's first launch attempt of 2026. [6]
The rocket lifted off at 10:18:30 AM IST. The first and second stages performed normally during the course of flight. However, near the end of the third stage's operation, a deviation was observed in the flight controls related to its roll-rates just prior to stage separation, resulting in flight failure. [12] [13] [14] [15] The Spanish re-entry space capsule KID was the only survivor of the launch failure, as it managed to separate from the rocket and transmitted flight data for three minutes with a peak of 28 g during its non-nominal descent. [16] [17] [18] It has been presumed that the vehicle achieved a suborbital trajectory of approximately -3800 x 390 km with a 98-degree inclination before plummeting roughly near 75°E, 18°S over the Southern Indian Ocean. [19]
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan indicated that detailed analysis for the flight's failure has been initiated by ISRO, refusing additional media statements. It was also noted that a similar failure was the cause for the unsuccessful C-61 flight eight months prior. [12] [13] [14] NSA director Ajit Doval visited VSSC facilities following the flight failure due to the prescense of national security payload on-board,where he was given an appraisal of events by VSSC director A.Rangarajan. [20] [21] ISRO has also consulted an external agency in addition to its own Failure Anaylsis Commite,chaired by former chairman K.Sivan. [22] [21] The FAC is to submit its report to the PMO by June, with the next return to flight launch for the PSLV rocket scheduled for late-June 2026. [23]
{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)| 1990s |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000s | ||
| 2010s |
| |
| 2020s |
| |
| ||
| Organisations |
|  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programmes | |||||||
| Satellites | |||||||
| Space observatories |
| ||||||
| Lunar and planetary spacecraft |
| ||||||
| Human spaceflight | |||||||
| Launch vehicles |
| ||||||
| Engines |
| ||||||
| Spaceports | |||||||
| Research facilities | |||||||
| Communications | |||||||
| Legislation and policy | |||||||
| Private companies | |||||||
| Related |
| ||||||
