
The investigation into the causes behind the consecutive failures of the Indian Space Rearch Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is ongoing, and an exterior crew can also be concerned in the probe. Image used for illustration goal solely.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The investigation into the causes behind the consecutive failures of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is ongoing, and an external team is also involved in the probe. But not one of the corporations that had satellites onboard the doomed rockets have expressed reservations over their reliability. ISRO is contemplating a recent launch date in June, the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, and Space, Jitendra Singh, mentioned at a press briefing on Monday (February 2, 2026).
On January 12, the PSLV C-62 failed its mission to deliver 16 satellites into orbit, and crashed into the ocean after the third stage of the rocket did not ignite. This was much like the May 18, 2025 failure of the PSLV (C-61), in which, too, the third stage failed to fireside, destroying because of this the EOS-09 satellite tv for pc meant for the federal government’s strategic wants.
ISRO’s historic response to rocket failures has been to have a Failure Analysis Committee probe the explanations for failure, and publicise its findings. This, nevertheless, has not taken place in the case of each of those rockets.
The PSLV is ISRO’s most profitable satellite tv for pc launch car, and since 1993, has had an over 90% success fee, inserting almost 350 satellites into their meant orbits.
Dr. Singh appeared to counsel that the underlying causes of the 2 mishaps had been completely different. “What happened last time has not happened now. (As an analogy), say, the light has gone off. The last time it happened because a bulb had fused. This time, it tripped,” Dr. Singh mentioned..
“It isn’t that we (ISRO) are so unwise that we could not detect the reason for failures…this time, we are having a third party [appraisal] to create confidence, though we have expertise within ISRO for such analysis. Our probable next [launch] date, which we are ambitiously targeting, is June, after we satisfy ourselves that the problem is rectified. This year, we have 18 launches scheduled, with six of them involving private sector satellites. None have withdrawn their request to launch…this means, trust is intact. Next year, we have three big foreign launches — Japan, the United States, and France, and none have shown apprehension. That means our credibility is intact,” Mr. Singh mentioned.
The Failure Analysis Committee report of the May 18 mishap was despatched to the Prime Minister’s Office earlier than the C-62 launch, however its particulars haven’t been made public.
The Failure Analysis Committee is a physique of consultants inside ISRO to guide in the occasion of a significant incident; it’s constituted by the ISRO Chairman. It is anticipated to reconstruct the chain of occasions main as much as the failure, and suggest corrective motion earlier than the rocket is cleared to fly once more. The Committee members embrace consultants inside ISRO in addition to related consultants from academia.
Published – February 02, 2026 09:04 pm IST