The investigation into the causes of the successive failures of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is ongoing and an external team is also involved on the probe. Image is for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: PTI
The investigation into the causes of the consecutive failures of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is continuing and an external team is also involved in the probe. But none of the companies that had satellites aboard the doomed rockets expressed reservations about their reliability. ISRO is considering a new launch date of June, Minister of State for Science, Technology and Space Jitendra Singh said at a press conference on Monday (February 2, 2026).
On January 12, PSLV C-62 failed its mission to launch 16 satellites into orbit and crashed into the sea after the rocket’s third stage failed to ignite. This was similar to the 18 May 2025 PSLV (C-61) malfunction in which the third firing stage also failed, destroying the EOS-09 satellite intended for the government’s strategic needs.
ISRO’s historical response to rocket failures has been for a Failure Analysis Committee to investigate the reasons for the failure and publish its findings. However, this did not happen with both of these rockets.
PSLV is ISRO’s most successful satellite launch vehicle and has had more than 90% success rate since 1993 and has placed nearly 350 satellites into their intended orbits.
It seems that Dr. Singh suggested that the underlying causes of the two calamities were different. “What happened last time didn’t happen now. (As an analogy), let’s say a light went out. Last time it happened because the light bulb melted. This time it went out,” said Dr. Singh.
“It is not that we (ISRO) are so unwise that we cannot detect the cause of the failure… this time we have a third party (assessment) to gain confidence, even though we have the expertise within ISRO for such an analysis. Our likely next (launch) date, which we are ambitiously targeting, is June, after we are satisfied that the problem is scheduled for 6 private satellite launches. No one has withdrawn their request for launch…that means trust is intact We have three big foreign launches next year – Japan, United States and France and none have expressed concern, that means our credibility is intact,” Mr Singh said.
A Failure Analysis Committee report on the May 18 accident was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office before the C-62 took off, but its details have not been released.
The Failure Analysis Committee is a group of experts within ISRO to lead in the event of a major incident; is constituted by the Chairman of ISRO. It is expected to reconstruct the chain of events leading to the failure and recommend corrective measures before the rocket is cleared to fly again. The members of the committee are experts within ISRO as well as relevant experts from academia.
Published – 02 Feb 2026 21:04 IST