National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) here last week, reportedly in connection with the failure of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-62 (PSLV-C62) mission on January 12.
According to VSSC sources, Mr. Doval met VSSC Director A. Rajarajan and Deputy Directors during his visit. The visit assumes significance in view of the failures of the PSLV missions on May 18, 2025 and January 12, 2026.
The PSLV has long been hailed as the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) “trusted stalwart” due to its spectacular success rate. VSSC is ISRO’s nodal facility for launch vehicles.
After the launch of PSLV C-61, ISRO posted on X that “PSLV-C61 performance was normal till 2nd stage. Due to observation in 3rd stage, the mission could not be completed.” The Disturbance Analysis Committee report for this mission has not yet been released.
After the failure of the PSLV C-62 mission, ISRO announced that the mission had encountered an anomaly during the end of the PS3 phase and that a detailed analysis had been initiated.
The PSLV-C61 mission, which marked the 63rd flight of the PSLV, carried the EOS-09 satellite as its payload. The PSLV-C62 mission carried 16 satellites with the EOS-N1 satellite as the primary payload.
Published – 03 Feb 2026 20:33 IST
