A high-level committee investigating the recent failures of ISRO's PSLV rockets, which have led to the loss of strategic satellites and raised questions about the ageing launch vehicle's future, has yet to make its crucial report and recommendations public.
Key Points
- A high-level committee, including former principal scientific advisor K Vijayraghavan and former ISRO chairman Dr S Somanath, was formed to investigate PSLV failures but its report remains unreleased.
- The PSLV-C62 mission failed on January 12, 2026, losing the strategic hyperspectral satellite Avnesha (EOS-N1) and 15 other satellites, mirroring the PSLV-C61 failure in May 2025.
- The PSLV-C62 failure marks the third consecutive setback for missions tied to India's strategic interests, including the NVS-02 navigation satellite in January 2025.
- Despite being ISRO's workhorse since 1993, the PSLV's three-decade-old technology is facing challenges, prompting questions about its future amidst advancements in semi-cryogenic engines by startups.
- The first PSLV rocket built by HAL and L&T consortium is reportedly awaiting the committee's recommendations before its maiden flight.
PSLV Failure Analysis Committee Report In Suspense
Several months ago, the government constituted a high-level committee to investigate the failures of PSLV rockets that were carrying strategic satellites.
The committee included K Vijayraghavan, former principal scientific advisor to the prime minister, as the chairman and former ISRO chairman Dr S Somanath as co-chairman.
The move followed a quiet visit by National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
There are no answers from IN-SPACe officials to the question for calling EoI for PSLV by IN-SPACe when the status of the committee report and its recommendations are not known.
Incidentally, it is said the first PSLV rocket made by the consortium -- HAL and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) -- is yet to fly pending the recommendations of the PSLV Failure Analysis Committee.
Recent PSLV Mission Failures
On January 12, 2026, ISRO's PSLV-C62 mission, carrying the strategic hyperspectral satellite Avnesha (EOS-N1), failed during flight.
Along with EOS-N1, 15 other satellites from Indian and international customers were lost.
The above setback appears similar to the failure of PSLV-C61 in May 2025.
"The failure of PSLV-C62 seems to mirror that of its predecessor PSLV-C61," says a rocket expert, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In May 2025, the PSLV-XL variant (PSLV-C61) lifted off with the 1,696.24-kg earth observation satellite RISAT-1B.
Roughly six minutes into flight, shortly after third-stage ignition, the vehicle deviated from its intended path.
A former senior ISRO official suggested the third-stage anomaly could have stemmed from a faulty primary or redundant valve, or another component that caused the pressure drop.
It is not known whether the PSLV Failure Analysis Committee has submitted its report and what are the recommendations as to the changes to be made to the PSLV rocket.
String of Strategic Mission Setbacks
The PSLV-C62 failure marks the third consecutive setback involving missions tied to India's strategic interests.
In January 2025, the 2,250-kg navigation satellite NVS-02 was placed in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit but became stranded after a pyro valve failed to open and feed oxidiser to the engines, despite the fuel pumps functioning normally.
A defect in an electrical connector is suspected, though the exact cause remains unclear.
The report of the Failure Analysis Committee headed by former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar, set up to examine the NVS-02 anomaly, has yet to be made public -- a departure from ISRO's earlier practice.
The Future of PSLV: Ageing Technology Challenges
Though PSLV is ISRO's workhorse since 1993 and was used in several prestigious missions, its technology is more than three decades old and is facing problems in recent times.
"Is there a need for a solid fuel booster based rocket at a time when startups are developing launch vehicles with advanced semi-cryogenic engines. On the other hand, ISRO can continue with its solid fuel powered Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) with a carrying capacity of 500 kg," says a retired ISRO official.
According to him, ISRO can retire PSLV and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rockets and continue with LVM3 rocket until the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) is developed and operated.
However, retiring the PSLV and GSLV rockets will take a long time for ISRO to find a domestic substitute in their respective segments.
For the country, as the private companies are developing only small rockets with a payload capacity of 500 kg and they are yet to fly one fully built rocket.
Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at venkatacharijagannathan@gmail.com
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
