The year 2026 started on a challenging note for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as the first space mission of the year suffered a major anomaly.

The PSLV-C62 on Monday encountered an anomaly during the rocket's third stage. It was carrying 16 satellites, including the Earth Observation satellite EOS-N1 (Anvesha).

What did happen to PSLV-C62?

-The 44.4 m tall PSLV lifted off smoothly from Sriharikota's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 10:18 AM.

-After 17 minutes in flight, the mission was intended to place the satellites into a 512-kilometre Sun-Synchronous Orbit.

-However, 8 minutes after launch, there was a performance problem in the third stage of the rocket.

-In the third stage, ignition took place as planned, but by the end of the stage, some disturbance was observed.

-Due to this defect, the rocket deviated from its intended path (designated orbit).

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What did happen? ISRO Chairman V Narayanan tells

Giving a post-flight update, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said, "The mission experienced a technical glitch. The initial flight stages were fine, but the third stage (PS3) was unable to generate the required thrust due to a sudden drop in chamber pressure."

"We observed a significant deviation from the intended flight path. This resulted in the satellites not being placed in orbit."

After the mission failure, a detailed analysis has been initiated by the space organisation.

Repeated third-stage failure

The failure has raised concern for PSLV, ISRO's most successful rocket launcher, often called the workhorse rocket.

It was the 64th mission for PSLV, and it has launched some of the most important missions, including Chandrayaan 1, Mangalyaan, C37 Mission (104 satellites were launched in one mission) and NavIC (IRNSS), among others.

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However, it is the second consecutive launch setback for PSLV. The last setback came during the launch of PSLV-C61 in May last year.

Even more concerning is its similar fate of deviation in the third stage. Back then, ISRO had stated that the malfunction observation was made in the rocket's third stage, after which the chamber pressure steadily dropped, resulting in a loss of thrust and the satellite failing to reach its orbit.