Sriharikota, January 12, 2026: India’s first space launch of 2026, the PSLV-C62 mission, faced an unexpected hurdle on Monday after a disturbance was detected in the third stage of the rocket, leaving the status of its satellites unconfirmed.

The PSLV-C62 lifted off from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, carrying the EOS-N1 (Anvesha) Earth observation satellite along with 14 co-passenger satellites, both domestic and international. The mission was also set to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of a small re-entry capsule from a Spanish startup, making it a multi-faceted launch.

However, ISRO later stated that the mission “encountered an anomaly”. The rocket deviated from its intended flight path following the disturbance in the third stage, and the deployment of the EOS-N1 and other satellites could not be immediately confirmed.

ISRO chief V Narayanan said the agency is analyzing telemetry and other mission data to ascertain the outcome of the launch. “Today, we had attempted the PSLV-C62 launch mission. We are analyzing the data and shall come back to you,” ISRO said in a brief statement.

This launch was particularly significant for ISRO because the last PSLV mission in 2025 was aborted due to a technical observation. The PSLV-C62 mission was intended to mark India’s first successful space deployment of 2026 and to demonstrate PSLV’s reliability for Earth observation and multi-satellite missions.

The rocket was designed to deploy EOS-N1 first, followed by 14 co-passenger satellites arranged through NewSpace India Ltd, ISRO’s commercial arm. Any anomaly in PSLV missions is meticulously studied, given its role as ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle.

ISRO has not yet confirmed whether the satellites reached their planned polar sun-synchronous orbit. The agency emphasized that a detailed update will follow once the ongoing analysis of telemetry and stage performance data is complete.

The incident underlines the complexity and risks involved in multi-payload satellite launches, even with a proven launch vehicle like PSLV.