SRIHARIKOTA, Jan 12:    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered a major setback on Monday as its PSLV-C62 mission failed due to an anomaly during flight, resulting in the loss of all 16 onboard satellites, including LACHIT-1 — the Northeast’s first satellite.

According to ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, V. Narayanan, disturbances were observed in the launch vehicle near the end of the third stage (PS3) when the strap-on motors were providing thrust, leading to a deviation from the intended flight path. “The mission could not proceed along the expected flight path. A detailed analysis has been initiated,” he said while addressing the media.

ISRO later confirmed the failure on social media, stating that the PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during the end phase of PS3, preventing the satellites from being placed into their designated orbit.

The 44.4-metre-tall, four-stage PSLV rocket lifted off as scheduled at 10.18 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre after a 22.5-hour countdown. The mission aimed to deploy a primary Earth Observation satellite along with multiple co-passenger satellites into a 512-km Sun-Synchronous Orbit. While the initial phases of the flight progressed as planned, issues emerged shortly after the ignition of the third stage.

Named after legendary Ahom general Lachit Borphukan, LACHIT-1 (Live Amateur Communication Hub for Innovative Technologies–One) symbolised a major technological milestone for the Northeast. The satellite was intended to serve the global amateur radio community by enabling satellite-based communication and experimentation.

“This mission was expected to mark the Northeast’s formal entry into space technology, but the setback cut that milestone short,” officials noted.

Narayanan said data from all ground stations is being analysed and ISRO will share further details once the investigation is complete. “The performance of the vehicle up to the end of the third stage was as expected. Close to the end, we observed increased disturbance followed by deviation,” he explained.

The PSLV-C62 failure marks the second consecutive setback for ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, following the unsuccessful PSLV-C61/EOS-09 mission in May 2025, raising concerns over the otherwise reliable launch system.