ISRO Constitutes External Expert Committee to Probe Successive Failures of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
ISRO has formed a high-level committee, including external experts like K. Vijay Raghavan, to investigate 'systemic issues' behind the recent failures of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV-C62 mission failed in January 2026 when the third stage failed to ignite, a mishap similar to the PSLV-C61 failure in May 2025. The panel will examine manufacturing, procurement, and organizational problems. This move marks a departure from ISRO's usual internal Failure Analysis Committees, seeking a 'third-party appraisal' to ensure accountability and improve the reliability of India's workhorse rocket in an increasingly privatized space ecosystem.
Key Points
- The PSLV is ISRO's 'workhorse' rocket, but consecutive failures have raised concerns about its reliability.
- The probe will look beyond technical faults to organizational, manufacturing, and procurement processes.
- External experts are involved to provide an unbiased, third-party assessment of the failures.
- The third stage ignition has been identified as a recurring point of failure in recent missions.
Exam Facts
- PSLV-C61 (May 18, 2025) and PSLV-C62 (January 12, 2026) were the failed missions.
- Expert: K. Vijay Raghavan (former Principal Scientific Adviser).
- ISRO Chairman: S. Somanath.
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