What happened to ISRO’s PSLV-C62 mission?
The Hindu
1. Core Issue and Context
The article examines the PSLV-C62 mission anomaly, focusing on the failure during payload deployment rather than launch vehicle lift-off. It situates the event within ISRO’s otherwise strong reliability record, while highlighting systemic and procedural lessons.
Editorial framing: Technical failure with institutional implications, not a civilisational or reputational collapse.
2. Key Arguments Presented
1. Immediate technical cause
The failure is attributed to a malfunction in the payload separation mechanism, specifically involving propulsion or deployment sequencing rather than core launch performance.
2. Distinction between launch success and mission success
The author carefully separates vehicle performance from mission outcome, stressing that PSLV as a launcher remains dependable.
3. Institutional transparency
ISRO’s quick acknowledgement and internal review process are presented as strengths, reinforcing credibility.
4. Learning curve in space missions
The piece argues that complex space systems inevitably face anomalies, and failure analysis is integral to technological maturity.
3. Author’s Stance
Balanced and institutionally sympathetic
The author avoids sensationalism and resists framing the incident as decline or incompetence.
Implicit defence of ISRO’s model
There is a clear inclination to protect ISRO’s reputation by contextualising failure as engineering risk, not governance failure.
4. Biases and Limitations
1. Technocratic bias
The article privileges technical explanations while underplaying project management, vendor ecosystem, and testing redundancies.
2. Limited accountability lens
There is little interrogation of whether procedural oversight, quality assurance, or timeline pressures contributed to the failure.
3. Absence of comparative benchmarking
The piece does not compare ISRO’s failure-review mechanisms with other major space agencies, limiting evaluative depth.
5. Pros and Cons Analysis
Pros
- Reinforces scientific temper and rational public discourse
- Prevents reputational panic around India’s space programme
- Encourages learning-oriented institutional culture
Cons
- Risks normalising failure without sufficient scrutiny
- Misses opportunity to debate systemic reforms in space manufacturing
- Underplays downstream impacts on commercial and strategic missions
6. Policy Implications
1. Quality assurance and redundancy
Need for stronger end-to-end validation, especially in payload interfaces and separation systems.
2. Private sector participation
As ISRO opens space to private players, standardisation and accountability frameworks become critical.
3. Mission assurance governance
Failure analysis must feed into formal policy upgrades, not remain confined to technical reports.
7. Real-World Impact
Short term
- Minimal impact on ISRO’s global standing
- Possible delay in dependent scientific objectives
Medium term
- Greater scrutiny of small-satellite and experimental missions
- Increased emphasis on payload integration testing
Long term
- Strengthens India’s credibility if lessons are institutionalised
- Shapes norms for India’s emerging commercial space sector
8. UPSC GS Paper Linkages
GS Paper II (Governance)
- Transparency, institutional accountability, public trust
GS Paper III (Science & Technology)
- Space technology, mission reliability, indigenisation
- Risk management in high-technology sectors
GS Paper IV (Ethics)
- Organisational ethics, responsibility in public institutions
- Learning from failure vs denial or blame shifting
9. Balanced Conclusion
The article succeeds in demystifying failure and protecting scientific rationality in public debate. However, its editorial restraint also limits deeper questioning of systemic preparedness and governance oversight.
Failure in space programmes is inevitable; failure to learn institutionally is not.
10. Future Perspective
India’s space trajectory will increasingly be judged not by absence of failure, but by the speed, transparency, and institutional depth of its response.
PSLV-C62 should thus be remembered not as a setback, but as a test of India’s capacity to evolve from competence to resilience.
