ISRO Begins Countdown for PSLV-C62 Launch, First Mission of the Year

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday began the countdown for the launch of the PSLV-C62 rocket, which is set to place an Earth observation satellite along with 13 co-passenger satellites into orbit.

The 22.5-hour countdown commenced at 12.48 pm and will culminate in the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), marking ISRO’s first mission of the year.

Key Details of the PSLV-C62 Mission

• The PSLV-C62 rocket, with a lift-off mass of nearly 260 tonnes, is scheduled to launch at 10.18 am on January 12, a minute later than the earlier planned time of 10.17 am, according to ISRO officials quoted by PTI.

• The mission will carry 14 satellites in total, including one primary Earth observation satellite and 13 co-passenger satellites belonging to both domestic and international customers.

• Under the PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 mission, the primary Earth observation satellite—built jointly by Thailand and the United Kingdom—will be deployed first.

• The remaining 13 satellites will be placed into a sun-synchronous orbit approximately 17 minutes after lift-off.

• The mission is being undertaken by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm.

PSLV’s Track Record

The PSLV has completed 63 missions to date and has been central to some of ISRO’s landmark achievements, including Chandrayaan-1, the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), and the Aditya-L1 solar mission.

The last PSLV mission, PSLV-C61, which aimed to launch the EOS-09 Earth observation satellite on May 18, 2025, was aborted due to an “observation” detected in the rocket’s third stage.