What Went Wrong With India's Most Reliable Rocket?

India's most trusted rocket, the PSLV, has experienced something unprecedented: back-to-back failures in May 2025 and January 2026, both involving mysterious third-stage anomalies. With a 92% success rate built over three decades, these consecutive setbacks mark uncharted territory for ISRO. Host Anirban Chowdhury speaks to TOI’s space journalist Chethan Kumar to break down the technical failures, examines whether the agency is overstretched by ambitious missions like Gaganyaan, discusses implications for commercial launches and the upcoming private-sector PSLV debut, and questions why ISRO has departed from transparency by withholding failure reports. As India's space ambitions grow, can its workhorse rocket regain its legendary reliability? Listen in.You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X and LinkedinCheck out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more. Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.