A rocket carrying 15 satellites has veered off course after a glitch in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s launch. The incident took place at 10:18 am local time on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota island in Andhra Pradesh. The incident is being seen as a major failure by India's space agency (ISRO).

ISRO said the rocket was carrying an Earth observation satellite and commercial payload. In a post on social media, ISRO said the four-stage launch vehicle PSLV-C62 encountered an unusual situation towards the end of the third stage.

However, ISRO did not specify what kind of error caused the rocket to deviate from the intended path. The Indian space research agency said that an investigation has already been launched to find out the details.

The live broadcast of the launch showed the rocket hurtling into the sky, but ISRO chief V Narayanan said the rocket's flight path was diverted due to a glitch.

The PSLV rocket, long known as the mainstay of India's national space program, has launched several important missions for the country, including the first lunar and Mars orbiters.

In 2017, PSLV set a world record by launching 104 satellites in a single mission.

The PSLV-C62 rocket launched on Monday was carrying 15 satellites for domestic and foreign customers, including an Earth observation satellite, ISRO said in a separate statement.

"We are seeing a bit more instability in the vehicle towards the end of the third stage," Narayanan told India's state-run television Doordarshan. "Immediately after that, we see a deviation in the vehicle's flight path," he said.

India, the world's most populous country, has demonstrated its capabilities in space exploration over the past decade. The country has significantly increased the size and pace of its space program, matching the achievements of established powers at a relatively low cost.

In August 2023, India became the fourth country after Russia, the United States, and China to land an unmanned vehicle on the moon. In 2024, the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to send humans to the moon by 2040.