New Delhi: A piece from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle was found on 12 March off the coast of Thiruppalaikudi in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
Fishermen near Thondi found a metallic structure floating in the sea. Thinking it was part of a missile, they quickly alerted the Devipattinam Marine Police, who brought ISRO scientists on board. By 18 March, the debris had drifted closer to the coast.
A three-member team from ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram are now inspecting the debris and testing the site from where the part was recovered.
“The part has been collected. It is a part of the first stage of PSLV. There is nothing to worry,” a senior scientist from ISRO, on the condition of anonymity, told ThePrint.
The official also said it was still unclear which mission the wreckage belonged to.
Scientists, however, were able to confirm that the part found on the Tamil Nadu coast was the Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control (SITVC) system, a part of the PSLV’s first stage. This booster, attached to the bottom of the rocket, provides initial thrust during liftoff and is supposed to detach from the launch vehicle and fall into the ocean. It provides the rocket with the required momentum to maintain its intended path.
While in most cases, the SITVC tends to burn off during its detachment from the launch vehicle and during its re-entry into Earth. It is on rare occasions, such as this, that some heavier parts survive re-entry and end up in the ocean.
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Earlier instances
This is not the first time that a part of an ISRO rocket has made it to the country’s coast.
In February 2026, a large portion of what was later identified as a part of ISRO’s Launch Vehicle Mark-III was found on the Maldives’ uninhabited Laamu Atoll island in the Indian Ocean.
In December 2025, another part of LVM-III was found along the Malai Munthal sea stretch in Sri Lanka.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)