India's satellite launch mission fails! PSLV rocket suffers second consecutive launch failure

India's space ambitions have suffered a major setback, as its main carrier rocket malfunctioned during a critical military and commercial launch mission, resulting in a strategically significant military satellite and multiple commercial payloads failing to reach their intended orbit. This marks the second consecutive launch failure for this rocket type, raising concerns about the reliability of its launch system.

According to CCTV News citing Indian sources, on January 12 local time, a multi-satellite launch mission carried out by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) experienced an anomaly after liftoff. The rocket's trajectory noticeably deviated during flight, and officials subsequently confirmed the mission as a failure.

This mission carried a military earth observation satellite codenamed EOS-N1 and 15 other payloads. The incident not only resulted in the loss of expensive on-orbit assets, but also marked a rare consecutive setback for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), known as the “workhorse” of India’s space program. The previous flight of this rocket was in May 2025, which also ended in failure and resulted in the destruction of the EOS-09 satellite.

Currently, India’s space sector is conducting emergency analyses of telemetry data to determine the specific cause of the failure. This string of failures may negatively affect India’s efforts to compete for market share in global commercial satellite launches, while also delaying the deployment of its military space-based surveillance network.

Third Stage Rocket Anomaly

According to media reports, the PSLV rocket was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 11:48 pm Eastern Time (10:18 am Indian Standard Time on Monday). However, during the critical phase of flight, the rocket did not operate as planned.

ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan revealed details of the malfunction during a launch webcast update. He stated:

"As the third stage rocket (engine burn) neared its end, we observed a significant disturbance in the roll rate of the launch vehicle, and then a deviation in its flight path was seen."

He added that the agency is analyzing data and will provide feedback as soon as possible.

Notably, this incident is similar to the failure in May 2025, as the anomaly also occurred during the third stage burn of the PSLV rocket. If the final investigation confirms this as a complete failure, it will be the fourth failure in PSLV's 64 launch history. As a four-stage rocket first flown in 1993, PSLV has accomplished many high-profile missions, including the 2008 Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe, the 2013 Mars Orbiter Mission, and the 2023 Aditya-L1 solar probe.

Strategic Asset Loss

The main asset lost in this launch failure is the small earth observation satellite codenamed EOS-N1 (also known as Anvesha). Multiple sources confirm that this was a hyperspectral imaging satellite designed to study the earth in hundreds of different light wave bands, with its main user being the Indian military. Reportedly, the satellite was intended for continuous surface scan, transmitting images capable of generating valuable intelligence.

In addition to the military payload, the mission was organized by ISRO's commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited, marking its ninth commercial mission. Also lost were the remaining 15 commercial and research payloads, involving multiple international customers.

These payloads included an earth observation satellite jointly developed by Thailand and the UK, a Brazilian satellite intended to assist distressed fishing vessels, an in-orbit refueling demonstration payload from an Indian company, and a reentry capsule from Spanish startup Orbital Paradigm.

Except for the reentry capsule named KID (Kestrel Initial technology Demonstrator), all payloads were scheduled for low earth orbit. The capsule was meant to detach from the PSLV fourth stage in the latter phase of flight and reenter the Earth, landing in the South Pacific. With the launch's failure, these commercial validation and research projects have all been forcibly halted.

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