After a seven-month hiatus, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to resume its launch services, with the earth observation satellite GISAT-1A set to be launched in the first week of September.
This is one of two satellites — the other being NVS-03 — that has remained parked at Sriharikota spaceport for months as launches were put on hold following a series of setbacks, said officials in the know.
Indeed, three of the six missions that ISRO undertook in 2025 and 2026 saw the satellites not reaching the intended orbits due to anomalies in the launch vehicle or spacecraft engine.
GISAT-1A or Geo Imaging Satellite — also referred to as EOS-05 under the new nomenclature — is a replacement satellite for the 2021-launched GISAT-1 (or EOS-03), which missed the orbit after the final propulsive segment of the rocket failed to ignite.
The new satellite, GISAT-1A, which boasts a 10-year mission life, is designed to image large areas of interest at frequent intervals for the purposes of monitoring natural disasters or keeping a track of agriculture or forestry.
Meanwhile, NVS-03 — fuelled and ready at Sriharikota — is likely to be launched in November, officials said.
The space agency undertook just one launch this year.
On January 12, ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), was set to place an Earth observation satellite in orbit as part of the ISRO PSLV-C62 / EOS-N1 mission.
However, the mission failed reportedly due to an “anomaly” in the third stage of the rocket. The findings of the Failure Analysis Committee which probed the incident has not been made public yet.
In 2025, ISRO undertook five launches. This included one mission wherein PSLV-C61 was set to put in orbit the Earth observation satellite EOS-9. Again, the mission failed because of yet another “anomaly” in the third stage.
The space agency has maintained that the two anomalies were unrelated. However, no failure analysis report has been made public for this mission either. Then, there were two launches via the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
The first was the GSLV-F16-enabled launch of a NISAR satellite developed in collaboration with NASA, which was successful. However, the second launch — of NVS-02 using GSLV-F15 — missed delivering the satellite to its destination after the orbit-raising manoeuvres failed.
Though the GSLV-F15 functioned normally, the findings of the analysis report have not been made public.
There were also two Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)-enabled launches — of communication satellites Bluebird-2 and CMS-03.
These launch numbers fare poorly against the 15-mission target set by the space agency in 2025-26 and 27 in FY 2026-27 as per the recent ISRO annual report. The space agency counts the launch vehicle and satellite as separate missions. But even then, the numbers fall short.
ISRO had planned to place in orbit in 2025-26 at least four Earth observation satellites, one communication satellite, one technology demonstrator, and three (launches and spacecraft missions) under Gaganyaan programme. It had also planned for at least two PSLV, GSLV and LVM3 missions each.
For 2026-27, the space agency had set an ambitious target of at least five flights of its newly developed SSLV. This would be in addition to four PSLV, three GSLV, and one LVM3 missions. Under Gaganyaan programme, it had planned at least four missions (both spacecraft and launch vehicle).
After losing NSV-02, the launch of the next satellite in the series is extremely important considering India’s navigation constellation can no longer provide navigation data independently.
“…Presently, the NavIC constellation has three satellites for providing PNT (Positioning, Navigation, Timing) services — IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01. To provide basic positioning service, a minimum of four operational satellites are required in orbit. Hence, the NavIC constellation cannot provide standalone positioning service, however timing service is functional,” Union Minister of State for Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, said in a Parliament reply.
Singh further stated that the armed forces continue to use NavIC signals alongside data from the US’s GPS, the EU’s Galileo, and Russia’s GLONASS as part of a multi-constellation navigation setup.
Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More
