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Isro’s toughest year in decades: 6 launches, 3 strategic setbacks
One year, six launches, three failures. That is an uncomfortable tally. But it is also a moment to reset. Isro's credibility was built over decades — through consistency. Bouncing back strongly will require the same qualities, applied with greater speed and sharper focus.
It is rare for Isro's scorecard to feature three failures in one year, rarer still for its most trusted launch vehicle to stumble twice in succession. Yet, between Jan 2025 and Jan 2026, that is precisely what happened. Three missions involving strategic satellites failed, two of them back-to-back, on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
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The latest was Monday's (Jan 12) PSLV-C62 mishap, which failed to put the spacecraft in orbit. For an agency that built its reputation on reliability, the past year has been a jolt.
But it is — to use an idiom — rocket science. So, the technical cause of each failure is analysed closely. And what they point to is something larger: a space programme under strain at a time strategic, military, and commercial stakes have never been higher.
The first setback was on Jan 29, 2025, during what was meant to be a milestone moment: Isro's 100th launch mission. GSLV-F15 lifted off cleanly with the NVS-02 navigation satellite. The rocket performed as expected. The failure unfolded later, in orbit. A valve — responsible for feeding oxidiser to the liquid apogee motor (LAM) — didn't operate as designed. Without the LAM, the satellite could not manoeuvre itself into its final operational orbit. The launch was flawless, but the mission was lost.
When workhorse stumbled
The next two failures were more unsettling because they struck during ascent, and they struck the same system. Both PSLVC61 (May 18, 2025) and PSLV-C62 (Jan 12, 2026) suffered malfunctions in the third stage: the solid-fuel PS3 — the third stage, a solid motor that provides a high-energy boost after the second stage burnout. The pattern of failure was unfamiliar: PSLV had never failed twice in a row, nor had the same stage been implicated repeatedly.The consequences were immediate and costly. PSLV-C61 carried EOS-09, also known as Risat-1B, a radar imaging satellite critical for strategic surveillance. With its synthetic aperture radar payload, EOS-09 was designed to provide all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation and improve ‘revisit frequency' (how often it can image the same spot on Earth, crucial for monitoring dynamic events like floods or crop health) over sensitive regions. Its loss created a gap that cannot be filled quickly.
Monday's failure compounded the damage. PSLV-C62 was carrying Anvesha, or EOS-N1, another strategic asset. This satellite — built around a ‘hyperspectral imaging payload', capable of analysing reflected light across hundreds of narrow wavelength bands, allowing detailed identification of objects, materials, and activities on the ground — was to complement existing satellites.
For the defence establishment, this was meant to sharpen situational awareness. Instead, it was written off minutes after launch. For India's military planners, the losses are not abstract. Space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities are already thin. Losing two high-value satellites within eight months hurts operational readiness and pushes back timelines that were already stretched.
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What global records show
For Isro, the reputational impact cuts deeper, because of what the PSLV represents. For nearly three decades, the rocket has been the backbone of India's space programme, accounting for over 60% of all Isro launches.Its ability to place satellites into low-Earth orbit, sun-synchronous orbit, and even transfer orbits has made it the agency's most versatile workhorse. It is the vehicle that carried Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, Aditya-L1, and hundreds of commercial payloads. Of the nearly 400 foreign satellites launched by India, the overwhelming majority rode on PSLV.
This legacy is exactly why back-to-back failures matter. For Isro, ‘reliability' is not a non-quantifiable technical metric; it is the measure — and currency — of trust.
Globally, launch statistics offer some context. Nearly half of all launch failures are linked to propulsion systems, and around two-thirds of propulsion-related failures occur in upper stages. In that sense, Isro's troubles are not unique. But context does not soften the strategic impact of failures involving critical national assets that repeat within a short span.
Strategic gap widening
The timing is particularly uncomfortable, as India's space environment has changed. The patient, incremental approach that defined Isro's early decades worked in an era whose geopolitics were different. It delivered credibility on modest budgets and built deep engineering expertise over time. Today, space is no longer just a scientific or developmental domain; it is a contested arena of power.The numbers are stark. India operates fewer than a dozen dedicated defence satellites. The US and China field constellations running into the hundreds, each exceeding 240, while Russia operates more than 100 spacecraft. This gap is not merely about scale. It translates directly into how often a region can be observed, how quickly data can be relayed, and how reliably communications can be maintained during conflict.
India has made progress with platforms such as the Risat series and the GSAT-7 family, but gaps remain. The Army still lacks a dedicated satellite system of its own. NavIC, India's regional navigation system, remains only partially operational. Of the 44 Earth observation satellites launched over the years, just 21 are currently active. Isro's own projections call for around 60 Earth observation satellites within five years, with military requirements pushing the total beyond 100. At current launch rates and with recent failures, those targets look quite ambitious.
A look at China's model underlines how far India still has to go. Beijing maintains overlapping constellations that provide near-continuous coverage over land and sea, including contested waters. India relies on intermittent passes and stitched-together datasets, leaving blind spots. In modern warfare, where decisions are made in minutes, this asymmetry matters.
Budgetary constraints add another layer of difficulty. India spends under $2 billion a year on space. China's outlay is roughly eight times that. Nasa's budget is more than 10 times larger. Indian launch vehicles are cost-competitive, but low launch frequency and long turnaround times dilute that advantage. Failures, even isolated ones, slow schedules further.
Commercial ripple effect
There is also a commercial dimension that should not be dismissed. The PSLV's reputation has been a key reason foreign customers trusted India with their payloads, especially small satellites. While commercial launch decisions factor in price, orbit availability and scheduling, reliability remains paramount. Insurance premiums, contractual clauses and risk assessments are sensitive to recent performance.Two failures do not erase decades of success, and the global launch market is forgiving to a point. Yet, competition has intensified. Dedicated smallsat launchers, reusable rockets, and rideshare options offered by foreign providers give customers more choice than ever. Even a small dent in perceived reliability can push marginal customers elsewhere, especially when launch windows are flexible.
This matters because Isro's commercial arm, and India's broader space economy ambitions, depend on sustained credibility. The SSLV is still maturing. The GSLV and LVM-3 are being positioned for heavier and more complex missions, but their commercial cadence is limited. For now, the PSLV remains the mainstay for both strategic and commercial launches. Any prolonged uncertainty around it would ripple across plans.
Isro's tech depth & ability
None of this, however, diminishes Isro's technical depth or its capacity to recover. The agency has navigated failures before and emerged stronger. What the past year underscores is the need for urgency. Technical reviews must be thorough, transparent, and swift. Production quality, testing regimes, and supply chains need close scrutiny, especially for systems that have long been considered mature.Equally important is clarity of priorities. Strategic missions cannot be treated as just another payload. Launch cadence, redundancy, and backup planning must reflect their importance. In an era where space assets underpin military readiness, economic activity, and diplomatic standing, resilience matters as much as ambition.
One year, six launches, three failures. That is an uncomfortable tally. But it is also a moment to reset. Isro's credibility was built over decades — through consistency. Bouncing back strongly will require the same qualities, applied with greater speed and sharper focus.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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