Indian PSLV rocket apparently fails for 2nd launch in a row

A Indian rocket's return-to-flight mission apparently didn't go very well.

a boxy golden satellite is seen inside a large hangar being encapsulated into its payload fairing — India's EOS-N1 satellite is seen before encapsulation into the fairing of its PSLV rocket. (Image credit: ISRO)

"Close to the end of the third stage [engine burn], we are seeing a little more disturbance in the vehicle roll rates, and subsequently, there is a deviation observed in the flight path," ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said in an update during the agency's launch webcast.

"We are analyzing the data, and we shall come back at the earliest [opportunity]," he added. "Thank you."

The May 2025 anomaly also occurred during the PSLV's third-stage burn. If Sunday night's launch was indeed a failure, it would be the fourth for the 145.7-foot-tall (44.4 meters) PSLV out of 64 total liftoffs to this point.

The rocket has successfully lofted a number of high-profile payloads during its three decades of operation, including the Chandrayaan-1 moon probe in October 2008, the Mars Orbiter Mission in November 2013 and, in September 2023, Aditya-L1, India's first dedicated sun-studying spacecraft.

EOS-N1, also known as Anvesha, is a small Earth-observation satellite. Multiple sources identify it as a hyperspectral imaging satellite, meaning it was designed to study our planet in hundreds of different wavelengths of light. And it was supposed to do so for the Indian military.

"The satellite will constantly scan the Earth's surface, sending back images that can generate valuable intelligence," wrote The Tribune, an English-language daily paper based in northern India.

"It will join India’s growing family of spy satellites that use radar and optical technology," the outlet added. "India has an active program to develop a fleet of military satellites for surveillance and communication."

The other payloads that launched atop the PSLV on Sunday night were a diverse bunch. Among them were a Thai-U.K. Earth-observing satellite, a Brazilian satellite designed to help distressed fishing boats, an in-orbit fueling demonstration by an Indian company and a reentry capsule from the Spanish startup Orbital Paradigm.

All of the payloads headed to low Earth orbit except the reentry capsule, which is known as KID (Kestrel Initial technology Demonstrator). It was supposed to separate from the PSLV's fourth stage late in the flight and come back to Earth for a splashdown in the South Pacific.

Sunday's mission was the ninth organized by NewSpace India Limited, ISRO's commercial arm.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 12:20 a.m. ET on Jan. 12 with news of liftoff and the apparently launch failure.

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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