GSLV-Mk2
BENGALURU: Two strategically important satellites, NVS-03 and Gisat-1A, have been sitting at India’s spaceport in Sriharikota for weeks, awaiting govt approval for launch. Also waiting is a GSLV-Mk2 rocket, whose propellant filling was halted midway after launch clearance failed to come through, multiple sources told TOI.The delay comes even as the govt is yet to publicly disclose detailed findings into the failures of two PSLV missions — May 18, 2025 and Jan 12, 2026 — that have effectively slowed India’s launch programme across vehicle families.Sources said NVS-03, the next satellite in India’s second-generation NavIC navigation constellation, and GISAT-1A or EOS-05, an advanced geo-imaging satellite capable of near real-time observation of the Indian landmass, have both completed most pre-launch preparations and are ready for flight.The GSLV-Mk2 at the spaceport was designated for one of the missions (NVS-03 or Gisat-1A). The pause in launch follows a difficult year for Isro. On Jan 12, PSLV-C62 failed to place its payloads into orbit after a disruption in the third stage (PS3).Eight months before that, PSLV-C61 had also failed because of what Isro has described only as a “pressure drop in PS3”. Apart from these brief descriptions, neither the department of space (DoS) nor the Govt has released detailed failure reports. Union minister Jitendra Singh recently said in Bengaluru that the failure analysis committee investigating the PSLV-C62 mission had identified the cause of the anomaly but that the findings “could not be disclosed publicly”.The apparent caution extending beyond PSLV has befuddled even those within the Department of Space, which is already battling low morale. Officials familiar with the matter said no launches have been cleared while the govt reviews the situation.Pointing out that the issues identified so far relate specifically to the PSLV’s third stage and do not directly involve either the GSLV or the LVM-3, one insider said: “We don’t get the logic. It’s like telling us not to take our cars out because our bike had an issue in its previous outing.” The person argued that GSLV and LVM rockets don’t borrow anything from the PSLV third stage.The delay is particularly significant because both satellites have strategic roles. NVS-03 is expected to be one step in reviving the now-defunct NavIC navigation constellation. Even the govt last week admitted that with just three functional satellites, the NavIC programme has failed to deliver navigation services for lack of satellites.Gisat-1A, meanwhile, revives a mission that has suffered repeated setbacks. The original Gisat-1, India’s first geostationary Earth observation satellite designed to provide frequent imaging of the subcontinent, was first delayed in 2020 before being lost during the GSLV-F10 mission in Aug 2021 after the cryogenic upper stage failed to ignite. The replacement spacecraft is expected to provide near real-time imaging for disaster management, agriculture, forestry, environmental monitoring and national security.The govt’s caution follows another major setback that was investigated in detail. Isro, in Feb this year, released partial findings into the Jan 2025 NVS-02 anomaly, concluding that the spacecraft failed to reach its intended orbit because the drive signal never reached the pyro valve in the oxidiser line during orbit-raising manoeuvres.The agency said corrective measures had since been implemented and successfully validated on the CMS-03 mission launched aboard LVM-3 in Nov 2025. For now, however, even as hardware, satellites and launch vehicles stand ready at the spaceport, India’s next launches remain on hold, with no indication of when the govt will authorise launches to resume.
