ISRO ends 7-month launch freeze with GISAT-1A.
After a seven-month pause, ISRO is set to resume launches in the first week of September with GISAT-1A, an earth observation satellite. The launch comes after a string of setbacks that grounded India’s space program in 2025.
The last failure was in January. PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 mission failed in the third stage due to an “anomaly”. Before that, GSLV-F16 had issues and an NVS-02 launch failed to reach orbit. Only one launch was conducted in the first half of 2025 — the successful PSLV-C61 carrying EOS-9.
GISAT-1A, also called EOS-05, is a replacement for GISAT-1 which failed to reach orbit in 2021. It has a 10-year mission life and will monitor disasters, agriculture, and forestry in near real-time from geostationary orbit. A second satellite, NVS-03, is ready and likely to launch in November.
The hiatus has hurt ISRO’s targets. Against a goal of 15 missions in FY 2025-26, it has managed just one. The agency also missed annual targets for 2024-25. With NavIC, India’s navigation constellation, already down one satellite after losing NVS-02, the pressure is on. NavIC needs at least 4 operational satellites for standalone service. Right now it has 3.
Analytically, this is about more than rockets. Space is now central to climate monitoring, defense, and digital infrastructure. Delays affect farmers waiting for crop data, disaster agencies tracking floods, and the military relying on NavIC.
ISRO says failure analysis committees have submitted reports, but they have not been made public. Transparency could help rebuild confidence among partners and the private sector, which the government wants to bring into launch services.
The September launch will be a test of recovery. If GISAT-1A succeeds, it signals that ISRO has fixed the technical glitches. If not, questions will grow about project management and funding at a time when global competition from SpaceX, China and Europe is intensifying.For now, all eyes are on Sriharikota. After 7 months on the ground, India needs to get back to space.