The move follows a quiet visit by National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
'A solid motor, once ignited, burns until the propellant is exhausted. It cannot simply stop mid-burn,' said a retired senior ISRO official. 'That is what makes this failure puzzling.' Venkatachari Jagannathan reports on the latest PSLV failure.
It is about proving that the agency can still deliver when the stakes are high.
Buying a mature rocket technology gives companies the designs and hardware know-how, but not necessarily the decades of engineering wisdom needed to make it work.
Their message is blunt: Public scientific wealth should not be transferred at what they describe as 'throwaway prices'.capability, recruitment, promotional avenues and the voice of its employees.
ISRO has successfully launched EOS-05, India's first geo-imaging satellite, into a precise sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit using a GSLV rocket. This 2,367 kg satellite, the heaviest ever carried by a GSLV, will provide real-time imagery for applications in agriculture and disaster management from an altitude of 36,000 km.
'ISRO will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or public sector undertakings.'
A high-level committee investigating the failures of ISRO's PSLV rockets, which have impacted strategic satellite missions, has yet to release its report and recommendations, raising concerns about the future of the ageing launch vehicle.
India's move to privatise PSLV rocket production through IN-SPACe has triggered debate over national security, ageing technology and the agency's role.
A Spanish startup, Orbital Paradigm, claims its payload, KID, survived the failed PSLV-C62 mission and transmitted data, despite ISRO's silence on the matter. The mission, carrying 16 satellites, failed due to issues in the rocket's third stage.
ISRO is preparing for the PSLV-C62 mission launch on January 12 from Sriharikota, carrying the EOS-N1 satellite and multiple other payloads.
While India's interplanetary ambitions remain significant, the current pace of financial and technical progress raises questions about whether the 2027-2028 timelines can be met.
Based on the broadcast visuals, a rocket expert said the failure appeared similar to the anomaly seen during the PSLV-C61 mission.
ISRO's PSLV-C62 successfully launched an earth observation satellite along with 14 other commercial payloads from Sriharikota, marking the first launch of the year.
These upcoming launches carry added significance in light of setbacks suffered in recent years.
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