India’s PSLV rocket lifted off on January 12 carrying its new military hyperspectral satellite (EOS-N1, aka Anvesha) and 15 other payloads. Soon after the third stage ignited, ISRO reported an “anomaly” and deviation in the flight path. This was the first launch of PSLV after the May 2025 failure.

All spacecraft are now feared lost; ISRO said it is analyzing the data to find out what went wrong. Mission halted due to third stage anomaly According to ISRO chief V.

Narayanan, the rocket’s third stage burn was nominal until some glitch caused it to deviate from its path. Reuters called it “the second disappointment” for the PSLV, which had achieved ~90% success in ~60 missions.

(The May 2025 flight similarly failed during its third stage. ) The PSLV is ISRO’s “workhorse” launch vehicle, so frequent failures are a concern for India’s space program. Detailed investigation is underway.

Hyperspectral satellites and other payloads EOS-N1, also known as Anwesha, is a hyperspectral satellite designed for Earth imaging, specifically for India’s military use. It is capable of scanning the Earth in hundreds of spectral bands and, as The Tribune points out, it can “continuously scan the Earth’s surface” to gather intelligence. Along with it, there were also 15 smaller satellites, including an Earth-observer satellite from the UK and Thailand, a Brazilian beacon for fishermen, an Indian refueling demo and a Spanish re-entry capsule (KID).

They were all intended for low Earth orbit, but it is now unclear what will happen to them.