New Delhi: India’s next major space missions are facing an unexpected pause, with two satellites ready at the Sriharikota spaceport but awaiting government clearance for launch. The hold-up has also left a GSLV-MkII rocket prepared for one of the missions, adding to concerns over the pace of India’s launch programme.
The satellites awaiting approval are NVS-03, part of the second-generation NavIC navigation constellation, and GISAT-1A, also designated EOS-05, an advanced Earth-observation spacecraft. Both missions have reportedly completed most of their pre-launch preparations and are understood to be ready for deployment.
The delay comes at a time when the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is facing heightened scrutiny following two recent PSLV failures. The setbacks have prompted a wider review of launch operations even though the reported anomalies were associated with the PSLV’s third stage and have not been linked directly to the GSLV or LVM-3 platforms.
According to a report by Times of India, NVS-03 and GISAT-1A missions have been waiting for government approval for weeks. The GSLV-MkII assigned to one of the missions had also undergone propellant-filling operations, which were stopped before completion after the required launch clearance did not arrive.
NVS-03 is particularly important for the revival of India’s NavIC navigation system. The government recently acknowledged that the constellation currently has only three operational satellites, leaving the system unable to provide the full range of navigation services envisaged under the programme.
GISAT-1A is equally significant from an Earth-observation perspective. The satellite is designed to provide frequent and near-real-time imaging of the Indian region, with potential applications ranging from disaster response and agriculture to forestry, environmental monitoring and national security.
The GISAT programme has already faced a major setback. The first GISAT-1 was lost during the GSLV-F10 mission in August 2021 after the cryogenic upper stage failed to ignite, following earlier delays to the mission. GISAT-1A is intended to revive the capability with an upgraded spacecraft.
The current uncertainty follows a difficult period for India’s launch vehicles. PSLV-C61 failed in May 2025 after a pressure-related anomaly in its third stage, while PSLV-C62 subsequently failed in January 2026 following another disruption involving the PS3 stage.
The government has so far refrained from releasing detailed findings of the investigations into the PSLV failures. Union minister Jitendra Singh recently said the failure analysis committee examining the PSLV-C62 mission had identified the cause of the anomaly, but its findings could not be made public.
The government has previously released detailed findings in other cases. In February, Isro disclosed partial findings into the NVS-02 mission anomaly, concluding that a drive signal had failed to reach the pyro valve in the oxidiser line during the spacecraft’s orbit-raising operation. The agency said corrective measures were subsequently implemented and validated during the CMS-03 mission launched in November 2025.
The prolonged clearance process could therefore have implications beyond the two satellites currently waiting at Sriharikota. With launch hardware already prepared and missions lined up, the key uncertainty now is when the government will allow India’s launch schedule to resume.