ISRO launches Anvesha spy satellite as PSLV roars back

Sriharikota: India’s most reliable rocket is back in swaggering form. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off from Sriharikota at 10.18 am on Thursday, chalking up its 64th mission and erasing the memory of last year’s stumble. Designated PSLV-C62 / EOS-N1, the flight lofted 15 satellites into space, led by a tightly guarded surveillance payload named Anvesha.

The mission marks a clean return to form for the PSLV, long regarded as the backbone of India’s launch programme. EOS-N1 and 14 co-passenger satellites were injected into a sun-synchronous orbit, while the Kestrel Initial Demonstrator was sent on a controlled re-entry trajectory.

At the heart of the mission was Anvesha, a defence satellite developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. Equipped with advanced imaging systems, it is designed to sharpen India’s ability to track and map hostile positions with high precision, significantly strengthening the country’s intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities.

Yet the launch was about more than national security. It also underscored a quiet shift in India’s space economy. Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space contributed seven satellites to the mission—the largest single participation by an Indian private company on a PSLV flight so far.

The message from Sriharikota was unmistakable: India’s state launcher is back on track, its defence ambitions are sharpening—and its private space firms are no longer riding shotgun, but starting to shape the journey.