A powerful Indian rocket will return to flight tonight (Jan. 11), and you can watch its bounceback mission live.
The PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) is a four-stage rocket that debuted in 1993. Tonight’s mission will be its first since a May 2025 failure that resulted in the loss of ISRO’s EOS-09 Earth-observing satellite.
That was the third failure for the 145.7-foot-tall (44.4 meters) PSLV out of 63 total liftoffs. The rocket has successfully lofted a number of high-profile payloads during its three decades of operation, including the Chandrayaan-1 moon probe in October 2008, the Mars Orbiter Mission in November 2013 and, in September 2023, Aditya-L1, India’s first dedicated sun-studying spacecraft.
EOS-N1, also known as Anvesha, is a small Earth-observation satellite. Multiple sources identify it as a hyperspectral imaging satellite, meaning it will study our planet in hundreds of different wavelengths of light. And it will likely do so for the Indian military.
“The satellite will constantly scan the Earth’s surface, sending back images that can generate valuable intelligence,” wrote The Tribune, an English-language daily paper based in northern India.
“It will join India’s growing family of spy satellites that use radar and optical technology,” the outlet added. “India has an active program to develop a fleet of military satellites for surveillance and communication.”
The other payloads riding the PSLV tonight are a diverse bunch. Among them are a Thai-U.K. Earth-observing satellite, a Brazilian satellite designed to help distressed fishing boats, an in-orbit fueling demonstration by an Indian company and a reentry capsule from the Spanish startup Orbital Paradigm.
All of the payloads will head to low Earth orbit tonight except the reentry capsule, which is known as KID (Kestrel Initial technology Demonstrator). It will separate from the PSLV’s fourth stage late in the flight and come back to Earth for a splashdown in the South Pacific.
Tonight’s mission will be the ninth organized by NewSpace India Limited, ISRO’s commercial arm.
