Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jun 16: After suffering back-to-back setbacks with its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to return to flight operations by the end of June or early July.

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said on Monday that the next PSLV launch is expected soon.

“As for PSLV, we are planning by the end of June or beginning of July,” Singh said on the sidelines of an event marking 12 years of the Narendra Modi-led government.

ISRO has not carried out any launches since the failure of a PSLV mission in January this year, when the rocket was unable to place the Earth observation satellite EOS-N1 into orbit. Earlier, in May 2025, another PSLV mission failed to inject the Earth observation satellite EOS-09 into its intended orbit.

In both missions, the launch vehicle encountered problems during its third stage, leading to mission failure.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the failures were linked to certain components that were not manufactured by ISRO. For upcoming launches, the space agency has reportedly changed the vendor supplying those components.

Although the findings of the failure assessment committee have not been made public, ISRO has maintained that the two mission failures resulted from separate technical faults.

Apart from the PSLV mission, the first orbital launch by private space company Skyroot Aerospace is also expected in the coming months. The payload fairing for its Vikram-I rocket, which houses satellites during launch, was transported to the spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in April.

Speaking about ISRO’s broader plans, Singh said the agency’s primary focus remains the ambitious Gaganyaan programme.

“The Gaganyaan mission got delayed for a number of reasons, including Covid-19 when the astronauts who were under training had to be called back from Russia. But the hope is to complete all test flights before the end of the year,” he said.

Before India can launch its first crewed space mission, ISRO is required to conduct at least two uncrewed orbital flights. A sub-orbital test mission may also be carried out if necessary before astronauts are sent into space.

The planned PSLV launch is expected to mark a crucial step in restoring confidence in ISRO’s most reliable launch vehicle after two consecutive mission failures.