Overview
- A 22–22.5 hour countdown began at 12:48 pm IST on January 11, with liftoff targeted for 10:18 am IST on January 12 from the First Launch Pad at Sriharikota.
- The primary payload is DRDO’s EOS‑N1 (Anvesha), a hyperspectral Earth observation satellite designed for strategic surveillance and civilian applications.
- This is the 64th PSLV flight and ISRO’s first launch of 2026, commercially managed by NewSpace India Ltd and carrying multiple domestic and international co-passengers.
- ISRO plans to restart the rocket’s fourth stage roughly two hours after launch to de-boost and release the Spanish KID capsule for controlled re-entry and a South Pacific splashdown.
- The flight marks PSLV’s comeback after the May 18, 2025 C61 third-stage pressure anomaly that resulted in the loss of the EOS‑09 mission.