ISLAMABAD, (APP): India has suffered five rocket launch failures during last five years, resulting in an estimated total economic loss of around $335 million due to destroyed satellites and mission costs, while also causing significant embarrassment to India’s space program. The PSLV, long considered India’s reliable workhorse with only two failures between 1993 and 2017, has now faced back-to-back third-stage anomalies in 2025-2026, grounding it for investigations and highlighting institutional decline. Strategic implications are severe, as multiple failures involved national security payloads, including surveillance and navigation satellites critical for defense capabilities. Total for the five failures: ₹2,200-2,800 crore (approximately $265-335 million), equivalent to about 15% of ISRO’s 2025-26 budget of ₹24,000 crore, placing a heavy burden on Indian taxpayers. These repeated failures undermine ambitions for an $8 billion space economy by 2030, damage dual-use technology credibility (potentially affecting programs like Agni missile series using similar solid fuel technology), and contribute to international embarrassment for India’s space program.

Source: The Patriot March 06, 2026 11:45 UTC