India to conduct first space launch of 2026 with PSLV-C62, says Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium Director

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 11 (ANI): Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium Director, B. R. Guruprasad, on Sunday, stated that India is going to conduct its first launch of the year in space on Monday with Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C62.
"Tomorrow, on January 12, 2026, is the first launch of the year being conducted by India. This launch vehicle is one of the most reliable ones in the world. The PSLV has also launched spacecraft such as Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan, Aditya-L1, and others," he said.
Speaking to ANI, Guruprasad said that the launch will mark the 64th launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It will take an Earth observation satellite named "Anvesha, EOS-N1" to a polar sun-synchronised orbit, at least a hundred kilometres above the Earth's surface.
"It will be the 64th launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. This vehicle is going to take a satellite called Anvesha, EOS-N1, an Earth observation satellite, into a polar sun-synchronous orbit, probably a couple of hundred kilometres above the Earth's surface," he added.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in a post on X had stated, "The Launch of PSLV-C62 Mission is scheduled on 12 January 2026 at 10:17 hrs IST from First Launch Pad (FLP), SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota."
Earlier, on December 24, ISRO successfully launched the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite for the United States' AST SpaceMobile. The satellite was successfully placed in orbit, and the mission was declared a success.
The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 8:55 AM IST.
The mission deployed the next-generation communication satellite designed to provide high-speed cellular broadband directly to smartphones worldwide. The BlueBird Block-2 spacecraft would be the heaviest payload to be launched into Low Earth Orbit in the history of the LVM3 rocket. (ANI)