Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge congratulated the ISRO team after EOS-05, the country’s first imaging satellite designed to operate from geosynchronous orbit, was successfully placed into its intended sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit. He said the mission would strengthen Earth-observation capabilities and credited scientists, engineers and researchers for advancing the space programme.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also described the launch as a landmark achievement that would add to the country’s strategic capabilities. He said the success would provide a morale boost to ISRO, while alleging that the organisation had been facing pressure as the government reshaped its role in the expanding space sector.
Ramesh said the country should salute ISRO’s resilience and wish it success in future missions despite what he called a “radical role reconfiguration” being undertaken at the instance of the Prime Minister’s Office. He claimed the shift would “change the very character” of an institution that had built formidable scientific and technological capabilities over decades.
The criticism came alongside unequivocal praise for the mission. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra congratulated the ISRO team, saying its work and dedication continued to take the country’s space programme to new heights.
ISRO said GSLV-F17 successfully placed EOS-05 into the planned sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch vehicle lifted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2.55 am on Friday, and the satellite was separated into orbit about 18 minutes later.
EOS-05 weighs 2,367 kg and is an advanced Earth-observation spacecraft. ISRO describes it as the country’s first imaging satellite from geosynchronous orbit, a position that enables repeated observation of large areas and can support applications requiring frequent imagery.
The mission was the 19th flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. It also marked ISRO’s first successful launch of 2026 after a relatively quiet operational period, giving the agency an important flight success as several major human spaceflight, planetary and technology-development programmes remain under way.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the launch an outstanding achievement and a proud moment, saying EOS-05 reflected the excellence, innovation and growing capabilities of the space sector. He also highlighted the increasing partnership between ISRO and domestic industry, arguing that it was adding strength and scale to the national space programme.
That partnership is at the centre of the political dispute. The government has progressively opened space activities to private companies since reforms announced in 2020 and the Indian Space Policy 2023, allowing non-government entities to build satellites and launch vehicles, provide space-based services and use authorised infrastructure.
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe, has been tasked with promoting, authorising and supervising private space activity. Government data released in August said about 440 space technology start-ups were registered in the country and 113 authorisations had been granted to 52 non-government entities.
The government says the changes are intended to create a broader national space ecosystem in which industry undertakes more commercial production and routine operations while ISRO concentrates increasingly on research, advanced technologies, scientific missions and strategic infrastructure.
IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka said in August that launch-vehicle and satellite production was being moved progressively to industry, with technologies transferred from ISRO to private companies. The government has also expanded commercialisation through NewSpace India Limited and eased foreign investment rules for parts of the space sector.
Congress has challenged the direction and scale of that transition. Ramesh last month accused the government of pursuing an aggressive privatisation agenda and argued that any restructuring must protect the capacities, competencies and institutional culture developed within ISRO.
Under a public-private framework announced for Earth observation, private entities can design, build, own and operate satellite constellations, including ground infrastructure and downstream data services for government users.
