Petrol pump in space, AI lab, orbital cybercafe: All that Isro lost in space

The humid air at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota was charged with more than just the usual pre-launch tension. On Monday, January 12, 2026, at precisely 10:18 am IST, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) ignited its "workhorse" rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), as part of its 62nd mission, PSLV-C62.

This was not just the first orbital foray of the year; it was the beginning of a high-stakes celestial ballet carrying 16 satellites, each a pioneer in its own right. However, the mission failed to deploy the satellites in orbit.

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From a "petrol pump" in the sky to a 502-gram telescope and an orbital cybercafe, this mission aimed to be a definitive list of firsts to mark India’s leap into a global space superpower.

However, the satellite could not be deployed into Earth orbit due to technical glitches.

WORLD’S FIRST SPACE CYBERCAFE

In a bold move towards democratising the stars, the MOI-1 satellite launched India’s first orbital AI-image laboratory. Developed by Hyderabad-based startups TakeMe2Space and Eon Space Labs, the satellite was meant to serve as "Space Cloud."

Instead of the traditional model where raw data is sent to Earth for processing, MOI-1 was meant to edge computing to analyse images in real-time, 500 kilometres above our heads.

The most intriguing "first" here was the commercial model: a space cybercafe.

Ronak Samantray, Founder of TakeMe2Space, explained in an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in that to access the satellite, "you don't need any IQ test, you don't need to write an examination."

TakeMe2Space wants to make programmable satellites as accessible as personal computers once became. However, the goals remain unfilled as yet.

The model is simple: "Developers don't pay for the data captured by the satellite, they only pay for satellite time, at just $2 (Rs 180) per minute."

Samantray also said that the company is focused on "democratising space for every citizen," asserting that "space is not just for the elite; it is for the dreamer in every classroom."

WORLD’S LIGHTEST EYE: MIRA

Tucked within the MOI-1 was Mira, the world’s lightest space telescope. Weighing a mere 502 grams, this optical marvel was carved from a single, solid block of fused silica glass by Eon Space Labs.

Conventional telescopes rely on multiple lenses that could be jolted out of alignment by launch vibrations. Mira's monolithic design made it virtually indestructible.

Sanjay Kumar, co-founder of Eon Space Labs, in an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, described it as a "smart telescope in space."

He highlighted that while India still depends on imports for core optical elements, Mira is a "made-from-scratch" Indian product.

Kumar said, "We are not just building a telescope, we are building India's strategic autonomy in high-resolution imaging," noting that the design slashes deployment costs by 70 per cent.

INDIA’S FIRST SPACE PETROL PUMP

A revolutionary aspect of the mission was AayulSAT, developed by the Chennai-based startup OrbitAID Aerospace. Traditionally, a satellite’s lifespan is dictated by its fuel tank; once empty, the asset becomes space debris.

AayulSAT aimed to shatter this limitation. It was India’s first on-orbit refuelling technology demonstrator, and was meant to test a proprietary Standard Interface for Docking and Refuelling Port (SIDRP).

Sakthikumar Ramachandran, Founder and CEO of OrbitAID, told IndiaToday.in in an exclusive conversation, "AayulSAT is more than a mission, it is the foundation of the on-orbit economy."

By proving that fuel can be transferred in microgravity, India would have joined a select group of four nations capable of extending satellite life.

Ramachandran noted that "we are building the petrol pumps of the future," ensuring that the stars remain a sustainable frontier for generations to come.

A GLOBAL RIDESHARE AND RE-ENTRY CAPSULE

PSLV-C62 also carried a historic global cast. This included Munal, Nepal’s first satellite developed entirely by high school students, and a cluster of Brazilian satellites including the "Orbital Temple," an artistic memorial carrying 14,000 names.

Notably, the mission featured a unique European "first" with the Spanish Kestrel Initial Demonstrator (KID), though its debut became a trial by fire.

This 25-kg capsule was forced into a harrowing, unplanned atmospheric re-entry, plunging toward the South Pacific Ocean as the rocket’s fourth stage faltered. In a final act of defiance, the KID battled through a shroud of white-hot plasma, transmitting a pulse of critical data before disappearing into the deep, a lone survivor of a mission that slipped from the sky.

As the echoes of PSLV-C62’s ascent faded into a heavy silence this Monday morning, the ambition of a nation remained unyielding.