Sriharikota, India – India has kicked off its space ambitions for 2025 with a successful satellite launch, marking a significant milestone in the country’s space program.
ISRO’s GLSV rocket launches the NVS-02 navigation satellite to orbit. Image credit: ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre today at 7:53 p.m. EST (0053 GMT, 6:23 a.m. local time). This mission marks the 100th launch from the historic spaceport on Sriharikota, an island off India's southeastern coast. The site’s first orbital mission took place in August 1979.
NVS-02 Joins India’s NavIC Navigation System
The 167-foot-tall (50.9-meter) GSLV rocket successfully placed NVS-02, the second satellite in India’s next-generation Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system, into geostationary transfer orbit just 19 minutes after liftoff.
NavIC is India’s independent regional navigation satellite system, designed to provide highly accurate positioning, velocity, and timing (PVT) data for users in India and regions extending 930 miles (1,500 km) beyond the Indian landmass. The system offers two services:
Standard Positioning Service (SPS): Available for civilian use, providing a positioning accuracy of better than 20 meters and a timing accuracy of better than 40 nanoseconds.
Restricted Service (RS): An encrypted service for authorized users, such as military and government agencies.
The NVS-02 satellite, weighing 2,250 kg, carries navigation payloads operating on L1, L5, and S bands, along with a ranging payload in C-band. It will replace IRNSS-1E at 111.75°E and incorporates a combination of indigenous and imported atomic clocks for precise time estimation.
The satellite was designed and developed at U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) with contributions from multiple ISRO research centers. Before launch, it underwent thermal vacuum and dynamic testing in late 2024 to ensure its ability to withstand the harsh space environment.
Building the Next-Gen NavIC Constellation
India has been developing NavIC for over a decade. The first second-generation satellite in this series, NVS-01, was launched in May 2023, making history by carrying India’s first indigenous atomic clock. ISRO plans to launch a total of five NVS satellites (NVS-01 to NVS-05) to enhance NavIC’s capabilities and ensure uninterrupted service.
This launch marks India’s first space mission of 2025, following five successful missions in 2024. Among last year’s highlights was the SpaDeX satellite-docking demonstration on December 30, a major step toward autonomous in-orbit docking capabilities.
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