ISRO's GSLV-F15 Rocket Successfully Launches NVS-02 Navigation Satellite from Sriharikota

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): A GSLV rocket carrying the navigation satellite NVS-02 lifted off from Sriharikota on Wednesday, marking the 100th mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This launch also marked the first mission under the leadership of newly appointed ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan and was the agency’s first launch of the year.

Following a 27.30-hour countdown, the 50.9-meter-tall Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F15) successfully lifted off from the second launch pad at precisely 6:23 AM with dense exhaust fumes visible at its base. This mission follows the successful launch of GSLV-F12, which deployed the NVS-01 navigation satellite on May 29, 2023.

The GSLV-F15 mission was the 17th flight of the GSLV series and the 11th flight using an indigenous cryogenic stage. It also marked the eighth operational flight of the rocket with this advanced technology. NVS-01, the first satellite in the second-generation navigation series was the first to be equipped with an indigenous atomic clock. Like its predecessor, NVS-02 has been designed with a navigation payload operating in L1, L5 and S bands along with a ranging payload in the C-band.