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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) morning launched its historic 100th launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The GSLV-F15 with the NVS-02 satellite lifted off from the spaceport’s second launch pad at 6.23 a.m.
“The first launch of 2025 has been successfully accomplished. The satellite has been placed into the intended orbit,” said ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan who assumed charge of the space agency earlier this month.
NVS-02, the second satellite in the NVS series, is configured with navigation payload in L1, L5 and S bands in addition to ranging payload in C-band like its predecessor-NVS-01. It is configured on standard I-2K bus platforms with a lift-off mass of 2,250 kg and power handling capability of ~3 kW. It will be placed at 111.75ºE, replacing IRNSS-1E. NVS-02 uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation.
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The GSLV-F15 is the 17th flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and 11th flight with Indigenous Cryo stage. It is the 8th operational flight of GSLV with an indigenous Cryogenic stage.
NVS-02 satellite was designed, developed and integrated at the U. R. Satellite Centre (URSC) with the support of other satellite-based work centres.
The first launch, on August 10, 1979, was the experimental flight of Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3 E10) carrying the Rohini Technology Payload, which was only partially successful according to the space agency.
