SRIHARIKOTA: On Wednesday (January 29, 2025) morning, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made history by successfully launching its GSLV-F15 rocket carrying the NVS-02 satellite. The launch took place at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and marked the 100th rocket mission from this spaceport.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh congratulated ISRO on social media, saying, "It is an honour to witness this historic moment. The ISRO Team! you have once again made India great!. From the humble beginnings of Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan, and a few others, this journey has been incredible."

This was ISRO’s first mission of 2025. The satellite was placed precisely into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan, who took charge on January 14, called it a significant milestone. Before leading ISRO, he served as the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).

The launch followed a 27-hour countdown. At 6:23 AM, the 50.9-meter-tall rocket lifted off from Sriharikota’s second launch pad. The GSLV-F15, equipped with an indigenous cryogenic engine, successfully placed the NVS-02 satellite in orbit. This follows the success of the GSLV-F12 mission in May 2023, which launched the NVS-01 navigation satellite.

Sriharikota’s first-ever launch happened on August 10, 1979, with the experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3 E10). Interestingly, former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was the director of that mission. The spaceport's first major success came on July 18, 1980, with the launch of the Rohini satellite (RS-1).

The NVS-02 satellite will enhance India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system by increasing the number of active satellites from four to five. NavIC, which consists of seven satellites, provides independent positioning services similar to GPS. This satellite will improve accuracy for navigation in India and nearby regions. It will be used for various applications, including land, air, and sea navigation, precision agriculture, fleet management, mobile location services, satellite orbit tracking, IoT-based applications, and emergency response systems.

NavIC does not just offer precise positioning services within India—it extends coverage up to 1,500 km beyond the country’s borders.

The GSLV-F15 is the 17th flight of this rocket model and the eighth operational mission using an indigenous cryogenic engine. The NVS-02 satellite was designed and built at the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC).