NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully completed its 100th launch from the Sriharikota spaceport with the lift-off of the GSLV-F15 rocket carrying the NVS-02 satellite. The launch took place at 6:23 am on Monday, marking a significant achievement for India’s space programme.
“Mission Success!
The GSLV-F15/NVS-02 mission has been successfully accomplished.
“India reaches new heights in space navigation!”, ISRO wrote in a post on X from its official handle.
Jitendra Singh, MoS, Science and Technology, congratulated ISRO for “achieving the landmark milestone”.
“It’s a privilege to be associated with the Department of Space at the historic moment of this record feat.
Team #ISRO, you have once again made India proud with successful launch of GSLV-F15 / NVS-02 Mission”, he wrote on X.
The mission is also the first for the space agency’s Chairman V Narayanan, who assumed office earlier this month.
“The satellite was precisely injected into the required (GTO) orbit. This mission is the 100th launch which is a very significant milestone,” Narayanan said in his address after the launch.
The launch of the NVS-02 satellite contributes to upgrading India’s Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), known as NavIC.
Five second-generation NavIC satellites NVS-01/02/03/04/05 are envisaged to augment NavIC base layer constellation with enhanced features for ensuring continuity of services. The NVS series of satellites incorporates L1 band signals additionally to widen the services.
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 platform with a lift-off mass of 2250 kg and power handling capability of 3 kW. Placed at 111.75ºE it replaces IRNSS-1E.
NVS-02 uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation.
NVS-01, the first of the second-generation satellites, was launched on board GSLV-F12 on May 29, 2023. For the first time, an indigenous atomic clock was flown aboard NVS-01.