ISRO Celebrates Historic 100th Launch with GSLV-F15 and NVS-02 Satellite: A Leap into the Future of Navigation

Sriharikota, India: On January 17, 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a historic milestone, successfully completing its 100th launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The momentous event marked the liftoff of the GSLV-F15 rocket carrying the NVS-02 satellite, a key part of India's Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system, boosting the country's homegrown GPS technology.

The GSLV-F15 blasted off from Sriharikota’s second launch pad, initiating the satellite's journey toward the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), a crucial orbit for satellites that need a fixed position relative to Earth's surface for continuous monitoring. Within 19 minutes of liftoff, NVS-02 successfully reached its destination in space.

The NVS-02 satellite will enhance NavIC’s services by improving navigation accuracy, ensuring precise Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) services across India and up to 1,500 kilometers beyond its borders. The satellite carries an advanced navigation payload operating in three frequency bands and features a Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (RAFS) for accurate timekeeping. These advancements will positively impact sectors like transportation, defense, logistics, emergency services, fleet management, and even mobile location services.

This launch also marks the ongoing efforts to expand the NavIC constellation with five second-generation satellites (NVS-01 to NVS-05) to provide enhanced capabilities. NVS-01 was launched in May 2023, and now NVS-02 further strengthens the reliability and security of India's satellite navigation services.

The historic achievement was acknowledged by newly appointed ISRO chief, V Narayanan, who credited the agency's past leadership for paving the way to this significant moment. The 100th launch commemorates the agency’s exceptional growth, following a history of successful missions such as Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, Aditya L-1, Gaganyaan’s developmental flights, and numerous PSLV, GSLV, and SSLV launches.