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India’s first launch of 2025 sends NVS-02 navigation satellite into orbit

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HELSINKI — India conducted its first launch of the year late Tuesday, sending a new-generation navigation satellite towards geostationary orbit.

A Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk II lifted off at 7:53 p.m. Eastern (0053 UTC) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Aboard was the NVS-02 satellite, sent into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite is the second of five new-generation spacecraft for the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). NVS-01 launched in 2023.

“I am extremely happy to announce from the spaceport of ISRO that the first launch of this year, 2025, has been successfully accomplished, with the GSLV F15 launch vehicle precisely injecting the navigation satellite NVS-02 in the required intended orbit,” new ISRO chairman V. Narayanan said, confirming launch success.

The independent NavIC system is designed to provide accurate real-time positioning, velocity and timing services to India and surrounding areas. NavIC provides a Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for public use and a Restricted Service (RS) for military and strategic applications.

The 2,250-kilogram NVS-02 will be placed at 111.75 degrees East, replacing IRNSS-1E, launched in 2016. The satellite uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The GSLV launcher is a three-stage vehicle with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages and four liquid boosters. 

The mission was the first of 10 orbital launches planned by India in 2025, which would mark a domestic launch record. Major missions include a joint Earth science mission between NASA and ISRO, named NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), expected to launch around March on a GSLV rocket, and an uncrewed test flight for Gaganyaan human spaceflight program on a human-rated LVM-3 launcher. The first launch of the Vikram-1 for private company Skyroot Aerospace could also take place this year.

Tuesday’s mission was the 100th launch from the spaceport on Sriharikota, a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal on India’s southeastern coast. The first launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre took place in August 1979.

ISRO officials expressed confidence in accelerating the launch cadence, with Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director S. Unnikrishnan Nair stating, “I am sure we can achieve the 200th mark faster because of the vibrant ecosystem.”

Earlier this month India’s cabinet approved the establishment of a third launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre for a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV).

India’s space ambitions include becoming only the fourth country to develop independent human spaceflight capabilities. Beyond this, the country aims to construct the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (Indian Space Station) by 2035, and conduct a crewed moon landing by 2040.

ISRO successfully conducted an on-orbit docking test Jan. 16 using two Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) spacecraft. The accomplishment is a step forward for India’s human spaceflight plans and further missions such as the Chandrayaan-4 lunar south pole sample return mission.

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