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Isro creates history with 100th rocket launch; GSLV-F15 carries NVS-02

The launch was conducted after a 27-hour countdown and the 50.9-metre tall rocket took off at around 6.23 am from the second launch pad in Sriharikota

Isro

This was the first mission by ISRO in 2025.

Shine Jacob Chennai

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday morning created history by successfully launching their GSLV-F15 and placing NVS-02 into orbit, marking the 100th rocket mission from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
 
“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 the successful launch of GSLV-F15 / NVS-02 Mission. From a humble beginning by Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan and few others, it has been an amazing journey,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh wrote on social media platform X. 
 
This was the first mission by ISRO in 2025. The satellite was “precisely injected into the required (GTO) orbit. This mission is the 100th launch, which is a very significant milestone,” said ISRO Chairman V Narayanan after the launch.
 
 
The launch was conducted after a 27-hour countdown when the 50.9-metre tall rocket took off at around 6.23 am from the second launch pad in Sriharikota. The role of GSLV-F15 with its indigenous cryogenic stage was to place the NVS-02 satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. This comes after the success of the GSLV-F12 mission that carried navigation satellite NVS-01 on May 29, 2023.
 
The first launch from Sriharikota was on August 10, 1979, when an experimental flight Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3 E10) carrying the Rohini Technology Payload took off from the facility. Interestingly, former president A P J Abdul Kalam was then with ISRO and was the director of that mission. The first major success from the port was the launch of the Rohini satellite, RS-1, on July 18, 1980.
 
The NVS-02 satellite will add to the existing NavIC constellation, increasing the number of operational satellites from four to five. This will help in improving the accuracy of positioning services in India and neighbouring areas. Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) includes seven satellites, giving independent positioning services similar to the global positioning system (GPS). The satellite will look into applications like terrestrial, aerial and maritime navigation, precision agriculture, fleet management, location based services in mobile devices, orbit determination for satellites, Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based applications, emergency and timing services, ISRO said.
 
NavIC will not just provide accurate position, velocity and timing (PVT) service to users in India, but will also provide services to over 1,500 km beyond the country's area.
 
The GSLV-F15 is the 17th flight of this type of rocket and the eighth operational flight with a domestic Cryogenic stage engine. NVS-02 satellite was designed, developed and integrated at the UR Satellite Centre (URSC).  (With inputs from PTI)

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First Published: Jan 29 2025 | 10:18 AM IST

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