By BlueShift | 2025-01-29

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) celebrated a milestone early January 29, launching a new-generation navigation satellite toward geostationary orbit.

The ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on schedule at 6.23am local time.

It was India's first launch of 2025 and the space agency's 100th launch from Sriharikota, a barrier island off India's southeastern coast.

"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," said new ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan, according to SpaceNews.

The 2,250kg NVS-02 is the second of five new-generation spacecraft for the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). NVS-01 launched in 2023.

The NavIC system is a constellation of seven satellites -- three placed in geostationary orbit at 32.5°E, 83°E and 129.5°E and four placed in inclined geosynchronous orbit with equatorial crossing of 55°E and 111.75°E with inclination of 29°, according to the ISRO.

NavIC is designed to provide accurate real-time positioning, velocity and timing services to India and surrounding areas up to about 1,500km beyond Indian territory.

It provides two services: Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for public use and a Restricted Service for military and strategic users.

SPS signals are interoperable with the other global navigation satellite system signals such as the Global Positioning System, Glonass, Galileo and BeiDou.

India's space ambitions

The first orbital liftoff from Sriharikota occurred in August 1979.

ISRO officials expressed confidence in accelerating India's launch rate.

"I am sure we can achieve the 200th mark faster because of the vibrant ecosystem," said Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director S. Unnikrishnan Nair, SpaceNews reported on January 29.

Former ISRO Chairman S. Somanath earlier this month said the space agency plans 10 orbital launches in 2025 including four GSLV launches, an LVM-3 and a human-rated LVM-3 launch for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, as well as three Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle missions and a launch of the SSLV solid rocket.

A joint Earth science mission between the US space agency and ISRO -- called NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar -- is expected to launch around March on a GSLV rocket.

India aims to be the fourth country to develop independent human spaceflight capabilities, after the United States, Russia and China.

It also aims to construct the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and conduct a crewed Moon landing by 2040.