SRIHARIKOTA, October 31: ISRO launched the GSLV-F18 rocket carrying the NVS-03 navigation satellite at 11.51 p.m. IST on Friday, October 30, from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The mission is expected to restore standalone positioning, navigation and timing services through India’s indigenous NavIC system.
NVS-03 is the fourth satellite in the constellation; its addition will bring the system to the minimum four satellites required for the intended standalone service.
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said the satellite was injected into its intended orbit with high accuracy. Its perigee was 170.31 km against a target of 170.36 km, while its apogee was 38,080 km against a target of 37,247 km.
The mission marked the GSLV’s 20th launch and came 56 days after the previous GSLV-F17 mission—the shortest interval between two GSLV launches, according to ISRO. Narayanan said the vehicle had placed 34 tonnes of spacecraft into orbit so far.
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NavIC provides regional coverage over India and an area extending about 1,500 km beyond its borders. Its signals support road and maritime navigation, transport, agriculture, emergency response and disaster management. Precise timing is also important for telecommunications, power grids and other critical infrastructure.
Dinesh Kumar Singh, Director of the U. R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), said NVS-03 was developed under the centre’s leadership with contributions from other ISRO centres. Its transmitters broadcast in the L-band and S-band, enabling compatible receivers to determine their positions.
Singh said the second-generation satellites feature an indigenously developed atomic clock that provides nanosecond-level timing accuracy. He said sovereign navigation and timing capabilities would help protect critical infrastructure from possible disruption of external signals.
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh congratulated ISRO on the launch in a post on X, calling it a milestone for India’s indigenous navigation capabilities.
