On Wednesday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the NVS-02 navigation satellite into geostationary orbit.
According to a report by Space.com, the launch took place at 03:53 central European time from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island, off India’s southeast coast.
The satellite was carried by the 50.9-meter Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and reached its designated orbit about 19 minutes after liftoff.
This mission was a milestone for ISRO, as it marked the 100th launch from the Sriharikota spaceport, which has been operational since its first orbital launch in August 1979.
The NVS-02 satellite is the second of five next-generation navigation satellites that India plans to deploy to enhance its independent regional navigation system, NavIC. The first satellite in the series, NVS-01, was launched in May 2023, also using the GSLV rocket.
India began developing the NavIC system about a decade ago to provide precise positioning services across the country and surrounding regions.
Meanwhile, on January 24, the American company SpaceX launched another batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites into orbit.
