ISRO is set to launch its 100th GSLV rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on January 29. GSLV F15 will blast off from the second launch pad at 6:23 am on January 29 with NVS-02 navigation satellite.
This will be the 100th to lift off from Sriharikota. The Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) was the first to take off from Sriharikota on August 10, 1979.
“Standing tall and ready for the skies! Here’s the mighty GSLV-F15 all set to launch the NVS-02 satellite,” ISRO tweeted on X.
GSLV-F15 is the 17th flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and 11th with an indigenous cryo stage.
“It is the 8th operational flight of GSLV with an indigenous Cryogenic stage and 100th Launch from India’s Spaceport Sriharikota,” ISRO said.
GSLV-F15 payload fairing is metallic with a diameter of 3.4 meters and will place NVS-02 in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
NVS-02 is part of the second generation satellites for Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system -- India’s own navigation system.
The navigation satellite system will provide Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) service to users in India as well as to regions extending about 1500 km beyond Indian land mass.
The new NVS-02 satellite has new features such as L1 frequency band support which will improve the services and reliability.
“The NVS-02 satellite is the second generation of NavIC satellites, featuring a standard I-2K bus platform. It will have a lift-off mass of 2,250 kg, power handling capability of around 3 kW, navigation payload in L1, L5, and S bands, ranging payload in C-band and will be positioned at 111.75 degrees E, replacing IRNSS-1E,” ISRO said.
NavIC will provide two types of services, SPS and RS. SPS will have position accuracy better than 20 meters and timing accuracy better than 40 nanoseconds.
