INDIA'S NAVIGATION SATELLITE BLASTS OFF: And Restores Its GPS Rival to Full Strength

India's GSLV-F18 rocket lifted off from Sriharikota at 11:51 p.m. IST on Friday, October 30, carrying the NVS-03 navigation satellite, and the Indian Space Research Organisation confirmed the mission a success.

“Mission Success! GSLV-F18 has successfully placed NVS-03 in the intended orbit,” ISRO said on X in the early hours of October 31 IST. The rocket launched from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, right on its target time.

NVS-03 is the third satellite in ISRO's second-generation navigation series, built to keep India's regional navigation service, NavIC, running as older spacecraft age. It carries an indigenous atomic clock, the third such clock placed in space for the system.

The mission was the 20th flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. After separating from the rocket, NVS-03 must still raise its own orbit toward its final geosynchronous slot before it can begin contributing navigation services — that commissioning work is not yet complete.

ISRO chairman V. Narayanan said the success restored the NavIC constellation to the four-satellite level needed for basic standalone positioning. The satellite weighs about 2,250 kg, according to ISRO's chairman. The launch followed the failure of its predecessor, NVS-02, launched in January 2025, making NVS-03 an important recovery for India's independent positioning, navigation and timing capability.