India successfully launched its 100th mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Tuesday, January 29, 2025. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk II lifted off at 7:53 p.m. Eastern (0053 UTC) carrying the NVS-02 navigation satellite. This satellite is the second of five new-generation spacecraft for the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system, designed to provide accurate real-time positioning, velocity, and timing services to India and surrounding areas.
The 2,250-kilogram NVS-02 was placed at 111.75 degrees East, replacing IRNSS-1E, launched in 2016. The satellite uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation. The GSLV launcher is a three-stage vehicle with solid, liquid, and cryogenic stages and four liquid boosters.
This mission was the first of 10 orbital launches planned by India in 2025, which would mark a domestic launch record. Major missions include a joint Earth science mission between NASA and ISRO, named NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), expected to launch around March on a GSLV rocket, and an uncrewed test flight for Gaganyaan human spaceflight program on a human-rated LVM-3 launcher. The first launch of the Vikram-1 for private company Skyroot Aerospace could also take place this year.