ISRO Launches NVS-03, Restoring NavIC to Four Satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation launched navigation satellite NVS-03 aboard its GSLV-F18 rocket on October 30, restoring India’s NavIC system to its minimum operational configuration of four satellites, according to ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan. The rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. NVS-03 was placed into an elliptical transfer orbit, according to ISRO. The launch supports the Navigation with Indian Constellation, or NavIC, India’s regional positioning, navigation and timing system. Narayanan said the launch restored the constellation to its minimum operational configuration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO’s scientists and engineers in a post on X, saying the mission would strengthen NavIC and support navigation services. He also said the satellite’s capabilities would advance India’s efforts toward self-reliance in critical technologies. NVS-03 is the third satellite in the next-generation NavIC programme. It carries an indigenous atomic clock and adds support for the L1 navigation signal alongside the L5 and S-band signals, according to details reported about the mission. NavIC is designed to provide...