LIFTOFF! ISRO launches the NVS-03 navigation satellite on GSLV-F18 from Sriharikota

ISRO launched its GSLV-F18 rocket carrying the NVS-03 navigation satellite from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, at 11:51 p.m. IST on October 30, 2026. It was the 20th flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, and the rocket is meant to place the satellite, which weighs nearly 5,000 pounds, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit about 19 minutes after liftoff. NVS-03 is the third satellite in ISRO’s second-generation NavIC series. The previous one, NVS-02, reached transfer orbit in January 2025 but could not be raised to its intended orbit because of a propulsion problem. Video Credit: ISRO