Published 12:19 IST, January 28th 2025
Countdown for ISRO's 100th Mission Begins at Sriharikota: All You Need to Know
The 27-hour countdown for ISRO's historic 100th mission from this spaceport, launch of a Navigation satellite onboard a GSLV rocket commenced on Tuesday.

Sriharikota: The 27-hour countdown for ISRO's historic 100th mission from this spaceport, launch of a Navigation satellite onboard a GSLV rocket commenced on Tuesday, sources in the space agency said. Also, this would be the first mission for ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, who assumed office on January 13.
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with indigenous Cryogenic upper stage in its 17th flight, carrying the navigation satellite NVS-02 is scheduled for lift-off at 6.23 am on January 29 from the second launch pad at Sriharikota.
The navigation satellite is the second in the series of the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) aimed to provide accurate position, velocity and timing to users in the Indian sub-continent as well as to regions about 1,500 km beyond the Indian land mass.
"The 27.30 hour countdown commenced at 02.53 am on Tuesday," multiple sources told PTI.
The 50.9 metre tall GSLV-F15 follows the GSLV-F12 mission which successfully carried navigation satellite NVS-01, the first of the second generation satellites on May 29, 2023.
Research and Development
NavIC comprises five second generation satellites--NVS-01/02/03/04/05 envisaged to augment NavIC base layer constellation with enhanced features for ensuring continuity of services.
The NVS-02 satellite designed and developed by the U R Satellite Centre weighs about 2,250 kg. It has navigation payload in L1, L5 and S bands in addition to ranging payload in C-band like its predecessor NVS-01.
The key applications the satellite would be used for are terrestrial, aerial and maritime navigation, precision agriculture, fleet management, location based services in mobile devices, orbit determination for satellites, Internet-of-Things (IoT) based applications, emergency and timing services, ISRO said.
President Droupadi Murmu Praised ISRO
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday lauded ISRO for its giant leaps in space in recent years.
Addressing the nation on the eve of the 76th Republic Day , Murmu said India became the fourth country to successfully conduct a space docking experiment.
"The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been taking giant leaps in space in recent years. This month, ISRO once again made the nation proud with its successful space docking experiment. India has now become the fourth country in the world to have this capability," she said.
Murmu also noted that the Genome India Project had not only been an exciting venture in exploring nature but also a veritable defining moment in the history of science in India.
"Under its flagship programme, the genome sequencing of 10,000 Indians was made available for further research this month. This pathbreaking project will open new vistas in biotechnology research and also give a fillip to the public healthcare system," the president said.
With PTI Inputs
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Updated 14:37 IST, January 28th 2025