ISRO’s 100th Mission Faces Setback: NVS-02 Satellite Encounters Technical Glitch

India’s latest navigation satellite faces orbit challenges after a successful launch; ISRO strategizes alternatives to maximize utility.

February 3, 2025: ISRO’s Landmark Mission Encounters Technical Hurdle
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s 100th rocket mission, launched on Wednesday with great fanfare, hit an unexpected snag on Sunday as the NVS-02 navigation satellite suffered a critical technical glitch.

Also Read: ISRO Achieves Milestone with 100th Launch, Successfully Deploys NVS-02 Satellite

ISRO, in an official update, stated that the satellite’s liquid engine—responsible for placing it into its designated geostationary orbit—failed to operate as intended. “The valves for admitting the oxidizer to fire the thrusters for orbit raising did not open,” the space agency reported.

Also Read: ISRO’s 100th Mission: Countdown Begins for Historic GSLV Launch of Navigation Satellite

The satellite, built by U R Rao Satellite Centre, remains in a highly elliptical orbit, ranging from 170 kilometers at its nearest point to 36,577 kilometers at its farthest. Efforts are underway to determine if the satellite can still fulfill some of its intended navigation tasks from this orbit.

Also Read: Satellites Prepare for Space ‘Handshake’! ISRO’s SpaDeX Mission On Verge of History

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Challenges for ISRO’s NVS-02 Satellite
The 2,250-kg NVS-02 is part of the second-generation NavIC constellation, India’s regional navigation system developed after the 1999 Kargil conflict. NavIC was envisioned as an indigenous alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS) after India was denied access to high-quality GPS data during the conflict.

Despite the satellite systems being declared healthy, the failure of the liquid engine has left space experts skeptical about its ability to achieve its objectives.

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Mixed Track Record for NavIC Satellites
NVS-02 joins a list of NavIC satellites that have faced operational challenges. Since the program’s inception in 2013, ISRO has launched 11 satellites under the NavIC program, but six of these have either failed entirely or underperformed due to various technical issues.

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ISRO’s Resilience and Alternate Strategies
This mission also marked the debut leadership of ISRO Chairman V Narayanan and was the agency’s first launch of the year. Despite this setback, ISRO remains optimistic, exploring alternative mission strategies to maximize the satellite’s utility in its current elliptical orbit.

The GSLV-F15 carrying the satellite was successfully launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 6:23 am on Wednesday, signifying a significant milestone for ISRO’s space exploration journey.

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Tags:

ISRO NVS-02 Glitch, NavIC Satellite Failure, Indian Space Research Organisation, GSLV-F15 Launch, Regional GPS System, Space Exploration Challenges, V Narayanan ISRO, India Satellite Program