India’s NavIC navigation system: ISRO to launch NVS-03 satellite on Oct. 30
India aims to strengthen its NavIC system with a new navigation satellite: only three satellites are currently working, while at least four are needed for independent positioning.
Symbolic image · Photo: Gareeb Scientist / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the NVS-03 navigation satellite on Oct. 30. It is to lift off on a GSLV Mk II rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the news agency UNI and other Indian media reported. The satellite has a launch mass of 2,232 kilograms and is designed for twelve years of operation, according to GKToday.
NVS-03 is meant to strengthen NavIC, India’s satellite navigation system and its own alternative to the U.S. GPS. It is intended to provide positioning, navigation and timing signals for India and up to 1,500 kilometres beyond its borders. Only three satellites are currently operational, according to Channel IAM; the system needs at least four for independent positioning. Its predecessor, NVS-02, failed to reach its intended orbit after its launch in January 2025 because of a propulsion problem.
On board, according to GKToday, is an Indian-developed rubidium atomic clock from the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, which is meant to reduce dependence on imported clocks. NVS-03 is the third satellite of NavIC’s second generation. The launch follows two setbacks on PSLV missions, according to UNI.