Over a year after the NVS-02 navigation satellite failed to reach its intended orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has revealed what caused the mission setback and the corrective steps taken since then.
NVS-02, the second satellite in India’s NVS navigation series, was launched successfully on January 29, 2025 aboard the GSLV-F15 rocket. The spacecraft was placed into an elliptical transfer orbit measuring 170 km at its closest point to Earth and 37,785 km at its farthest.
The satellite separated normally from the rocket, and initial operations, including deployment of its solar panels and stabilising its orientation for power generation, were completed without…