ISRO To Launch GSLV-F18 Rocket Carrying NVS-03 Navigation Satellite On October 30

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its GSLV-F18 rocket carrying the NVS-03 navigation satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 11:51 PM on Friday.

ISRO announced on X that the GSLV-F18/NVS-03 mission would lift off from the space centre’s Second Launch Pad on October 30, 2026.

Launch Day!

The GSLV-F18/NVS-03 Mission is scheduled for launch today, 30 October 2026, at 23:51 hrs IST from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota.

Watch live: 30th October 2026, 23:20 hours IST onwards
https://t.co/Mbllc4lcM2

Mission details:
https://t.co/6YvrbYjFJI

#GSLVF18 #NVS03 #ISRO #NavIC

— ISRO (@isro) October 30, 2026

The mission will place NVS-03, the third satellite in India’s second-generation Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) series, into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

The launch will, however, mark the 20th flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

NVS-03 will further strengthen the NavIC constellation and help ISRO maintain uninterrupted navigation services.

The satellite carries an indigenous atomic clock alongside procured atomic clocks. It will, however, add the L1 navigation signal to the existing L5 and S signals, enhancing NavIC’s capabilities.

India developed NavIC as an independent regional navigation satellite system to provide accurate Position, Velocity and Timing (PVT) services across the country and an area extending around 1,500 km beyond its borders.

NavIC offers two services: the Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for civilian users and the Restricted Service (RS), an encrypted facility for authorised users.

ISRO plans to deploy five second-generation navigation satellites to strengthen the existing constellation and maintain service continuity.

The agency launched NVS-01, the first satellite in the series, aboard the GSLV-F12 mission on May 29, 2023.

The launch further marked the first flight of an indigenous atomic clock on an Indian navigation satellite.

The upgraded NavIC system will support transportation, location-based services and other applications that require reliable positioning, navigation and timing information.

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