A view of ISRO’s GSLV-F17 liftoff from Sriharikota, marking another successful chapter in India’s space journey (Img: ISRO)
Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved another milestone in space exploration as it successfully launched the GSLV-F17 rocket carrying the Earth Observation Satellite EOS-05 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The 51.7-metre tall rocket lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 2:55 am on Friday after the completion of a 27.5-hour countdown.
The launch marks ISRO’s second major mission attempt of 2026 and further strengthens India’s growing space capabilities.
EOS-05 has been developed to provide high-resolution imaging of large areas of the Earth at frequent intervals. The satellite will play a crucial role in monitoring natural disasters and tracking environmental changes.
According to ISRO, the satellite will provide valuable data for cyclone tracking, cloudburst and thunderstorm monitoring, flood assessment, agriculture, forestry and water resource management.
The satellite is designed to act as a powerful “eye in the sky” to support government agencies and researchers with real-time Earth observation data.
The GSLV-F17 mission comes as a follow-up to the GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission, which could not achieve success in August 2021 due to a failure in the cryogenic upper stage ignition.
With the successful launch of EOS-05, ISRO has overcome the previous setback and moved ahead with its Earth observation satellite program.
The GSLV-F17 is a three-stage launch vehicle equipped with a cryogenic upper stage. The rocket has a lift-off mass of around 420.5 tonnes and is capable of placing advanced satellites into higher orbits.
The successful mission adds another achievement to India’s space journey and highlights ISRO’s continued progress in satellite technology and space research.
