GSLV rocket carrying navigation satellite NVS-03 lifts off

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 30 (PTI) ISRO's GSLV rocket carrying the next-generation navigation satellite NVS-03 lifted off from this spaceport late on Friday.

    At the end of the 24-hour countdown, the 50-metre-tall GSLV-F18 lifted off majestically at a prefixed time of 11.51 pm and soared into dark skies from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.

    The three-stage rocket, with a lift-off mass of 420 tonne, is on a mission to deploy the NVS-03 satellite, weighing around 2,232 kg, into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

    According to ISRO, NVS-03 is the third satellite in next generation navigation satellite system envisaged for providing continuity of navigation services for IRNSS series.

    "The satellite carries indigenous Atomic clock, along with the procured Atomic clocks. It also includes L1 signal in addition to existing L5/S signals with coverage over India land mass and a region extending 1500 km around Indian geopolitical boundary," it said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)