At the stroke of 2:55 AM in the morning on September 4, when most of India was fast asleep, a different story was unfolding on the island of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Inside mission control rooms, launch complexes and tracking stations spread across the country, nearly 16,500 Indian Space Research Organisation scientists, engineers and support personnel were battling fatigue, pressure and expectations. Just 19 minutes later at 3.14 AM, they had every reason to celebrate.
Science minister Dr Jitendra Singh hailed it as ‘Another giant leap for India in Space! India’s space agency returned to the launch pad after a bruising phase marked by back to back failures of its trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. The mission was far more than another launch. It was a statement that ISRO still possesses the resilience to recover, regroup and rebound from setbacks.
Kudos to Team ISRO on the successful launch of GSLV-F17/EOS-05. EOS-05 is a state-of-the-art Earth Observation satellite and India’s first imaging satellite from Geosynchronous Orbit, enabling advanced imaging across visible, infrared, multi-spectral and hyperspectral bands. This time there was relief, applause and renewed confidence as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV-F17, successfully carried the EOS-05 Earth observation satellite toward its destination in space.
It will be a critical step toward sending Indian astronauts into orbit aboard an Indian spacecraft launched from Indian soil. Every successful flight today stands as a reminder that technology denial failed to stop India’s march into space. The setback could have crippled India’s long term ambitions. Instead, it triggered one of the most remarkable indigenous development efforts in the history of the Indian space programme. Numerous failures, delays and disappointments followed, but India persisted. That perseverance transformed the GSLV Mk II into a jewel in ISRO’s crown.
ISRO scientists spent 20 years mastering an extraordinarily difficult technology. Earlier reporting noted: The GSLV-F17/EOS-05 mission is scheduled for launch at 2:55 am on September 4 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikot. Earlier reporting noted: When most of India will be asleep in the early hours of September 4 at 2.55 am, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be at a crucial crossroads. From the Second Launch Pad at Sriharikota, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F17) will thunder into the darkness carrying EOS-5, India’s first imaging satellite to operate from geosynchronous orbit, 36,000 kilometers above India.
The first un-crewed Gaganyaan mission is targeted before the end of the year. Earlier reporting noted: And yet this same rocket remains one of the crown jewels of India’s space programme.
Only last year, the same family of rockets successfully launched NISAR, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. It is expected to monitor cyclones brewing in the Bay of Bengal, floods unfolding in real time, forest fires, agriculture, environmental changes and infrastructure development. Widely regarded as the world’s most expensive civilian Earth imaging satellite, NISAR demonstrated the reliability and capability of the GSLV platform for high value missions.
From its perch high above the planet, EOS-05 will continuously watch the Indian subcontinent, surrounding oceans and strategically sensitive regions.
