After milestone 100th launch, ISRO reports glitch in NVS-02 satellite stalling orbit-raising maneuvers

Sources within Isro indicated that the satellite had “failed to fire” after being placed in orbit.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday reported a technical glitch in its NVS-02 navigation satellite, which was launched aboard the GSLV-F15 on January 29—marking ISRO’s 100th successful launch.

In a statement, ISRO said the issue had stalled the orbit-raising maneuvers required to position the satellite in its designated orbital slot.

“Following the launch, the solar panels on board the satellite were successfully deployed, and power generation is nominal. Communication with the ground station has been established. However, the orbit-raising operations could not be carried out as the valves for admitting the oxidizer to fire the thrusters did not open,” ISRO stated.

According to ISRO sources, the satellite had “failed to fire” after being placed in orbit. “The satellite systems are healthy, and it is currently in an elliptical orbit. Alternate mission strategies to utilize the satellite for navigation in this orbit are being explored,” ISRO added.

An Indian Express report quoting an ISRO official connected to the satellite program saying that the “Master Control Facility will take care” of the situation, while another official said, “We are proceeding with the intended activities of the satellite.”

Speculation about a technical issue had arisen as ISRO had not reported any orbit maneuvers for the NVS-02 satellite in the four days following its launch.

The Bluesky app of S2A Systems, which monitors space activities, reported on Sunday: “Apparently nothing new from NVS-02 either. Here, recorded over South America on 2025-02-02, 01:55:44 UTC at ~31,200 km altitude.”

The open-source space-tracking data suggested that the satellite remained in approximately the same position since its launch, whereas ISRO was expected to use onboard engines to carry out a series of orbit maneuvers to position it at 111.75 degrees east over India. The app had also recorded the satellite in the same location over the Indian Ocean on January 31.

The NVS-02 was meant to be placed in an elliptical orbit with an apogee (farthest point) of 37,500 km and a perigee (nearest point) of 170 km. The GSLV’s “very accurate injection” on January 29 had put the satellite in an orbit that differed by 74 km from the intended apogee and 0.5 km from the intended perigee.

NVS-02 is part of ISRO’s efforts to develop an independent regional navigation system for India, known as ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’ (NavIC), aimed at providing accurate Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) services to users in India and areas extending up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian landmass.

The satellite is the second of five second-generation navigation satellites, with the first of the series launched in 2023.