ISRO Kicks Off Countdown For GSLV-F17 Satellite Mission

The space research agency of India has launched its countdown to space. ISRO has commenced a 27.5-hour countdown on Wednesday night for the launch of GSLV-F17 that would carry the Earth Observation Satellite-05 (EOS-05) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This rocket will blast off from the launch pad at 2.55 am on Friday. The satellite will be launched in the sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit through this rocket. This is significant because this will be the time when a satellite of the imaging variety will be launched into the above-mentioned orbit. Previously, the ISRO launches were done in the geosynchronous route.

What Makes GSLV-F17 Mission Different?

The height of the rocket is 51.7 meters, and its lift-off weight is 420.5 tonnes. The rocket is a three-stage rocket, and it also has an upper stage as well. There is a payload fairing of 4 meters in diameter present on the rocket. The rocket is designed to launch a satellite that weighs 2,367 kg into orbit that is 36,000 km above the Earth's surface. The satellite would be orbiting around the Earth, and its movement would be in tune with that of the Earth's rotation so that it remains stationary above a certain point on Earth's surface.

Purpose Behind The EOS-05 Satellite

The EOS-05 will, once deployed, capture near real-time images of large areas of India as well as the neighboring nations. The images will be of great assistance in monitoring disasters that may arise due to the occurrence of cyclones, storms, and heavy rainfall, and for the study of agriculture, forestry, and water bodies. The current mission comes a year after ISRO collaborated with NASA in the GSLV-F16/NISAR satellite launched in July 2025.