BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history in the wee hours of Friday by successfully launching the advanced Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)-05 into a geo-orbit, recording a first in placing an imaging satellite in a high-altitude orbit of 36,000 km altitude. This successful launch comes as major relief for the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) programme following the unsuccessful EOS-03 (GSLV-F10) mission in 2021, and also after the two failed missions of PSLV-C61/EOS-09 in January 2026 and PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 in May 2025.
The EOS-05 satellite has been placed in a geosynchronous orbit above the South Asian landmass, which means it will remain stationary in relation to the location above which it has been parked in space, synchronising its revolution around Earth in tandem with the rotation of the planet.
The 2,367-kg satellite – the heaviest that GSLV Mark II has put in space so far – was launched on board the GSLV Mk II-F17 mission (GSLV-F17) at 2.55 am from the second launchpad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota amid light rainfall. After the orbit-raising operations are completed, the satellite is to be placed above the South Asian land mass at an inclination of 19.28 degrees to the equator. This was the 107th launch from SDSC Sriharikota and the 19th of the GSLV.
Once operational, EOS-05 will become India’s first dedicated imaging satellite from the geo-orbit, providing “strategic data” for the country, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said after the launch, while describing EOS-05 as a “strategic satellite”.
Satellite to provide real-time data for weather monitoring
The satellite will give real-time data for weather monitoring, fast-moving disaster events like cyclones, floods and cloudbursts, agriculture assessments. Unlike low-Earth orbit observation satellites that pass over a location at regular intervals, EOS-05 is synchronous with Earth’s rotation to enable it an almost-constant watch over the Indian landmass. The satellite carries multi-spectral and hyper-spectral bands to capture selected field images every five minutes and the entire country every 30 minutes.
Narayanan said the satellite’s assured mission life is seven years. “But I am confident that this will work effectively for more than nine years,” he told. “This was a very important mission for the country for continuously monitoring India and its nearby places for Earth observation for various applications. It has advanced cameras and important payloads. EOS-05 will also be used for other Earth observation purposes,” he said. He however, did not specify what he meant by “other purposes”. He, however, dismissed speculations that it was a “spy satellite”.
Project Director (Satellite) Imteyaz Ahamad described EOS-05 as one-of-its-kind satellite with the multi-band operating capabilities. “The configuration is different,” he said.
Dinesh Kumar Singh, Director, UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), said, “There is no morning better than this when we have just launched an ‘Eye in the Sky’. The spacecraft is in good health. All the initial operations have been successful.” Loud cheers erupted among Indian space scientists at 3.01am, after the GSLV MKII’s third stage cryogenic upper stage engine separation began and at 3.10 after the cryogenic upper stage (CUS) thrusting was reported to be normal.
The teams, including Narayanan, visibly breathed a sigh of relief and started to celebrate from 3.14 am when the CUS valves were shut off and the separation of the satellite from the launcher was completed. This came as a huge relief following the two consecutive failures with EOS-09 and EOS-N1 missions. “I am very happy to announce that the GSLV F-17 vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the advanced EOS-05 geo imaging satellite in the intended and required orbit.”