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On Sunday the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) declared a technical problem on its NVS-02 navigation satellite which had been launched with the GSLV-F15 on January 29 for ISRO's 100th launch success.
ISRO declared the technical problem halted the orbit-raising operations needed for the satellite position in its assigned orbit.
The satellite successfully opened its solar panels after launch while exhibiting normal power generation patterns. Ground staff at the station maintains live communication with the spacecraft. ISRO stated that operation of orbit raising proved unsuccessful because the valves needed to fill the oxidizer failed to open.
ISRO sources stated that the spacecraft failed to engage its thrusters once it reached its orbital position. The satellite maintains good system performance while actively operating in an elliptical orbit. ISRO researchers develop different mission methods for using the satellite in its current orbital position.
ISRO officials who spoke with Indian Express stated that satellite management through the Master Control Facility would handle the situation and activities of the satellite would continue as planned.
ISRO faced speculation about a technical problem since it failed to announce any orbit adjustments for NVS-02 following its launch during the first four days.
Space activity monitoring service Bluesky app from S2A Systems showed on Sunday (2023-02-05) that NVS-02 lacked any system activity. The satellite tracked South America near an altitude of 31,200 km during the UTC time of 2025-02-02 01:55:44.
Space-tracking data through open-source platforms showed the satellite kept the same position since launch yet ISRO needed onboard engines to accomplish multiple orbit maneuvers to position it at 111.75 degrees east above India. The application tracked the satellite exist in the same Indian Ocean location on January 31.
The NVS-02 spacecraft should travel in an elliptical path where distances extend to 37,500 km for the farthest point yet remain at 170 km from its nearest distance. The GSLV executed an “very accurate injection” which resulted in the satellite having an orbital deviation equal to 74 km from its apogee target and 0.5 km from its perigee target on January 29.
ISRO intends to establish an independent regional satellite guidance system called ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’ or NavIC through which users in India and a 1500-kilometer area surrounding the country can receive Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) data accurately.
The satellite serves as the second among five navigation satellites which formed the second-generation of the series after its initial launch in 2023.
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