ISRO's GSLV-F17 Launches EOS-05 Earth-Watch Satellite, Ending Seven-Month Gap

ISRO's GSLV-F17 rocket launched the EOS-05 Earth observation satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2:55 am IST on September 4, ending a seven-month gap since its last launch and giving the agency its first successful mission of 2026 after Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle failures in 2025 and January 2026.

The three-stage, cryogenic-engine GSLV — 51.7 metres tall and weighing 420.5 tonnes at liftoff — was making its 19th flight. It placed the roughly 2,367-kg EOS-05 into a sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit, an elliptical intermediate orbit with an apogee near 36,000 km; over the coming days, the satellite will fire its own thrusters to raise and circularise that orbit until it settles into a geosynchronous position above the Indian subcontinent.

From there, EOS-05 — nicknamed the "eye of the sky" by ISRO — will image selected sites every five minutes and the entire Indian landmass roughly every 30 minutes over a planned nine-year mission, tracking floods, cyclones, cloudbursts and lightning while monitoring farmland, forests and water bodies. It is India's first satellite built specifically for continuous imaging from geosynchronous orbit, joining a small group of nations — including the United States, China and the European Space Agency — that operate such dedicated geostationary observation satellites.

Pixxel CEO Awais Ahmed said EOS-05 is complementary to lower-orbit satellites that supply higher-resolution imagery, since more frequent observations can help authorities track how an event develops and target relief efforts sooner.

ISRO chairman V Narayanan said after the launch that six more missions are planned this fiscal year, including the first uncrewed flight of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.