The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch Indian Navy’s GSAT 7R (CMS-03) satellite today. The strategic communications satellite will replace the GSAT-7 satellite launched in 2013. The fifth operational satellite in the series onboard LVM3 spacecraft, designed primarily to serve the Indian Navy, will liftoff on 2 November.
Indian Navy in a post on X stated, “#AatmanirbharBharat takes another leap! #ISRO is set to launch GSAT-7R, #IndianNavy’s most advanced indigenously developed communication satellite, today from Sriharikota. A testament to our commitment to safeguarding maritime interests with cutting-edge Indian technology.”
According to Indian Navy, this liftoff is special as the space agency will launch India’s heaviest and most advanced communication satellite to date to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). "The satellite would strengthen Navy's space-based communications and maritime domain awareness capabilities," Indian Navy in a statement said.
The bulky satellite weighing nearly 4,400 kilograms includes many indigenous state-of-the-art components developed specifically to meet the Indian Navy’s operational requirements. The success of this space mission will make CMS-03 the heaviest communications satellite ever launched by ISRO.
LVM3 M5 launch details
Launch pad: The CMS-03 is a multi-band communication satellite scheduled to launch from Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
Describing its upcoming spaceflight mission, ISRO in a statement said, “CMS-03 is a multi-band communication satellite that will provide services over a wide oceanic region including the Indian landmass…. The previous mission of LVM3 launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, where in, India became the first country to land successfully near the lunar south pole.”
When and where to live stream LVM3 M5 launch?
On October 26, ISRO announced that the launch vehicle was successfully moved to the launch pad after full assembly and integration with the spacecraft for pre-launch operations. Real time live coverage of the launch will be streamed on YouTube at 4:56 PM at “www.youtube.com/live/yAR9fV48Hjw.”
What after LVM3 M5 launch?
LVM3-M6, the sixth operational mission of the LVM3 launch vehicle is set for launch almost after a month of LVM3 M5 launch. According to ISRO, the space vehicle LVM3-M6 featuring CE20 cryogenic engine is scheduled for launch in the first week of December.
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C62 is also scheduled for launch before closing of this year around mid or late December. This launch follows failure of PSLV-C61. Earlier, it was slated for launch in September or October but was shifted to December, as per latest update.
ISRO Spaceflight in a post on x stated, “ISRO is planning to launch the PSLV-C62 mission in mid/late December, which will be the return to flight for PSLV following a failure in its previous mission.”
