The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said its GSLV-F18 carrying NVS-03 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2:21 p.m. EDT on Oct. 30. At 2:53 p.m. EDT, ISRO declared the mission a success, posting that "GSLV-F18 has successfully placed NVS-03 in the intended orbit."
ISRO's mission page says the flight is the 20th for India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, or GSLV, and that it places NVS-03 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, an elliptical path used to reach higher altitude. Times of India reported an orbit of about 37,023 by 170 kilometers roughly 18 minutes after liftoff. The Hindu said ISRO will use the satellite's onboard thrusters to raise it to its designated orbit.
NVS-03 is the third spacecraft in ISRO's next-generation constellation, which the agency says is envisaged for providing continuity of navigation services for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) series. According to ISRO, it carries an indigenous atomic clock alongside procured ones and adds an L1 frequency to the existing L5 and S signals. Coverage spans India and a region extending about 1,500 kilometers around its boundary, the mission page says. Times of India refers to that series as NavIC, India's independent regional satellite navigation system. The newspaper reported that Union minister of state for space Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha on July 29 that only three NavIC satellites were providing positioning, navigation and timing services, against the minimum of four required.