India launches NASA-ISRO earth observation satellite

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite was successfully launched on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-F16 rocket carrying the earth observation satellite lifted off from the second launch pad of the space centre at 5.40 p.m. Eighteen minutes later, it injected the satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit.

“The GSLV-F16 vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the NISAR satellite weighing 2,392 kg into its intended orbit,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan said after the launch.

The NISAR, which has a mission life of five years, is the first satellite jointly developed by the ISRO and the U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).