In a historic milestone for India–US space cooperation, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite was successfully launched on Wednesday, marking a significant leap in global Earth observation capabilities, an IANS report said.
The satellite was carried aboard India’s GSLV-F16 rocket, which launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 5:40 pm IST.
“We have liftoff! GSLV-F16 has successfully launched with NISAR onboard,” ISRO confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, also took to X, saying, “#GSLV-F16 lifts off with the NASA–#ISRO NISAR Earth Observation Satellite.”
Approximately 19 minutes post-launch, the rocket is set to place NISAR into a 743-kilometre sun-synchronous orbit, marking the GSLV`s first launch into this type of orbit.
NISAR is the first joint Earth observation mission between ISRO and NASA, merging the strengths of both agencies to deliver near real-time, all-weather imagery of the Earth’s surface.
NASA posted, “Go NISAR! The joint NASA-India satellite aboard @ISRO`s Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle launched from the southeast Indian coast at 8:10 am ET (1210 UTC) on its mission to monitor Earth’s changing land and ice surfaces.”
Valued at USD 1.5 billion, the mission is designed to revolutionise environmental and disaster monitoring, particularly by tracking natural hazards and climate-related changes. The satellite will provide 24/7 imaging, regardless of weather or lighting.
ISRO Chairman Dr V. Narayanan said, “It can take images of the Earth round the clock, under any weather. It will detect landslides, support disaster management, and help monitor climate change,” according to the IANS.
The launch comes as a landmark in US–India space relations. Following the February 2025 bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, the two leaders hailed 2025 as a defining year for civil space cooperation.
Weighing 2,392 kilograms, NISAR will orbit at an altitude of 740 kilometres, scanning the Earth’s landmass and ice surfaces every 12 days with high-resolution data across a 242-kilometre swath, using SweepSAR technology–a global first.
The mission also marks the first time dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)–L-band (from NASA) and S-band (from ISRO) — will be used together for Earth observation.
The radar system will operate via NASA’s 12-metre unfurlable mesh reflector antenna, mounted on ISRO’s I-3K satellite bus.
NISAR will continuously monitor ecosystem disturbances, aid in the assessment of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, and landslides, and track even minute crustal shifts and surface movements.
(with IANS inputs)