GSLV to Launch $1.5B NISAR Satellite Today for Global Earth Tracking

In an ambitious step forward in the space sector, the NISAR satellite, a 1.5 billion joint project between NASA and ISRO, is slated to launch today, July 30, 2025, at 5:40 PM IST on an Indian space vehicle, the GSLV F16, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

The NISAR satellite is the first of its kind to be developed by this collaboration as it is a dual-frequency radar Earth observation satellite that will be able to provide high-resolution imagery penetrating clouds, vegetation and soil to produce high-quality imagery regardless of weather or daylight.

With a 12metre radar antenna, this mission which weighs slightly under three tonnes will sweep virtually all land and ice surfaces on earth in every 12 days, allowing it to track changes in the ecosystem, glacier movements, land movements, floods, earthquakes and dirt moisture patterns in exceptional detail. It is one of the greatest space partnerships between India and the U.S and it is an manifestation of more than 10 years of development and inculcation of technological prowess.

Also Read: India and Brazil Partner to Drive Tech and Digital Transformation

Technically, since the satellite is for the industry, NISAR is not only a satellite, but a data powerhouse. By anticipating multiple petabytes of open access data, such a trend in open access is projected to enable empowerment of a broad range of stakeholders in likely sectors- agriculture, climate science, and disaster response, among others in infrastructure planning. After launch, up to 90 days of commissioning are expected prior to the satellite entering into its science phase and commencement of delivery of practical insight.

The industry is also monitoring as the countdown reaches its end and the NISAR satellite is set to take off. This mission opens a new era of Earth observation, where the level of precision and real-time data delivery has never been easier to access, and can be used in solving global issues such as climate change and resilience of natural disasters.