High Stakes for ISRO as LVM3 Set to Launch Strategic GSAT-7R Satellite Tomorrow

A lot will be riding on the Indian rocket LVM3 tomorrow evening and not just the country’s strategic satellite GSAT-7R or CMS-03.

The 24-hour countdown for the rocket launch began at about 5.25 pm today at the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh, senior officials said.

For one, the launch on Sunday comes after two successive costly failures of strategic satellites -- viz earth observation satellite EOS-09 on 18.5.2025 (loss of about Rs.850 crore), and the navigation satellite NVS-02 on 29.1.2025 (Rs.300 crore).

The loss of these two critical satellites — especially NVS-02, which was meant to replace the ageing IRNSS-1E in India’s regional navigation system — represents not just a technical failure but a strategic one.

The financial cost of the failed launches, including replacements and lost opportunities, could run into hundreds of crores and one must also factor in the opportunity cost as well.

In 2021, India had lost another strategic satellite GISAT-1 as its rocket GSLV-F10's cryogenic stage failed to ignite.

In 2017, another satellite-navigation satellite IRNSS-1H- was lost as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’s (PSLV) heat shield did not separate, trapping the satellite inside. ISRO later attributed the problem to a malfunction in the pyro separation system.

In 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had successfully launched the Indo-US joint satellite project NISAR, said to be the costliest earth observation satellite involving an outlay of about USD 1.5 billion on 30.7.2025.

All eyes will be on tomorrow's launch, as India’s heavy lift rocket LVM3 will lift off with the country’s latest military communication satellite for the Indian Navy.

The satellite GSAT-7R or CMS-03 weighing 4.4 tons will be the replacement for the 2.65 ton GSAT-7 or Rukmini that was launched in 2013 by Arianespace’s rocket Ariane.

ISRO said CMS-03 is a multi-band communication satellite that will provide services over a wide oceanic region including the Indian landmass.

It will be the heaviest communication satellite to be launched to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Indian soil.

The previous mission of LVM3 launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, where India became the first country to land successfully near the lunar south pole, ISRO said.

The launch vehicle has been fully assembled and integrated with the spacecraft and was moved to the Launch Pad on October 26, 2025 for further pre-launch operations, ISRO said.

ISRO had earlier launched the GSAT-7A satellite for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The GSAT-7 and GSAT-7A remain India’s two dedicated military communication satellites, while all previous earth observation and communication satellites served dual purposes—supporting both civilian and defence applications.

The upcoming GSAT-7R satellite will replace GSAT-7. Be that as it may, the 24-hour countdown for the LVM3’s liftoff which started at about 5.25 pm today at Sriharikota rocket port is progressing smoothly.

During the countdown, the rocket and satellite systems will be checked. Further, the fuel for the rocket’s liquid and cryogenic engines will be filled.

The three stage LVM3 rocket weighing 642 tons and standing 43.5 meters tall has a carrying capacity of 10 tons to low earth orbit (LEO) and about 4 tons to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

LVM3 formerly GSLV-MkIII is configured as a three stage vehicle with two solid strap-on motors (S200), one liquid core stage (L110), and a high thrust cryogenic upper stage (C25).

The S200 solid motor is among the largest solid boosters in the world with about 204 tons of solid propellant.

The liquid L110 stage uses a twin liquid engine configuration with about 115 tons of liquid propellant, while the C25 Cryogenic upper stage is configured with the fully indigenous high thrust cryogenic engine (CE20) with a propellant loading of about 28 tons.

The rocket has a 5 metre diameter heat shield inside which the satellite is encapsulated.