ISRO Successfully Launches 'Naughty Boy' Rocket with EOS-05

ISRO successfully launched the EOS-05 satellite for frequent Earth imaging.

On 4 September, ISRO successfully launched the EOS-05 Earth observation satellite using the GSLV-F17 rocket. The rocket is popularly called “Naughty Boy” because it has had both successful and unsuccessful launches in the past.

The EOS-05 is special because, unlike most imaging satellites that operate around 400–500 km above Earth, it will work from about 36,000 km above Earth. This makes it India’s first imaging satellite designed to capture high-resolution images from such a great distance.

The satellite can provide images of large areas every 30 minutes, helping with agriculture, disaster management and monitoring cyclones, cloudbursts and thunderstorms. It can also provide images of India’s borders within about 5 minutes, which could support defence and security. However, heavy clouds can affect its ability to capture clear images.

Weighing 2,367 kg, EOS-05 is among India’s heaviest satellites. ISRO had attempted to launch it in 2021, but that mission failed because of a problem with the GSLV rocket. China had launched a similar satellite, Yaogan-41, in 2023, making the successful EOS-05 mission important for India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO and called the achievement another proud moment for the country.

Meanwhile, around 18,000 satellites are currently orbiting Earth, along with thousands of pieces of broken space equipment known as space junk. This shows that human activity and pollution are now reaching beyond Earth and into space.