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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday hailed the successful launch of GSLV-F17 carrying EOS-05, terming it another significant stride in India's space journey and highlighting the satellite's contribution to the country's Earth-observation capabilities.

In a post on X, the Defence Minister wrote, "The successful GSLV-F17 launch carrying EOS-05 marks another significant stride in India’s space journey. As India’s first imaging satellite placed in Geosynchronous orbit, EOS-05 strengthens our Earth-observation capabilities and reflects the growing sophistication of our space programme."

The successful GSLV-F17 launch carrying EOS-05 marks another significant stride in India’s space journey. As India’s first imaging satellite placed in Geosynchronous orbit, EOS-05 strengthens our Earth-observation capabilities and reflects the growing sophistication of our space… https://t.co/kSfiN0zwHG

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 4, 2026

The GSLV-F17 vehicle successfully and precisely injected EOS-05, also known as the geo-imaging star satellite, into its intended orbit, marking another milestone for India's space programme, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief V Narayanan announced on Thursday.

Singh also highlighted the expanding partnership between the ISRO and the country's industrial sector, saying that collaboration was contributing to innovation and strengthening indigenous capabilities.

He added, "Under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi, India is steadily building a progressive, self-reliant and globally competitive space ecosystem. The expanding partnership between ISRO and Indian industry is giving greater scale to innovation, strengthening indigenous capabilities and opening new frontiers for our space ambitions."

Earlier in the day, ISRO chief V Narayanan announced that the GSLV-F17 vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the Advanced Earth Observation Satellite-05 (EOS-05), the geo-imaging star satellite, into its intended and required orbit.

Narayanan said the successful mission was a significant achievement for India’s space programme and that the satellite’s health was perfectly alright after its injection into orbit.

“I am very happy to announce that the GSLV-F17 vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the Advanced Earth Observation Satellite 05, the geo-imaging satellite, in the intended and required orbit,” Narayanan said right after the mission success was announced at the space center.

He added that once EOS-05 is operationalised in orbit, it will become India’s first dedicated imaging satellite from the geo orbit and provide important strategic data for the country.

“Today, we have injected the heaviest satellite, 2367 kgs, using this launch vehicle. The health of the satellite is perfectly alright,” the ISRO chief said.

Narayanan credited the successful mission to the collective efforts of the entire ISRO team, along with its industrial partners and the academic community.

“This success is the culmination of the hard work of the entire ISRO team along with our industrial partners and academia. On this occasion, I congratulate each and every one of you. This is a great achievement in our country’s space programme,” he said.

ISRO successfully deployed the EOS-05 Earth observation satellite into orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Friday, marking another major milestone in India’s space programme.

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The launch took place from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR. The launch was carried out on a GSLV-F17 rocket, which is the 19th flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), as it carried EOS-05 towards a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO).