Once dubbed ISRO’s “Naughty Boy” after a series of early setbacks, India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) has delivered one of its most significant missions yet.  On 4 September, the rocket successfully launched EOS-05, India’s first imaging satellite designed to operate from geosynchronous orbit, aboard the GSLV-F17. The mission gave the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) its first successful launch of 2026 after two recent mission setbacks. The three-stage GSLV lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2:55am local time.  It was the 19th flight of the GSLV and the heaviest satellite yet carried by the launcher.