NISAR satellite launch: Where to watch, time, live stream, key details

India is gearing up to launch an earth observation satellite, NISAR, jointly developed by ISRO and NASA on Wednesday (July 30).

NISAR will be shortly launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 5:40 pm Indian Standard Time (IST).

Also Read: ISRO to launch collaborative NISAR earth observation satellite today

NISAR aboard GSLV

The satellite will be launched aboard India’s largest rocket, the GSLV Mk II — an expendable, non-reusable, three-stage launch vehicle that is 51.7 metre tall.

Eyeing to study the planet Earth as a whole from a Sun-synchronous Orbit, the NISAR satellite is a combination of human skills and exchange of software and hardware between the two space agencies for over a decade.

NISAR, an acronym for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, weighing 2,393 kg, is aimed at boosting ties between India and the United States on space exploration.

Where to watch the launch?

The NISAR launch is scheduled for Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at 5:40 pm IST.

Viewers can watch the live broadcast on NASA’s official YouTube channel or directly through the NASA website.

The Earth observation satellite is expected to take approximately eight to ten days for complete deployment.

Following this, NISAR will enter a 65-day engineering phase during which scientists will carry out routine tests and calibrations.

Also Read: Earth observation NISAR satellite to be launched on Jul 30: ISRO chief

NISAR's objectives

The NISAR mission is targeted to study the Earth and would provide information to the global scientific fraternity, ISRO said.

The satellite would be able to study seasonal changes in forest dynamics, mountain shifts, glacier movements in the Himalayas and Antarctica, North and South poles.

NISAR mission's primary objectives are to study land and ice deformation, land ecosystems, and oceanic regions in areas of common interest to the United States and Indian science communities.

Also Read: India needs to triple satellites in orbit in next 3 years, says ISRO chief

Joint space mission

The spacecraft and the launch system are developed by ISRO while the L-band Radar system, high-speed downlink system, GPS receiver are delivered by NASA.

ISRO is responsible for the satellite and commanding operations, while NASA would provide the orbit manoeuvre and RADAR operations plan.

NISAR mission would be aided with ground station support of both space agencies for downloading the acquired images, which, after the necessary processing, would be disseminated to the user community.