The sixth spacecraft in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System launched at 1031 GMT (5:31 a.m. EST) Thursday from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, an island spaceport about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Chennai on India’s east coast. The first five satellites, IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, ID and 1E, were launched on 2 July 2013, 4 April 2014, 16 October 2014, 28 March 2015 and 20 January, respectively and all are functioning satisfactorily.
Advertisement
Modi in his tweet said “Successful launch of IRNSS-1F is an accomplishment we all take enormous pride in. We plan to launch it next month”, ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said.
The vessel lifted off from the second launch pad of SDSC, Sriharikota, at 04:01 pm.
With the launch of the 7th and final satellite, the IRNSS navigation will become operational and reduce India’s dependence on foreign satellites for its communication needs and military requirements.
IRNSS 1F is the second satellite to be launched into geostationary orbits closer to the equator.
Once the regional navigation system is in place, India need not be dependent on other platforms. In less than 20 minutes and 15 seconds after lift-off, the rocket placed the payload at an altitude of 489 kilometers. After separation, the solar panels of IRNSS-1F were deployed automatically.
The satellite’s control was taken over by the Mission Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka.
IRNSS-1F also carries Corner Cube Retro Reflectors for laser ranging.
Advertisement
IRNSS will provide two types of services – Standard Positioning Service (SPS), which is provided to all users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to authorised users.
