Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C26) successfully injected the third navigation satellite (IRNSS-1C) into the intended orbit early Thursday (October 16, 2014).
With this, the country has moved a step closer to setting up its own satellite navigation system.
At 1:32 am Thursday, the rocket (PSLV-C26) carrying the 1,425-kg Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1C (IRNSS-1C) lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
PSLV C26 successfully injects navigation satellite IRNSS 1C into the designated orbit. pic.twitter.com/ZJN8XxFTp6
— ISRO (@isro) October 15, 2014
Twenty minutes after liftoff, the launch vehicle successfully placed the IRNSS-1C satellite on the intended orbit.
“India's third navigation satellite is up in the orbit”, said ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan after the launch.
Initially, the satellite was scheduled for launch October 10, but was put off by a week due to a glitch in the telemetry system.
IRNSS-1C is the third out of seven in the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) series of satellites after IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B. IRNSS-1C is the first geostationary satellite in the IRNSS system.
IRNSS-1C is part of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to India and other surrounding region. The satellite is powered by two solar arrays, which generate up to 1,660 watts, and has a life-time of ten years.
The first satellite, IRNSS-1A, was launched onboard PSLV-C22 on 1 July 2013 with the seven-satellite constellation scheduled for completion by the end of 2015.
The second navigation satellite (IRNSS-1B) was successfully placed in the orbit through PSLV-C24 rocket on 4 April 2014.
The IRNSS is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
India recently created space history by becoming the first country in the world to enter the Martian orbit in first attempt. On 24 September, 2014, India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), affectionately called 'Mangalyaan' was successfully placed in the orbit of the Red Planet, catapulting the country into the elite club of Mars explorers- the US, Europe and Russia.
India's successful Mars mission has also made the country as the first Asian nation to reach the Red Planet.
