ISRO Successfully Launches India’s First Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1A

ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C22, has successfully launched IRNSS-1A, the first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), in the early morning hours of today from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This is the twenty third consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The ‘XL’ configuration of PSLV was used for the mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was used thrice to launch Chandrayaan-1, GSAT-12 and RISAT-1 satellites. 

At the completion of the countdown, PSLV-C22 lifted off from the First Launch Pad at 2341 hrs IST yesterday (July 1, 2013) with the ignition of the first stage and four strap-on motors of the launch vehicle. The important flight events, namely, stage and strap-on ignitions, heat-shield separation, stage and strap-on separations and satellite injection took place exactly as planned. After a flight of 20 minutes 17 seconds, the IRNSS-1A Satellite, weighing 1425 kg, was injected to the intended elliptical orbit of 282.46 km X 20,625.37 km. 

After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1A were deployed automatically. ISRO’s Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, five orbit maneuvers will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the satellite in its Geosynchronous Circular Orbit at 55 deg East longitude. 

IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) – provided to all users – and Restricted Services (RS) provided only to authorised users. 

A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite control, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in as many as 15 locations across the country. 

As per a Press Release issued by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) the entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to completed by 2015-16.