Countdown for navigational satellite IRNSS-1B begins

The countdown for the launch of country's second satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) commenced today at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

The lift-off of IRNSS 1B by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is scheduled at 17:14 hours on April 4, from Sriharikota.

Isro started the countdown Wednesday morning and has completed filling of fuel (mono methyl hydrazine) and oxidiser (mixed oxides of nitrogen) into the fourth stage of PSLV C24, the launching vehicle for the satellite, said Isro officials.

The satellite would provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as region extending up to 1,500 km from the country's boundary. Its mission life would be around ten years.

Applications of IRNSS include terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, integration with mobile phones, precise timing, mapping and geodetic data capture, terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers, visual and navigation for drivers.

The IRNSS will provide two types of services - standard positioning service, which is provided to all users, and restricted service, which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users. The system is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 metre in the primary service area. It is akin to the US' Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Glonass and Europe's Galileo.