ISRO set to launch its own navigation satellite on April 4

Spacecraft will serve civilian, military purposes

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is being readied for its 26th flight from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR at Sriharikota, on the west Coast. This time the vehicle, PSLV-C24, will carry IRNSS-1B, the second satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

The vehicle is expected to take off from the first launch pad on April 4, 2014 and ISRO will use the ‘XL’ version of PSLV. IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India.

The satellite is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1,500 kms from its boundary.

Application of IRNSS includes 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, said ISRO sources.

The vehicle will carry the IRNSS-1B, which is the second satellite of the seven satellites that will constitute the IRNSS satellite cluster.

In July 2013, the IRNSS-1A was launched by the PSLV-C22 and both vehicles have a similar configuration. The satellite has been realised in less than seven months of the launch of its predecessor.

IRNSS will provide two types of services, including Standard Positioning Service (SPS), which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users. The system is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 m in the primary service area.

The satellite system also comprises of a space segment and a ground segment. The space segment consists of seven satellites, with three satellites in the geostationary orbit and four in an inclined geosynchronous orbit. IRNSS-1A, the first satellite of the IRNSS constellation, has already started functioning from its designated orbital slot after an extensive in-orbit test and evaluation to confirm if it is performing satisfactorily, said ISRO.

The IRNSS ground segment is responsible for navigation parameter generation and transmission, satellite controls, ranging and integrity monitoring and time keeping.

This will be the sixth time that the XL configuration is being flown, while the five previous satellites include PSLV-C11 for Chandrayaan-1, PSLV-C17/GSAT-12, PSLV C19/ RISAT-1, PSLV-C22/IRNSS-1A and PSLV-C25 Mars Orbiter Spacecraft missions. The mission life would be around 10 years for IRNSS-1B.