The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched its navigation satellite, INRSS-1I, on Thursday morning from the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. It was a normal lift-off, officials said.
The satellite was launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C41 and was placed in the designated orbit 19 minutes after the lift-off. ISRO Chairman K Sivan said the mission was a success.
IRNSS-1I is likely to replace IRNSS-1A, one of the seven navigation satellites that became ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. Thus, ISRO completed the constellation that needs seven functional satellites to provide foolproof satellite-based navigation signals.
This is ISRO’s second attempt at sending a replacement satellite. On August 31, 2017, it had sent IRNSS-1H but the mission failed after the heat shield covering the satellite failed to separate. The satellite had cost the country Rs 270 crore, according to The Times of India.
Navigation satellite INRSS-1I, weighing 1,425 kg, was built by Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies, in collaboration with ISRO. The satellite will serve both civilian and military purposes, reported NDTV.
This mission comes almost two weeks after ISRO launched GSAT-6A. Though the rocket placed GSAT-6A in orbit, the space agency lost communication with the satellite within two days.
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