India plans to launch its first navigational satellite in June, a top official of the Department of Space (DoS) said today.
The first satellite of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, IRNSS-1, will be launched by PSLV-C22, DoS Secretary and Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said.
According to ISRO officials, IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system, designed to provide position accuracy of better than 10 metres over India and the region extending about 1,500 km around the country.
“It is designed to provide an accurate real time Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) services to users on a variety of platforms with 24x7 service availability under all weather conditions,” an ISRO official said.
Remote sensing satellite
IRNSS provides two basic services — standard positioning service for common civilian users and restricted service for special authorised users, the official said.
“We are planning for June launch,” Radhakrishnan told reporters after addressing a symposium on ‘Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) Series: A Saga of 25 years’.
IRNSS-1 would be tested in orbit for three-four months once it is launched. ISRO has planned to have a constellation of seven satellites under IRNSS.
Speaking at the event, Radhakrishnan said India has planned 12 missions (both launch vehicles and satellites put together) in the next one year.
Mars orbiter mission
These include the Rs 450-crore Mars orbiter mission in October-November aimed at demonstrating India’s technological capability to reach the Martian orbit and paving the way for future scientific exploratory missions, and GSLV-Mk III experimental venture.
The GSLV-Mk III is conceived and designed to make ISRO fully self-reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class, which weigh 4,500 kg to 5,000 kg.