JOIN USIndia would go a step closer to having its own indigenous navigation satellite system, as it prepares to launch the IRNSS-1E on Wednesday from Sriharikota space port near Chennai.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s most trusted vehicle PSLV-C31 rocket will blast off with IRNSS-1E to space.
The satellite, the fifth in the seven-constellation system, aims to provide navigation and timing services over India and its neighbourhood and ensure better accuracy to users.
The applications for which IRNSS would be used includes terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, mobile phone integration, mapping and geodetic data capture.
IRNSS-1E, which has the lift-off mass of 1,425 kg, will be launched at 9.31 am Wednesday from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota).
"Countdown is progressing normally. All the health parameters are also normal", a senior ISRO official told Deccan Herald Tuesday.
Of the two categories of payload in IRNSS -1E, the navigation payload will transmit navigation service signals to the users, while its ranging payload consisting of a C-band transponder would determine the satellite’s precise range.
A highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock is also part of the satellite’s navigation payload, besides which IRNSS-1E also carries Corner Cube Retro Reflectors for laser ranging.
As in the previous four launches of IRNSS satellites, PSLV-C31 will use ‘XL’ version of PSLV.