India successfully launched the seventh and final navigation satellite IRNSS-1G with its own navigation PSLV-C33 on Thursday.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1G) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 12.50 p. m. The Polar Satellite Lauch Vehicle (PSLV-C33) lifted the satellite off from the first launch pad.
Twenty minutes after the lift off, the PSLV-C33 successfully placed the satellite in the orbit. The IRNSS-1G satellite will have a mission-life of 12 years.
The Mission Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took control of the satellite after the lift off.
IRNSS-1G weighs 1,425 kilograms and is expected to provide accurate aerial, terrestrial and marine navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet management, disaster management, mapping and geodetic data capture, and visual and voice navigation services for drivers.
President Pranab Mukherjee, congratulating the ISRO scientists on the successful launch of IRNSS-1G, said, “The launch of PSLV-C33 is an important landmark in our space programme with India now joining the small group of nations having their own regional satellite navigation system. It demonstrates, yet again, India’s growing capabilities in space launch technology. The nation is proud of this achievement.”
