IRNSS-1A

Spacecraft nº:

Indian spacecraft nº: 69

Launch data: Designation  39199 / 13034A Launch date  01 Jul 2013 - 18:11 UT Launch site  Sriharikota, FLP1 Launch vehicle  PSLV-XL (#C22) Mission  Navigation Geosynchronous orbit: Perigee / Apogee  35708 x 35882 km Eccentricity   Inclination  27.2 deg Period  1436.2 min

Two Halves Of The PSLV-C22 Heat Shield Enclosing IRNSS-1A Satellite

IRNSS-1A Satellite After Its Integration With PSLV-C22

Description:

• The Indian Government has approved in May 2006, a project to implement an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) in the next six to seven years. It will consist of a constellation of seven satellites and a large ground segment. Three of the seven satellites in IRNSS constellation will be placed in Geostationary Earth Orbit and four in Geosynchronous Orbits inclined at 29° to the equatorial plane. All the seven satellites will have continuous radio visibility with Indian control stations.
• The IRNSS-1A satellite is the first of seven which will make up the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The constellation will consist of four satellites in geosynchronous orbits inclined at 29 degrees, with three more in geostationary orbit. IRNSS-1A is one of the geosynchronous satellites, and is expected to be positioned at a longitude of 55 degrees east. IRNSS-1A will eventually be co-located with a second satellite at 55 degrees east, while two more satellites will be placed at 111 degrees east. The geostationary satellites will operate at 34, 83 and 132 degrees east. The IRNSS system is expected to provide navigation signals to India with an accuracy of up to 20 meters. The IRNSS-1A satellite is based on the I-1K satellite bus and has a fuelled mass of 1,425 kilograms (3,141 lb), or a dry mass of 614 kg (1,354 lb). It is powered by two solar arrays, which generate up to 1,660 watts of power. The spacecraft is expected to operate for ten years.
• Each satellite has two payloads: a navigation payload and CDMA ranging payload in addition with a laser retro-reflector. The payload generates navigation signals at L5 and S-band. The design of the payload makes the IRNSS system inter-operable and compatible with GPS and Galileo.
• The payload is the first spacecraft in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, which aims to improve positioning services over India and neighboring regions.

• IRNSS-1A carries two types of payloads navigation payload and ranging payload. The navigation payload of IRNSS-1A will transmit navigation service signals to the users. This payload will be operating in L5 band (1176.45 MHz) and S band (2492.028 MHz). A highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock is part of the navigation payload of the satellite. The ranging payload of IRNSS-1A consists of a C-band transponder which facilitates accurate determination of the range of the satellite. IRNSS-1A also carries Corner Cube Retro Reflectors for laser ranging.

• 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 travelers
• Visual and voice navigation for drivers

Mission details:

• Launch delayed from May 2013.
• India launched its first full-scale navigation satellite on Jul 1, 2013 beginning the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The IRNSS-1A satellite, based on the Insat I1K bus and carryign L-band and S-band navigation signals, was launched into a 282 x 20548 km x 17.9 deg subsynchronous transfer orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island and will use its liquid apogee motor to reach geostationary orbit.
• The launch of IRNSS follows precusor missions in 2011 and 2012, when the Indian Space Research Organization launched GSAT-8 and GSAT-10, which carried GAGAN navigation signals as part of a `GPS augmentation' system in addition to their communications payload.
• The third stage of the PSLV-XL for this mission was marginally orbital and reentered off the coast of South America. Orbit was somewhere between -22 x 190 km and +60 x 190 km.
• 30 July 2013: India's navigation satellite is now in inclined geostationary orbit at 35702 x 35870 km x 27.0 deg, orbiting over the 52 to 58 deg E range.

Satellite tracking: