After launching five navigation satellites, ISRO is all set to launch the sixth one at 4:00 pm today. The 54 and a half hour countdown began on March 9 after ISRO said the launch was proceeding normally.
The 320 tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which is carrying the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-IRNSS-1F will be launched at 4:00 pm from Sriharikota, which is 110 km away from Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.
After 20 minutes from the launch, the 1,425-kg IRNSS-1F satellite will be put into the orbit at an altitude of 488.9 km.
Weather won’t come in the way of the launch process as no rainfall activity is expected over the region. Clear sky conditions will prevail in Sriharikota, with bright sunshine all throughout the day. The maximums will settle around 33 degree Celsius while the minimum will hover around 23 and 27 degrees.
ISRO has already launched five navigation satellites under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).The Indian space agency will provide accurate navigation, with these satellites, which will be on par with the Global Positioning System (GPS). The seventh satellite will be launched by the end of March.
As per an official of the space agency, four satellites are enough to start the operations; the other three will make the navigation more accurate. After the launch of the fifth satellite, the navigation capacity was increased from 18 hours to 24 hours with a 20 metres accuracy.
All seven navigation satellites are likely to be put into the orbit by the end of this month. The IRNSS-1F is 44 metre in height with a mass of 1,425 kg and a 12-year mission life. The cost of each satellite is around Rs.130 crore, with seven rockets costing more than 900 crore.
Image Credit: thewire.in
