IRNSS-1A is the first navigational satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) series of satellites been placed in geosynchronous orbit.[1][2]

IRNSS-1A
Mission typeNavigation
OperatorISRO
COSPAR ID2013-034A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.39199
Mission duration10 years
Spacecraft properties
BusI-1K
ManufacturerISRO Satellite Centre
Space Applications Centre
Launch mass1,425 kilograms (3,142 lb)
Dry mass614 kilograms (1,354 lb)[1]
Power1,660 watts
Start of mission
Launch date1 July 2013, 18:11 UTC (2013-07-01UTC18:11Z)
RocketPSLV-XL C22
Launch siteSatish Dhawan FLP
ContractorISRO
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeosynchronous
Longitude55° E
Perigee altitude35,706.1 km (22,186.7 mi)[1]
Apogee altitude35,882.7 km (22,296.5 mi)[1]
Inclination29.3°[1]
Period1436.1 minutes[1]
Epoch22 January 2015, 16:27:41 UTC[1]
 

Satellite edit

The satellite has been developed at a cost of 1.25 billion (US$16 million),[3][4] and was launched on 1 July 2013. It will provide IRNSS services to the Indian public, which would be a system similar to Global Positioning System (GPS) but only for India and the region around it.[5]

Each IRNSS 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.[6] The satellite is powered by two solar arrays, which generate power up to 1,660 watts, and has a lifetime of ten years.[1]

Launch edit

The satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) on 1 July 2013 at 11:41 PM (IST).[7] The launch was postponed from its initial launch date of 26 June 2013 due to a technical snag in the 2nd stage of the PSLV-C22 launch rocket.[8] ISRO then replaced the faulty component in the rocket and rescheduled the launch to 1 July 2013 at 11:43 p.m.[9][10]

Scientists from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR)'s Institute of Communications and Navigation in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, have received signals from IRNSS-1A. On 23 July 2013, the German Aerospace Center scientists pointed their 30-meter dish antenna at Weilheim towards the satellite and found that it was already transmitting a signal in the L5 frequency band.[11]

Partial Failure edit

The three Rubidium atomic clocks on-board IRNSS-1A failed, with the first failure occurring in July 2016. ISRO planned to replace it with IRNSS-1H, in August 2017, but this failed to separate from the launch vehicle.[12][13] On 12 April 2018, ISRO launched successfully IRNSS-1I as a replacement for IRNSS-1A.[14]

The cause of failure was traced to one of the feed through capacitor carrying the DC supply to the physics package of clock, malfunctioning due to excessive rise in temperature.[15] IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1G are now being used only for NavIC's short message broadcast service.[16][17]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "IRNSS-1A Satellite details 2013-034A NORAD 39199". N2YO. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. ^ "IRNSS". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  3. ^ "India's first ever dedicated navigation satellite launched". DNA India. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  4. ^ "India's first dedicated navigation satellite placed in orbit". NDTV. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Planned Satellite Launches in 2013". satlaunch.net. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  6. ^ "IRNSS". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  7. ^ "India launches its first navigation satellite". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Technical snag puts off satellite launch: ISRO". SGP. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  9. ^ "PSLV-C22/IRNSS-1A Mission Status". ISRO. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  10. ^ S Giri Prasad (14 June 2013). "Indian equivalent of the GPS satellite". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Indian Regional Navigation Satellite Starts Signal Transmissions". GPS World. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  12. ^ D.S., Madhumathi. "Atomic clocks on indigenous navigation satellite develop snag". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Questions: Loksabha- Q.No. 1112 Answered on: 08.02.2017".
  14. ^ "PSLV-C41/IRNSS-1I Mission". Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Launching of Replacement Navigation Satellite". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Annual Report 2019-20". Department of Space. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  17. ^ "ANNUAL REPORT 2020-2021" (PDF). ISRO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

External links edit