In an iconic move, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched its first second-generation satellite for the Navigation by Indian Constellation (NavIC).
Here is everything you need to know about the historic launch.
The 51.7 metre-tall Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) carried the NVS-01 navigation satellite, weighing about 2,232 kg.
After a flight of roughly 19 minutes, the satellite was injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit that will be circularised to bring the satellite to its final position.
The mission life of NVS-01 is expected to be better than 12 years, which is longer than the 10-year life of the first-generation satellites in the constellation.
The satellite is expected to provide real-time positioning and timing services in the country and about 1,500 km around the mainland region.
It has enhanced applications like terrestrial, aerial and maritime navigation, precision agriculture, location-based services in mobile devices, and marine fisheries.
“We are going to make this NavIC system fully functional and operational for the benefit of the nation. There is a huge amount of opportunity waiting for us,” said ISRO chief S Somanath.
As per ISRO, the signals from the satellite are designed to provide user position accuracy of better than 20 metres and timing accuracy of better than 50 nanoseconds.
The mission is the sixth operational flight of the GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic stage. It is the first launch using the vehicle since its failure in August 2021.
Back then, a malfunctioning valve led to insufficient pressure in the liquid hydrogen tank in the cryogenic upper stage. As a result, the stage did not get ignited.