Navigation system will be in a year: Isro

(IRNSS) will be fully operational in a year putting India in an exclusive club of nations having this privilege.

This was revealed by Mr R. Hutton, deputy director of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), delivering a special lecture on “Rockets and Satellites” as part of India Ahead lecture series organised by FIIT JEE as a tribute to late former President of India Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Indian Space Research Organisation has been working on IRNSS for several years now and there were concerns over the delay attributed to Isro’s shift in focus on other major missions.

However, Mr Hutton’s statement comes as an assurance that India will have its home-grown navigation system soon. Mr Hutton said IRNSS is a constellation of 7 satellites and as of now 4 satellites IRNSS-1A, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1C and IRNSS-1D have already been put into orbit and integrated with the ground systems. “Isro is gearing-up to launch the remaining 3 satellites in next few months to complete the constellation. The production is nearing completion and if everything goes according to plan the IRNSS should be ready in a year,” he said.

A senior Isro official told Deccan Chronicle on the condition of anonymity, “With 4 satellites in space, we can give position solution now also but not always, positioning should be accurate up to 3 sigma and with 4 satellites we are giving position confidence somewhere between 1.5-2 sigma only. We are planning to put another navigation satellite into the orbit in November”.

Speaking to DC on the sidelines of the programme, another official said Isro is all set for GSLV Mark-II launch scheduled this month end carrying India’s first indigenous multi-object tracking radar (MOTR).

It will followed by another major launch in September involving country’s workhorse PSLV carrying Astrosat, India’s first space observatory that will study distant stars, galaxies, black holes and other cosmic objects.