The Indian Space Research Organisation will on April 12 launch a navigation satellite, the eighth such satellite to be a part of a constellation, the space agency said on April 10.
The PSLV-C41/IRNSS-1I Mission is scheduled to be launched on at 4.04 a.m. IST on April 12. IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites, that was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. The seven satellites are part of the NavIC navigation satellite constellation.
The launch will be ISRO’s second attempt at sending a replacement satellite. The previous mission of a PSLV carrying IRNSS-1H in August 2017 failed after the heat shield covering the satellite failed to separate.
“India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty-third flight (PSLV-C41) in XL configuration will launch IRNSS-1I Satellite from First Launch Pad (FLP) of SDSC (Satish Dhawan Space Centre), Sriharikota,” ISRO said. The IRNSS-1I mission will take place two weeks after the space agency launched GSAT-6A on board GSLV Mk-II. Though the rocket placed GSAT-6A in orbit, ISRO lost communication with the satellite .
