ISRO has tweeted that the launch of its navigational satellite IRNSS-1C which was scheduled to take place on October 10, has been delayed by an entire week. The Indian Space Research Organization has noted that an observation in the telecommand system has led to the need for such a delay.
The PSLV C26/IRNSS-1C mission was originally supposed to be kicked off at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota this Friday at 1.56am. ISRO has not given any specifics in terms of the reason for the delay apart from citing ‘an observation’ to be the cause of its decision.
The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System 1C comes after the IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B which were launched in July 2013 and April 2014, respectively. The IRNSS-1C satellite is designed to be part of a space segment with seven satellites – four in inclined geosynchronous orbit and three in geostationary orbit.
Applications of IRNSS consist of disaster management, accurate timing, terrestrial/aerial/marine navigation, delivery of visual as well as voice directions for drivers and so on. Measuring 1.5m x 1.5m x 1.5m in dimensions and weighing 1425kg at lift-off, IRNSS-1C is meant to have a mission life of 10 years.
The IRNSS-1C satellite is built to carry navigation and ranging payloads, with the former containing a rubidium atomic clock. The latter is fitted with corner cube retro reflectors for laser ranging. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C26 will be used to put the IRNSS-1C into orbit.
In other news, India released its first ever mission to Mars only last month. The US’ NASA has joined hands with ISRO on an Earth observation program and Mars exploration venture. The delay in the PSLV C26/IRNSS-1C launch will only mean more eyes on our Mars Orbiter.