The countdown for the flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket on the morning of Monday, May 29, carrying India's first second generation navigation satellite NVS-01, began at 7.12 am on Sunday, said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Notably, this is the first time that an indigenous rubidium atomic clock developed by ISRO's Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, will be flown in the NVS-01.
According to ISRO, NVS-01 is the first of the second-generation satellites envisaged for the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) services. NavIC is similar to the GPS (Global Positioning System) of the USA, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe, and China's Beidou. A fully developed NavIC system consists of seven satellites in Geosynchronous/Inclined Geosynchronous orbits. It will provide real time positioning and timing services over India and a region extending approximately 1,500 km around the Indian mainland.
The three staged 51.7 m tall rocket GSLV-F12, with a lift off mass of 420 tons carrying the 2,232 kg NVS-01 navigation satellite, is scheduled to lift off at 10.15 am on Monday from the second launch pad in Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh. About 19 minutes into the flight, the rocket will deliver the satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from where it will be further taken up by firing the onboard motors.
GSLV-F12/NVS-01 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) May 28, 2023
The countdown leading to the launch has commenced.
Tune in for live-streaming of the
Launch of GSLV-F12/NVS-01
May 29, 2023
10:15 am local time
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The satellite, with a mission life of 12 years, is powered by two solar arrays capable of generating power up to 2.4 kW and a lithium-ion battery during the eclipse. NVS series of satellites will sustain and augment the NavIC with enhanced features.
This series has payloads that operate on L1, L5 ,and S bands, thereby widening its services. The L1 navigation band is popular for providing Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services for civilian users and for interoperability with other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals.
(With IANS inputs)