Countdown for IRNSS-1F begins today

The countdown for the launch, that would take place from the SHAR Range at Sriharikota, would begin on Tuesday. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sources told UNI that the 44.4 m tall, PSLV-C32, in its 34th flight and with a lift of mass of 320 tonnes, would lift off from the Second Launch Pad at 1600 hrs on Thursday. 

The Launch Authorisation Board would meet at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and clear the mission after which the 54-and-ahalf-hour countdown would begin from on Tuesday. This would be the second launch for ISRO in the new year. 

Sources said IRNSS-1F is the sixth navigation satellite of the constellation of seven constituting the IRNSS space segment. With a life span of 12 years, IRNSS-1F will have a lift-off mass of 1425 kg.  IRNSS-1F carries two types of payloads - navigation and ranging payload. The navigation payload of IRNSS-1F will transmit navigation service signals to the users. 

This payload will be operating in L5-band and S-band. “A highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock is part of the navigation payload of the satellite’’, the sources said, adding, the ranging payload of IRNSS-1F consists of a C-band transponder which facilitates accurate determination of the range of the satellite.