India today joined an exclusive band of countries having their own navigation systems with the launch of the IRNSS-1A satellite which was put in orbit by the PSLV-C22 about 20 minutes after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
Precisely at 11.41 pm, India's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off in a perfect text book launch, carrying IRNSS-1A, painting a dense golden flame in the dark canvas of the sky.
Developed by India, IRNSS-1A, with a life of ten years, is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide accurate position information service to users in the country as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary,which is its primary service area.
An elated ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said the IRNSS-1A satellite was precisely injected into its intended orbit.
"This only proves that PSLV is an extremely reliable vehicle and with this flight, we are also entering into a new era of space application in the country that is the beginning of satellite navigation programme."
With ISRO scientists breaking into celebrations, Radhakrishnan said, "I am extremely happy to announce that we had another excellent flight of our PSLV vehicle. This is the 23rd successive successful flight of PSLV and the fourth successful flight of extended version of PSLV."
IRNSS will be on lines with Russia's Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), European Union's Galileo (GNSS), China's BeiDou satellite navigation system and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System.
