Tomorrow, ISRO’s second bid to launch satellite made with private help | 12 May

Tomorrow, ISRO’s second bid to launch satellite made with private help | 12 May

Schedule 

Mission: PSLV-C41/IRNSS-1I

Launch: 4:04 am, 12 April 2018.

Location: First Launch Pad at Sriharikota, India

Rocket: PSLV-C41, XL configuration

Payload: Navigation satellite IRNSS-1I

Injection orbit: 284 km x 20,650 km , 19.2 deg

Final satellite orbit: 36,000 km GEO, 29 deg

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will make a second attempt Thursday to launch a satellite that has had its assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) done by private companies.

AIT involves the process of putting together all the manufactured components in the satellite’s body and testing them rigorously to ensure it can fly. For this satellite, AIT was done by a group of engineers from private firms, with ample handholding by ISRO, which is hoping to completely delegate AIT to private companies in the near future.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)-1I is set for take off aboard the faithful Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at 4.04 am from Sriharikota. It is the latest addition to the ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation (NAVIC), a group of satellites orbiting above India that will serve as a domestic version of the American government-owned GPS.

Technology :

ISRO’s earlier attempt to launch a satellite, IRNSS-1H, with private AIT involvement, in August 2017, failed.

While ISRO does source materials and components from private players for all their launches, AIT has always been performed exclusively by the ISRO Satellite Assembly Centre (ISAC), with involvement by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The AIT for IRNSS-1I was done by a consortium of private companies led by Alpha Design Technologies, a defence equipment supplier based in Bengaluru. The companies, however, were not involved in the planning or manufacture of IRNSS-1I per se, contrary to the several reports that claim it is fully privately built.

Information About Rocket :

The rocket currently sitting on the launch pad will be called PSLV-C41. It will mark the 43rd flight for the PSLV. The carrier has four stages, alternating between solid and liquid fuels, stacked on top of each other. The PSLV weighs 321,000 kg and stands 44.4 m tall. There will be six strap-on boosters attached to the first stage to give the PSLV the additional thrust needed to climb higher.

IRNSS-1H was ISRO’s first backup satellite, launched in August 2017 with the intention of replacing IRNSS-1A. However, PSLV-C39’s payload fairing failed to separate, leaving the satellite stuck inside.