After losing GSAT-6A in space, ISRO to launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1I on April 12

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1I on April 12.

New Delhi: After losing contact with its high power S-band communication satellite GSAT-6A within 48 hours after launch, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1I on April 12.

The satellite will be launched aboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-41 (PSLV C-41) rocket from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

According to a report in Times of India, IRNSS-1I will replace faulty IRNSS-1A navigation satellite, whose three Rubidium atomic clocks had stopped working two years ago.

'The upcoming launches like of IRNSS-1I will not be affected because of the snapping of signal link with communication satellite GSAT-6A," TOI quoted ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan as saying.

As per the report, ISRO tried to launch IRNSS-1H to replace faulty IRNSS-1A on August 31 last year, but the satellite got stuck in the heat shield of the PSLV rocket during the launch.

IRNSS-1I is the eighth satellite to join the NavIC navigation satellite constellation. The satellite weighs 600kg (dry mass) with a life span of 10 years.

The Indian space scientists and engineers are still trying to establish a link with the communication satellite GSAT-6A, which was launched on March 29, using Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F08) rocket.