Though the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the country’s first dedicated regional navigation satellite (IRNSS-1A) in the early hours of Tuesday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh with much fanfare, it will be of no use to the country till 2016, according to top space scientists of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum.
A Polar Satellite launch Vehicle, India’s time tested launch vehicle, injected the 1,450 kg satellite into the pre-determined orbit within 20 minutes of its take off from the SDSC on Tuesday night. The launch vehicle’s lift-off and the lobbing of the satellite into the orbit were as scripted by the space engineers of the ISRO. The next couple of days will see the ISRO scientists manoeuvring the satellite into a Geo Synchronous Orbit at a height of about 33,000 km from the earth.
But the services provided by the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) will be available to the end users only after the launch of the seven satellites in the fleet which constitute the constellation. “What you saw on Tueday is just a publicity campaign by the ISRO,” a senior VSSC scientist told The Pioneer.
The delay in commissioning the much publicised regional navigation satellite system points to the setbacks suffered by the ISRO in recent years. “At the best we can have four PSlV launches per year if everything works as per our plans. Even for that to happen, we have to resort to the commercial production of the launch vehicles and the satellites. In addition to this we have limitations with launch pads” said the scientist.
Space analysts are cautious about commenting on the IRNSS launch. “ We do not know what is going to happen by 2016. By that time private companies could chip in with much cheaper navigational system,” said the VSSC scientist.
Scientists at ISRO headquarters in Bangalore said India could have completed the IRNSS in a shortest span of time had we used the PSlV exclusively to launch the navigation satellites. “The ISRO is in discussion with French Space Agency (CNES) for launching SPOT 7, a commercial remote sensing satellite. The French Space Agency has selected ISRO because the rate offered by us is cheap compared to international launch rates. The launch of SPOT 7 needs a full PSlV vehicle and no other satellites could go with it. Hence the launching of the IRNSS fleet will get delayed. Till the last of the IRNSS is put into orbit, the other satellites in the series would remain as white elephants,” said the ISRO scientist.
Meanwhile doubts have been raised about the motive behind sparing the services of the PSlV to an advanced space agency like CNES for launching its commercial remote sensing satellite. The European Space Agency has a variety of launch vehicles to launch any type of satellites of any class of weight to any type of orbits. Why they are depending or even exploiting the ISRO,” asked the VSSC scientist. He said this was a project which should have completed within one year itself.
But a SDSC engineer said the IRNSS would take more years than what is being forecast by the ISRO. “If everything had worked as per our plans and forecast , we would have launched even the heavy Geo-Synchronous launch Vehicle in 2011 itslef. All our programmes are running behind schedule and the IRNSS is no exception,” he said.
Scientists in VSSC and ISRO headquarters termed the media blitzkrieg as a publicity exercise by the top echelons of the country’s space programme trying to get extension of service. The tenure of K Radhakrishnan, chairman, ISRO, is coming to an end by August 2013. ISRO insiders said that the Mars Mission is being projected to facilitate an extension of service to Radhakrishnan, who is still groping in the dark about the cryogenic technology for launching satellites weighing 2000 kg and more.
Devi Prasad Karnik, the suave spokesman of the ISRO is optimistic about the IRNSS mission. “Once the entire fleet of seven satellites are in position up in the sky, people in Indian sub-continent and anywhere within a distance of 1500 km from the Indian borders will be navigated by the IRNSS,” he told The Pioneer.
He said the IRNSS would emerge as a brand name overtaking systems like Global Positioning System (GPS), GAlIlEO and GlONASS which are all owned by countries like the USA and Russia. The GPS was created and realized by the Department of Defence, USA. The GPS with a fleet of 24 advanced satellites is owned and operated by the US Government as a national resource. GAlIlEO is being built by European Space Agency and European Union while GlONASS (acronym for Global Navigation Satellite System) is operated by Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. With the IRNSS constellation in position, India too will emerge as a power in regional navigation and guidance services.
The signals given by the IRNSS will help any person to locate and identify his position anywhere in the Indian subcontinent, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. “This will come handy for aircraft, ships and motor vehicles. You need not struggle with compasses and stars up in the sky to locate your position hereafter,” Karnik explained.
Signals from the IRNSS could be received if you own a smart phone. “The aircraft and ships will have in-built navigational system which would be integrated to the IRNSS,” said Karnik. A release by the ISRO said the entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites would be completed by 2015-16.