The launch of India’s first navigation satellite is being delayed by a fortnight after experts found an electrical fault on its rocket.
Indian space agency ISRO said a routine check of its domestic Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C22) found an…
The launch of India’s first navigation satellite is being delayed by a fortnight after experts found an electrical fault on its rocket.
Indian space agency ISRO said a routine check of its domestic Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C22) found an anomaly that would have affected its second stage. Specifically, the issue was found on one of the rocket’s electro-hydraulic control actuators, which will need to be replaced.
“The replacement of the control actuator needs two weeks of activity at the launch pad and the vehicle assembly area,” said ISRO in a statement on 1 June.
The PLSV is ISRO’s first operational launch vehicle, capable of lifting 1600kg into 620km sun-synchronous polar orbit, or 1050kg into geo-synchronous transfer orbit. The space agency claims it has completed 22 continuously successful flights so far.
The IRNSS-1A bird it will carry had been due to launch on 12 June as part of India’s goal to have its own navigation satellite system similar to GPS in the US. It is the first of a planned seven-satellite constellation that ISRO aims to place over the next three years.
That system comprises three satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and four in geosynchronous orbit (GSO), around 36,000km above the Earth’s surface.
Galileo shipped for testing
Europe’s plans for its own navigation system passed an important milestone on 15 May, when its first full operational capability (FOC) satellite was shipped for pre-flight testing.
German manufacturer OHB, which is helping to build the much-delayed Galileo system, sent the bird to Noordwijk in the Netherlands. There it will undergo the rigours of the ESTEC test centre, where it will be subject to both heat and cold vacuums to ensure it is ready for space.
OHB said its twin satellite was also in the final phase of completion, and will be sent to Noordwijk shortly for testing. The company said the two spacecraft – the first of a series of 22 FOC Galileo satellites – are on track to launch onboard a Soyuz launcher from French Guyana this autumn.
The European Space Agency launched two spacecraft for Galileo in late 2011, which are acting as pathfinders for the system as a whole.
But the multi-billion dollar project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns that have led to funding disputes among EU members. It was originally intended to be operational by 2007, however, is now on track to provide a functional service during 2014, with near-global coverage in 2015.
Unlike GPS or Russia’s Glonass, which can be downgraded or switched off by their military controllers, Galileo will be under civilian control. It is also being designed to provide better coverage at high latitudes than GPS.
