The sixth satellite in a series of seven orbiting navigation aids lifted off from India on Thursday, streaking into orbit aboard a 145-foot-tall (44-meter) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
The IRNSS 1F satellite, weighing in at 3,141 pounds (1,425 kilograms), rode the four-stage PSLV’s 34th mission into space after a liftoff from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at 1031 GMT (5:31 a.m. EST; 4:01 p.m. Indian time) Thursday.
The spacecraft is heading for an operational orbit nearly 22,300 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator. IRNSS 1F joins five previous Indian navigation satellites launched since 2013, and will be followed by a seventh craft set for launch in April.
The IRNSS network will provide regional positioning and timing coverage over India and neighboring territories, offering an independent navigation resource for the Indian government and supplementing signals from U.S. GPS and Russian Glonass satellites.
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