Credit: ISRO
India launched its second navigation spacecraft aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on Friday to continue building an independent space-based system to provide positioning services over Indian territory.
The 144-foot-tall launcher lifted off at 1144 GMT (7:44 a.m. EDT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, India's primary space launch site on the country's eastern coastline about 50 miles north of Chennai.
The launch occurred at 5:14 p.m. local time in India.
Propelled by a solid-fueled first stage and six strap-on motors, the PSLV raced into the sky from the Indian launch base, flying east while shedding all six boosters and the first stage in the first two minutes of the flight.
The rocket's second stage Vikas engine ignited for two-and-a-half minutes to push the launcher into space, then the PSLV's third and fourth stages accelerated the mission's payload to orbital velocity.
The upper stage released the Indian navigation satellite about 20 minutes after liftoff, prompting cheers and congratulatory handshakes in the launch control center.
Preliminary data showed the rocket placed the spacecraft in an orbit with a high point of 12,807 miles, a low point of 176 miles and an inclination of 19.2 degrees. The parameters are close to prelaunch predictions.
The launch marked the 26th PSLV mission since 1993 and the launcher's 22nd successful flight in a row.
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