• ISRO’s attempts to place the NVS-02 satellite in the desired orbit suffered a setback after the thrusters on board the spacecraft failed to fire.
• The NVS-02 satellite, which was crucial for India’s space-based navigation system, was launched on January 29 on board GSLV-F15 which was ISRO’s 100th launch from the spaceport at Sriharikota.
• The satellite is orbiting the Earth in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) which is not suitable for the navigation system.
• The satellite systems are healthy and the satellite is currently in elliptical orbit.
• Alternate mission strategies for utilising the satellite for navigation in an elliptical orbit are being worked out.
• After the GSLV rocket placed the satellite in the GTO, the solar panels on board the satellite were successfully deployed and power generation was nominal.
• Communication with the ground station has been established.
• The launch on board the GSLV was successful as all the stages performed flawlessly and the orbit was achieved with a high degree of precision.
• The NVS-02 satellite is the second in the series of the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC).
• It is designed and developed by Bengaluru-based U.R. Rao Satellite Centre weighs about 2,250 kg. It has navigation payload in L1, L5 and S bands and employs a tri-band antenna.
• The heart of the navigation payload is the Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (RAFS), an atomic clock which acts as a stable frequency reference for the navigation payload.
• Its predecessor, NVS-01, the first of the second generation navigation satellites was launched on May 29, 2023.
(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)