India successfully launched the fifth of a constellation of navigation satellites yesterday, as part of a programme that will reduce dependency on the US’ Global Positioning System (GPS) and other networks. 
India’s plan is to have seven satellites that will provide navigational information over the country and up to 1,500km around the mainland, Indian Space Research Organisation said. 
The American GPS, Russia’s Glonass and Europe’s Galileo have dozens of satellites to provide information across the globe. China is also building its own global positioning system, known as Beidou or COMPASS. 
The satellite IRNSS-1E was launched into orbit by a locally developed spacecraft from the Sriharikota space centre in Andhra Pradesh. Over the next few days, scientists will carry orbital manoeuvres to place the satellite into a geosynchronous orbit, ISRO said in a statement. 
“We have started this year with the launch of the fifth navigation satellite, which is a great success as it was precisely injected into the intended orbit. We are lining up a series of satellites for launch in almost every month to meet the demand,” ISRO chairman A S Krishna Kumar said.
Two more satellites are planned to be launched over the next several months, it said. India’s regional navigation system will provide open navigational information to all users but also restricted services to the military. 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists for their determination in setting up a home-grown navigational system. “Our scientists keep making us proud,” he said in a Twitter post.  
“We have a long way to go, as we have to first complete the constellation of seven regional navigation satellite system (IRNSS) in the next two months and embark on other missions to launch various types of satellites for multi-purposes,” Kumar said.
“Speeding up the space programmes, we had launched five missions in 2015, including four PSLV and one GSLV (geo-synchronous launch vehicle) rockets. Since July, we had launched four missions with each in August (GSLV), September and December,” satellite centre director M Annadurai said.
With the successful launch of the GSLV in August 2015, GSLV-Mark-III in December 2014 and GSLV-Mark II in January 2014, using indigenous cryogenic engine which runs in super-cooled temperatures, the space agency plans to launch one more GSLV-Mark III as its heaviest rocket this year to carry four-tonne satellites in the geo-stationary orbit, about 36,000km from the earth.