By V. Jagannathan
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), March 10 (IANS) An Indian rocket on Thursday evening blasted off successfully with the country's sixth navigation satellite called IRNSS-1F from the rocket port here.
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-XL version standing 44.4 metres tall and weighing 320 tonnes tore into the evening sky at 4 p.m., breaking free of the earth's gravitational pull.
As the rocket went up, its engine roar reverberated over the media centre like a rolling thunder much to the thrill of the people here.
Named the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the system consists of a constellation of seven satellites, of which five - IRNSS-1A, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1C, IRNSS-1D and IRNSS-1E - have already been put into orbit.
The sixth satellite -- IRNSS-1F weighing 1,425 kg -- is expected to join the other five soon.
Just over 20 minutes into the flight, the rocket would put into orbit IRNSS-1F at an altitude 488.9 km.
The satellite's life span is 12 years, an ISRO official said.
(V. Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
