NEW DELHI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- India has carried out the final orbit raising operation of its eighth navigation satellite IRNSS-1I, space officials said.
IRNSS-1I (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System), the final satellite in constellation of what's being dubbed as India's home-made version of U.S. global positioning system (GPS), was launched by state-owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Thursday.
"The final orbit raising operation of the satellite was successfully carried out by late Sunday night. It's a major achievement on part of ISRO scientists. The constellation is now in place," a space official said Monday.
IRNSS has the operational name of NAVIC or Navigation with Indian Constellation.
IRNSS 1I was actually launched from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota as a replacement for the first one in the series of seven satellites after it malfunctioned and efforts to replace the satellite with another one failed last year, officials said.
Once operational, the NAVIC will provide error-free satellite-based navigation that will be used for both civilian and military purposes.
