The ranging payload consists of C-band transponder which facilitates accurate determination of the range of the satellite.

The satellite control was taken over by the Mission Control Facility(MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka.

The MCF will manage the satellite's orbit raising operations firing the on-board motors till it is placed in final orbit.

The satellite with a life span of around 10 years is the third of the seven satellites constituting the IRNSS.

The first satellite IRNSS-1A was launched in July 2013 and the second IRNSS-1B in April 2014. Both have already started functioning from their designated orbital slots.

The navigational system, developed by India, is designed to provide accurate position information service to users within the country and up to 1,500 km from the nation's boundary line.

The system, expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 metres in the primary service area, is similar to the global positioning system of the US, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe, China's Beidou or the Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System.

The system will be used for terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, integration with mobile phones, mapping and geodetic data capture, visual and voice navigation for drivers and others.

While the ISRO is silent on the navigation system's strategic application, it is clear that the IRNSS will be used for defence purposes as well.

By adding more satellites, the service area can be expanded, an ISRO official said.

"The experimental mission of GSLV Mark III (geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle) with crew module will be launched in 45 days. In December communication satellite GSAT-16 with 48 transponders will be launched by Ariane rocket," Radhakrishnan noted.

Referring to the Hudhud cyclone that battered Andhra Pradesh recently Radkhakrishnan said the country's space technology has helped in disaster management in Andhra Pradesh.

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