Navigation satellite IRNSS-1D reached its space home, 12 days after it was launched from Sriharikota. After tests and validations, it is expected to be put to work and beam signals from early May, joining its three siblings — IRNSS-1A, 1B and 1C — that are already in orbit, according to senior officials of Indian Space Research Organisation. IRNSS-1D is the fourth of the seven-satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System; the constellation was conceived to give location-related information across the country and is loosely called the Indian version of the popular GPS which the U.S. military owns and operates. The satellite reached its home after four orbit manoeuvres were conducted since its launch on March 28. It is now slotted at about 36,000 km from Earth at 111 degrees East longitude.
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