The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is scheduled to launch Thursday its first satellite built by the private sector, officials said.
The IRNSS-H1 navigation satellite would be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota by a PSLV rocket, ISRO spokesman DP Karnik said.
The satellite has been built by a consortium of six companies led by Bangalore-based Alpha Design Technologies under the supervision of a team of ISRO scientists.
It would replace one of seven satellites of the IRNSS which had malfunctioned, Karnik said.
"This is the first time a private consortium has been involved in the integration of a satellite," Karnik said about Thursday's launch. "ISRO plans to involve more companies in satellite assembly activities in the future."
The IRNSS or Indian Navigation Satellite System has been designed to provide position information in India and a 1,500-kilometre radius around it, as well as reduce dependence on the US-developed Global Positioning System (GPS).
The seven satellites of the navigation system, named Navic for "navigation by Indian constellation (of satellites)" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were placed in orbit between July 2013 and April 2016.
The system provides two levels of data access - one for all users and an encrypted service only for authorized users like the Indian military.
