NAVigation with Indian Costellation

NAVIC

ISROThe Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is the space agency of the Indian government headquartered in the city of Bengaluru. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.

Formed in 1969 by the efforts of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai. The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalized space activities in India. It is managed by the Department of Space, which reports to the Prime Minister of India.

ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April in 1975. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle, SLV-3.

Launch Vehicle FleetSatellite Launch Vehicle (SLV)Status: DecommissionedAugmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV)Status: DecommissionedPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)Status: ActiveGeosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)Status: ActiveGeosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV III)Status: Currently under development

Extraterrestrial explorationFirst mission to the Moon: Chandrayaan-1Chandrayaan-1 was India's first mission to moon. Launched using a PSLV on 22 October 2008 .The spacecraft carried a total of 11 instruments: 5 Indian and 6 from foreign institutes and space agencies (including NASA, ESA, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Brown University and other European and North American institutes/companies) which were carried free of cost. Chandrayaan-1 became the first lunar mission to discover existence of water on the Moon.Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), informally known as Mangalyaan, was launched into Earth orbit on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and has entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. India is the first country to enter Mars orbit in first attempt. It was completed at a record cost of $74 million.ASTROSATASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory. This scientific satellite mission endeavor's for a more detailed understanding of our universe.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System(NAVIC)The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) with an operational name of NAVIC which means Sailor or Navigator in Sanskrit and also stands for NAVigation with Indian Constellation. It is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system that is being set up by India, that will be used to provide accurate real-time positioning and timing services over India and the region extending to 1,500 kilometers around India.The system was developed because access to foreign government-controlled global navigation satellite systems is not guaranteed in hostile situations, as happened to the Indian military in 1999 when it was dependent on the American Global Positioning System (GPS) during the Kargil War. The Indian government approved the project in May 2006, with the intention of the system being completed and implemented by 28 April 2016.

The constellation of seven NAVIC satellites is already in orbit and the system is operational. NAVIC will provide two levels of serviceStandard Positioning Service(SPS) will be open for civilian use, and a Restricted service(RS) an encrypted one for authorized users (including the military).

The NAVIC system will consist of a constellation of 3 satellites in Geostationary orbit (GEO), 4 satellites in Geosynchronous orbit (GSO), approximately 36,000 kilometers altitude above earth surface, and two satellites on the ground as stand-by, in addition to ground stations.

Some applications of IRNSS are:• Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation• Disaster Management• Vehicle tracking and fleet management• Integration with mobile phones• Precise Timing• Mapping and Geodetic data capture• Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travelers• Visual and voice navigation for drivers

Now India is part of a elite club of 5 members who has their own Navigational system.

America - GPSRussia - GLONASSChina - BeiDou (BDS) European - GalileoIndia – Navic (IRNSS).

GPS has a precision of 10-15 meters.NAVIC would have a precision value of

10 meters (public service)3 meters (Commercial service)0.1 meters(Restricted/Encrypted Service).

How is it helpful to Indians ?Emergency Services Cheaper Equipment for FishermanLow cost Navigational DevicesBoost for Indian Automotive and IT industrySafer Skies with GAGANOptimized sea travel distance for Cargo trade

Future Plans

Discussion are on Going with South Korea and a couple of Gulf countries to expand the reach of Navic and making it move forward to becoming a global position system from a Regional One.In Future there is a strong possibility that Navic would become a Global Position System Service available to all.

MOHAN KANNI