Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)

GS-III | S&T

QUESTION 1

What is Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)? Why a regional navigation system matters to India? (150 words, 10 marks)

 

Introduction:

 

Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is a regional navigation satellite developed by the Indian Space Research and Organisation (ISRO) to meet the nation’s positioning, navigation and timing requirements. NavIC was erstwhile known as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

 

Body:

·   NavIC is designed with a constellation of seven satellites and a network of ground stations operating 24 x 7.

·    Three satellites of the constellation are placed in geostationary orbit at 32.5°E, 83°E, and 129.5°E, respectively, and four satellites are placed in inclined geosynchronous orbit with an equatorial crossing of 55°E and 111.75°E, respectively, with an inclination of 29° (two satellites in each plane).

·    The ground network consists of a control centre, a precise timing facility, range and integrity monitoring stations, two-way ranging stations, etc.

·    NavIC offers two services: Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users.

·      The NavIC coverage area includes India and a region up to 1500 km beyond the          Indian boundary.

 

Why it is important for India?

·     India is the only country that has a regional satellite-based navigation system. There are four global satellite-based navigation systems: the American GPS, the Russian GLONASS (GLObalnayaNAvigatsionnayaSputnikovaya Sistema), the European Galileo, and the Chinese Beidou.

 

·     NavIC open signals will be accurate up to 5 metres and restricted signals will be even more accurate. GPS signals, by contrast, are accurate up to around 20 metres.

 

·   NavIC provides coverage over the Indian landmass and up to a radius of 1,500 km around it. In this region, NavIC signals will likely be available in even hard-to-reach areas. Unlike GPS, NavIC uses satellites in a high geostationary orbit — the satellites move at a constant speed relative to Earth, so they are always looking over the same region on Earth.

 

·    NavIC signals come to India at a 90-degree angle, making it easier for them to reach devices located even in congested areas, dense forests, or mountains.

 

·      NavIC finds utilisation in national projects like public vehicle safety, power grid synchronisation, real-time train information system and fishermen safety. Other upcoming initiatives (such as) common alert protocol-based emergency warning, time dissemination, geodetic network and unmanned aerial vehicles are in the process of adopting NavIC system.

 

·     With an aim to promote the civilian use of NAVigation with the Indian Constellation (NavIC), L1 frequency is being introduced in all its future satellites.

 

·     The seven satellites in the NavIC constellation so far use two frequencies for providing positioning data — L5 and S band. The new satellites NVS-01 onwards, meant to replace these satellites, will also have L1 frequency that can be used by devices that run on low power, single-frequency chips such as smart watches and security systems.

 

·    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on May 29 successfully placed the NVS-01 navigation satellite, weighing about 2232 kg, into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

 

Conclusion:

 

ISRO plans to set up ground stations in Japan and France to better triangulate the entire area under NavIC coverage – the system is likely to become more accurate than GPS. The satellites placed directly over India also ensure better availability of signals in varied geographical regions compared to GPS, which India receives at an angle making it difficult to access in dense forests or valleys.

 

 

Note- Please refer ASPIRE IAS May current affairs Part-3 for detailed coverage of this topic, GSLV Launches Timeline in chronology and launch vehicles.

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