QUESTION 1
What is Navigation
with Indian Constellation (NavIC)? Why a regional navigation system
matters to India? (150 words, 10 marks)
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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. |
