How Isro plans to boost India's GPS-alternative Navic's reach beyond India's borders
NaVIC, from its current range of 1,500 km to an extended 3,000 km beyond India's borders. As per a TOI report, this development was shared by ISRO Chairman S Somanath during the CSIR Foundation Day event at Bharat Mandapam, where he presented an overview of the space agency's initiatives.
Once the expansion of coverage is achieved, NaVIC will not only serve India but also extend its signals to neighboring countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.
NaVIC operates through a constellation of seven satellites and a network of continuous ground stations operating around the clock.
Within the constellation, three satellites are positioned in geostationary orbit at 32.5°E, 83°E, and 129.5°E, while the remaining four satellites are in inclined geosynchronous orbit with equatorial crossings at 55°E and 111.75°E, featuring an inclination of 29°. The ground infrastructure encompasses a control center, precise timing facility, range and integrity monitoring stations, and two-way ranging stations.
To achieve the broader coverage, ISRO will need to launch additional navigation satellites to extend NaVIC's reach to the 3,000 km mark beyond India's boundaries.
Currently, the NaVIC system serves two distinct categories of users: the Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian applications and the restricted service (RS) for strategic purposes, catering to security agencies and the armed forces.
NaVIC plays a pivotal role in supporting India's long-term security and economic growth endeavors, including applications such as power grid synchronization, public vehicle safety, real-time train information systems, fishermen safety, geofencing, missile navigation, and more.
