NavIC System (IRNSS)
The Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) is a sub-regional satellite navigation system which is owned and operated by the ISRO on behalf of the by the Indian government.?
As of 2019, the IRNSS is now complete with its entire constellation of satellites in orbit. It was renamed as the Navigation Indian Constellation (NAVIC) by India?s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2016.
What is the IRNSS?
- The IRNSS is an independent and autonomous regional navigation support system which aims to provide a service to an area till 1500 kilometers around India.
- Given India’s bad experience in the 1999 Kargil War when US had shut-off the GPS in the entire area, India had decided to have its own sub-regional navigation control unit.
- The system is owned and operated under complete Indian control, with the space segment, ground segment, and user receivers all being built in India.
- It will have a range of applications including personal navigation.
- The IRNSS (now NavIC) has 7 satellites in orbit which are complemented with the appropriate ground infrastructure.
Current Status
Over 8,900 NavIC SPS receivers have been deployed for use by fishermen, Academic Institutes, R&D Organisations, vehicle trackers etc. These devices are used to better manage waypoint services.
India has a huge market potential for navigation platforms and the ISRO is working hard to miniaturize and develop cost-effective NavIC solutions along with various Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) based modules through industries and in-house projects.
