New satellite launched close to GPS advantage
For the Indian Space Research Organisation, there could have hardly been a better start to the new year than taking yet another successful step towards establishing the country's own satellite navigation system. On Wednesday, Isro launched the fifth of seven satellites that will make up the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1E was powered by India's trusted workhorse, the polar satellite launch vehicle, and will be followed by two other satellites in the coming months. Isro plans to have the entire system in place, up and running, before the end of this year. Partial operations have already started, since the system was operation-worthy even with just four satellites, and smart phones should be able to pick up signals from the IRNSS in the next six months, though the devices will need to be properly equipped with a special code. However, once all seven satellites are in place, the system will have greater accuracy and speed. It could be a game-changer for any field that requires accurate navigation and positioning services be it the Google Maps application on a smart-phone or complex mass transportation systems such as trains, planes, and ships even. There are also military uses, which, of course, have been kept under wraps. Importantly, the new system will reduce India's dependency on America's Global Positioning System the value of which cannot be ignored, particularly in war time. In fact, the IRNSS will bring India into an elite club of nations that have their own satellite navigation systems. The US is at the top of this list its GPS was first launched in 1978 and has 31 satellites. Russia followed suit with 24-satellite Glonas in 1982. later in 2000, China joined the club with its Beidou and the European Union with Galileo in 2011.
Although IRNSS will give India an indigenous alternative, it is early to say that it will replace the GPS completely. For one, it is the only satellite navigation system that doesn't have global coverage. At least for the time being, the IRNSS's coverage will extend up to 1,500kms outside India's borders. Also, while the other systems have a precision radius of 10cms (China's Beidou) to five metres (America's GPS), for the IRNSS it is 20 metres on the civilian/commercial band and 10 metres on the military band. In short, the IRNSS may not be as accurate as the American GPS. That said, these are early days and India is still developing its own technology. Surely, Isro will continue to work on the project till we are ready to become market leaders. In fact, technologically advanced countries like Australia, Japan, South Korea and Russia have already offered their support and are looking to collaborate with Isro. Thus, India has made a name for itself in the space industry, despite having been shut out of the field for many decades (when sanctions were imposed in the aftermath of the nuclear tests). In this context, IRNSS is yet another feather in Isro's decorated cap.