Advantage India by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam & Srijan Pal Singh

Author:A.P.J. Abdul Kalam & Srijan Pal Singh [Kalam, A.P.J. Abdul & Singh, Srijan Pal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

4. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)

IRNSS is an indigenous alternative to the well-known Global Positioning System, or GPS. Expected to be completed in 2016 by ISRO, it has an interesting history beginning at the end of the last century. The year 1999 was a very eventful one for India. It was the year when there was an unprovoked infiltration by Pakistani troops, who crossed the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir leading to a mountain war between the two nuclear powers. When we first tracked Pakistani troops who had taken positions in India’s territory in Kargil, one of the first things the Indian military sought was GPS data for the region. The space-based navigation system maintained by the US government would have provided vital information to us. But to our disappointment the US denied it to us. While it put us in difficulty, it also made us realize the need for an indigenous satellite navigation system. It took more than a decade to master this system. The accurate positioning of ground using a satellite is a complex task, requiring multiple geosynchronous satellites that work in close tandem with each other; ground-based ranging station and the main ground station—which is currently located in Byalalu in Karnataka. A goal of complete Indian control has been stated, with the space segment, ground segment and user receivers all to be built in India. The total cost of this project is Rs 1420 crore or about $223 million,17 compared to the cost of GPS, which is over eleven times, at $2.5 billion.18 There will be a total of seven satellites to be placed in the geosynchronous orbit for completing this system—IRNSS-1A to IRNSS-1G. As on 28 March 2015, four satellites have been successfully placed and another three remain to be launched—it is expected that this unique navigational project will be completed by 2016.

Such an alternative navigation system to GPS not only has a strategic and military use but also tremendous civilian application. The cost of this system would make it very cost competitive, and open many new vistas for income creation—such as logistics, security, agriculture, land mapping and mining. In a technological transformation, where even three-wheeler autos are now being fitted with navigation systems, the IRNSS can be a potent tool in the hands of the people to create many new enterprises around.

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