India Builds Its Own GPS

[sonicboom]

India Builds Its Own GPS


January 16, 2011: India recently announced that it is going to have its very own Global Positioning System (GPS) by 2014. This was driven more by feelings that India was lagging too far behind China. While India’s $355 million Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) was a right step in the right direction, of reducing the technology lead China has, India needs to calibrate its strategic programs to cope with China, which is the biggest potential threat.
Under the IRNSS program, India will have a constellation of seven satellites, to be raised to eleven later, which will give unprecedented operational war-time leverage to the Indian military, apart from serving as an excellent infrastructure for a host of civilian applications like in the fields of civil aviation, agriculture and fisheries. Unlike the American GPS, the IRNSS will have a limited range and that explains the ‘R’ in IRNSS. However, it will provide an absolute position accuracy of more than 20 meters throughout India and within a range extending to about 2,000 kilometers around India. The IRNSS will make a huge contribution to the country’s counter-terrorism efforts as it will quickly pass specific data about impending infiltrations in border areas so that the security forces are able to deal with the infiltrators even before they enter the Indian territory. In short, infiltration by terrorists will become a thing of the past once the IRNSS gets operational by 2014.

The IRNSS will, however, be eclipsed by China’s satellite navigation system Compass that may also get operational around the same time. The Chinese Compass will have a string of as many as 35 satellites, including five geostationary ones and the rest Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. Compass will cover the entire globe. The necessity of a military satellite navigation system for a nation comes to the fore during war times. Depending on a foreign SatNav system like GPS can leave Indian aircraft and weapon systems at a disadvantage. The American military grade GPS can be restricted to only U.S. forces and close American allies.

A ray of hope had arisen some eight years ago when the European Galileo GPS emerged as the potential rival to the GPS. India and China became partner countries in the Galileo program with ten per cent share each, but the project has encountered one delay after another, and is still not past the prototype stage. Moreover, the European consortium never agreed to allow India or any other country have military usage of Galileo. The strategic importance of the IRNSS is enhanced all the more against this backdrop. India needs to spend much more in the IRNSS program. For example, Russia has nearly returned its GLONASS GPS system to full use, and is increasing other space related operations. GLONASS was at full strength (24 satellites) in 1995, shortly after the Cold War ended in 1991. But the end of the Cold War meant the end of the regular financing for GLONASS. Maintaining the system required launching replacement satellites every 5-7 years. There was no money for that in the 1990s. By the end of 2002, only seven GLONASS birds were still operational. Russia has since sent billions to rebuilt and maintain GLONASS. India will face the same problems, for once you build something like IRNSS, you have to spend a lot more to keep it operational.– Rajeev Sharma



Space: India Builds Its Own GPS

[keysersoze]

Hold on.......GPS uses 30 satelites. Chinese system 35 satellites Russian system 24 satellites......Indian system 11 satellites!!!!!! wow I have the untmost confidence.........

[vinod2070]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

Hold on.......GPS uses 30 satelites. Chinese system 35 satellites Russian system 24 satellites......Indian system 11 satellites!!!!!! wow I have the untmost confidence.........

Did you read the article? It is Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). So it needs to cover a much smaller part of the globe.

Those people know something that a layman won't, isn't it? They have planted the Indian flag on the moon already. ;)

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by vinod2070

Did you read the article? It is Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). So it needs to cover a much smaller part of the globe.

Those people know something that a layman won't, isn't it? They have planted the Indian flag on the moon already. ;)

They haven't planted anything they crashed a Impactor (for a dubious "scientific" experiment)on the moon. to quote a news agency the "flag was painted across the impactor and would be in pieces (make of that what you will lol)

Now I could point out several claims that appear to be a load of crap on the article (I like the one about how a GPS system will eradicate terrorist attacks lol)

Furthermore I would love to see the launch schedule for this wonderful new system. somhow they are going to get all 11 up in three years lol beating all records for putting satellites up!!!!

[keysersoze]

Here is a older article which claims it will be up by next year lol.

Bangalore: India will invest Rs1,600 crore to build a constellation of seven satellites for navigation in the subcontinent, joining countries such as the US, China and Russia that have their own systems that help in accurately giving directions for vehicles and aircraft.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, the Indian version of NAVSTAR, the US-run global positioning system, is expected to be functional by 2012.

The Indian Space Research Organisation or Isro, the country’s space agency, is building the satellites, the first of which is to be launched in 2010 on a homegrown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It will be used for surveying, telecommunications, transport, identifying disaster areas and public safety among others functions.

The Indian satellites will be placed at a higher so-called geostationary orbit to have a larger signal footprint and lower number of satellites to map the region.

“We need only a minimum number of satellites. Seven satellites will do this job,” said Madhavan Nair, secretary, department of space, and chairman, Isro.

The geostationary orbit is the space 36,000km above earth where communication satellites are parked to transmit signals.

“If you want to have a global coverage, we have to have a constellation of nearly 24 satellites which have to be going around all over the world at around 20,000km above the earth,” said Nair. NAVSTAR, originally designed for the US military, has a constellation of 24 medium earth observation satellites, orbiting around 20,200km in space.

While India’s plans are regional, China, the European Union and Russia are building systems that are as big as the US network to link every part of the globe.

India will launch three satellites of Glonass, the Russian satellite navigation system, which is partially operational, that will eventually see around two dozen satellites covering the globe by 2009.

The European Union’s satellite navigation system, Galileo, will have around 30 satellites that will circle the globe for around 12 years, but the progress of the programme is uncertain after a consortium of industries backed out in June to share risk money in the €2.4 billion or Rs13,300 crore venture. The EU parliament had hinted at funding it as a public project, but a final decision will be made by November.

“The first operational satellite will be by 2012, provided we have political consensus by this fall,” said Jeremie Godet of the European Commission at a conference on Global Navigation Satellite Systems in Bangalore on Tuesday.

China is building Compass or Beidou Satellite Navigation and positioning system with around 30 medium earth observation satellites to track the entire globe, while five geostationary satellites, three of which are in orbit, will track the country locally.

The first of the 30 medium observation satellites was launched in April, but an official of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. said a deadline has not been set for the remaining satellites. “Our programme would cost almost the same as Galileo,” said Meng Bo, vice-president of the Chinese agency.

[vinod2070]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

They haven't planted anything they crashed a Impactor (for a dubious "scientific" experiment)on the moon. to quote a news agency the "flag was painted across the impactor and would be in pieces (make of that what you will lol)

Now I could point out several claims that appear to be a load of crap on the article (I like the one about how a GPS system will eradicate terrorist attacks lol)

Furthermore I would love to see the launch schedule for this wonderful new system. somhow they are going to get all 11 up in three years lol beating all records for putting satellites up!!!!

Do you even know how many satellites India can launch in a year? PVSL is a proven workhorse for ISRO and we can build as many as needed. You are just another jealous Pakistani, not very objective I have to say. ;)

[vinod2070]

BTW, I like your concern about the IRNSS helping against terrorists. Kinda natural. ;)

[human]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

They haven't planted anything they crashed a Impactor (for a dubious "scientific" experiment)on the moon. to quote a news agency the "flag was painted across the impactor and would be in pieces (make of that what you will lol)

Now I could point out several claims that appear to be a load of crap on the article (I like the one about how a GPS system will eradicate terrorist attacks lol)

Furthermore I would love to see the launch schedule for this wonderful new system. somhow they are going to get all 11 up in three years lol beating all records for putting satellites up!!!!

you are again commenting without knowing the facts. the impactor isnt in pieces. its a box containing scientific equipment and designed to survive the crash(called hard landing) and the "dubious" experiment completed 95% of its objectives( the news agency must be a pakistani agency spreading rumours just like th. and putting up 11 satellites in 3 yrs isn't any record. russians used to put in orbit 3 sat per launch with two launches a year.

[keysersoze]

Hmmm just checked the launch shedule for 2011 looks like you guys have fallen behind.....

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by human

you are again commenting without knowing the facts. the impactor isnt in pieces. its a box containing scientific equipment and designed to survive the crash(called hard landing) and the "dubious" experiment completed 95% of its objectives( the news agency must be a pakistani agency spreading rumours just like th. and putting up 11 satellites in 3 yrs isn't any record. russians used to put in orbit 3 sat per launch with two launches a year.

Oh dear then it appears as if you are not aware of the FACTS then......the agencies that I use are not south asian but western and amongst them are scientific journals.

The probe hit the surface at 5000KM per hour. Now i know you guys are proud of your flag but i doubt it can prevent the destruction of a probe travelling at that speed.

As for the Dubious experiments they include taking photos of the moon!!!!

Well done!