Indian IRNSS to line up alongside other satnav systems

Chennai: India will be part of a select group of nations fielding its own satellite navigation system, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The system will offer position, navigation and timing (PNT) services, an official from the Indian Space Research Organisation said Wednesday.

'The IRNSS is a constellation of seven satellites - to be increased to 11 later - to offer PNT services that could be used by various organisations globally or regionally,' said Suresh V Kibe, a senior satellite scientist  of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Speaking at the 98th Indian Science Congress held at SRM University in Kattankulathur near here, Kibe said there are two operational space navigation systems in the world – the first being the US-owned Global Positioning System (GPS) and the second one being the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). The third and fourth, Europe's Galileo and the Chinese COMPASS systems, were also expected to become operational over the next five to ten years.

The PNT services find application in mobile phones, vehicles, aviation, maritime, emergency services, survey and others including military, Kibe said.

In the next 10 years, the number of navigation satellites is expected to be around 100, he said.

Another ISRO scientist mentioned that India would soon have a more sophisticated eye-in-the-sky spy satellite, which would be stationed in a geostationary orbit.