ISRO to boost NavIC, widen user base of location system

Source: The post is based on the article “ISRO to boost NavIC, widen user base of location system” published in The Hindu on 27th October 2022

What is the News?

At the India Space Congress, the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has revealed its plans to expand the reach of NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) beyond India and not to a limited territory around India.

What is NavIC?

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What are the changes NavIC will undergo in future?

Adding L1 band into NavIC: Currently, NavIC is only compatible with the L5 and S bands and hasn’t easily penetrated into the civilian sector.

– ISRO is now planning to add the L1 band into NavIC. This bandwidth is part of the GPS and is the most used for civilian navigational use. 

Increase the safety of signals: There is a Long Code and Short Code. Currently (NavIC) only provides short code. This has to become a Long Code for the use of the strategic sector. This prevents the signal from being breached.

Expand NavIC reach: Currently, NavIC satellites orbit the earth in a geostationary or geosynchronous (GEO) orbit or about 36,000 km from the earth. Its reach is only 1,500 km beyond Indian territory. 

– To make NavIC global, India needs satellites in Medium Earth Orbit(MEO). Hence, ISRO is planning to launch satellites in MEO.

Note: MEO orbits occupy a space between GEO and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or about 250-2,000 km from earth.

What is India Space Congress (ISC) 2022?

Organized by: SatCom Industry Association(SIAIndia) 

Theme: ‘Leveraging Space to Power Next-Gen Communication & Businesses’.

ISC 2022 is supported by the ISRO, Ministry of Defence, Niti Aayog, In-Space, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and the Department of Telecommunication.