Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) set to establish Navigation Satellite System

Indian Space Research Organisation’s scientists will establish a navigation satellite system for India like that of America’s Global Positioning System (GPS).

Very much similar to the GPS, the Indian satellite is supposed to transmit data continuously that will allow correctly equipped receivers to establish their location with considerable precision.

The project is set to establish the IRNSS at a cost about 1420 crores rupees and was approved by the Union Government in June 2006. The first of the IRNSS satellites is scheduled go into space aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 1 July 2013.

The GPS requires a constellation of 24 orbiting satellites, which will be supported by a global network of ground stations, so that every part of the world is covered.  ISRO will create a system wholly in India's control for providing navigation signals over this country and surrounding areas.

After seeing many configurations, the finally chosen configuration was the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) which required just seven satellites.

All seven IRNSS satellites will be at a height of about 36000 km, which will take a whole day to circle the Earth. Three of the satellites will be placed over the equator, in what is known as the geostationary orbit, where they match the Earth's rotation and therefore appear from the ground to remain at a fixed position in the sky.

The remaining four satellites will be in pairs in two inclined geosynchronous orbits. From the ground, these satellites will appear to travel in figures of ‘8’ during the course of a day.