Isro to launch navigational satellite for its constellation in May end

The two launches that have already happened this year were also significant as the first one resulted in the induction of the new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle into the existing Isro fleet and the second established the heaviest rocket LVM Mk3 as a dependable commercial launcher.

In addition to the launch scheduled for May end, the space agency is also planning to launch big-ticket missions like its first solar mission Aditya-L1 during the third quarter of the year. Later this year, Isro is also likely to attempt two test vehicle missions as a precursor to the first unmanned flight of the Gaganyaan mission.

The NVS-01 satellite will replace the navigational capabilities of another satellite IRNSS-1G in the constellation. It will retain its communication and messaging capabilities.

The navigational capabilities of a couple of satellites were hampered after the atomic clocks on board malfunctioned. The location of objects for satellite-based navigation is determined by very precisely measuring the time it takes for the signals to return from the ground.

After the failure of some of the imported atomic clocks, India decided to develop its own atomic clocks as well.

One of the satellites IRNSS-1A was replaced by the space agency in 2018 – the first replacement satellite launched in 2017 was lost after the heat shield containing the satellite did not open when it was supposed to.

At present, there are four major global navigation systems—the US global positioning system, the Russian GLONASS, the European Galileo, and the Chinese Beidou. There are two regional navigational systems in the world—Japan’s Quasi-Zenith system and India’s Navic.