The last week April saw India launching its seventh navigation satellite IRNSS-1G completing its regional navigation satellite system Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). On this occasion of India being one among world’s five countries which have its own GPS system and navigation system, PM Modi praising the achievement christened the service as ‘NAVIC’ for ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’.

Unlike GPS, GLONASS or BeiDou, INRSS is a regional navigation system with a footprint that extends about 1500 km from India’s landmass. IRNSS is an interesting constellation design of seven satellites with three geostationary satellites (GEOs) (with longitude crossings at 32.5° E, 83° E, and 131.5° E) and four geosynchronous satellites (GSOs) with an inclination of 29 degrees (two each at 55° E and 111.75° E longitude crossings).… Click here to read the complete article

Technological capabilities in outer space have long been used as an effective tool of foreign policy. Some of the prominent examples being U.S using its LandSat satellites to give away data; the Russians flew our own Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma. We in India have established a long-standing space programme with a history of over 50 years of space exploration. However, have we put to use our capabilities to use as a tool of foreign policy as effectively as other countries?

To recall some of such prominent exchanges, India has some of the best remote sensing satellites in the world and we have provisioned downlink capabilities for these remote sensing satellites for a number of countries.… Click here to read the complete article