ISRO's NVS-03 launch tonight is the first step in reviving NavIC, India's indigenous navigation system, which has only three working satellites against the four it needs.
India's home-grown answer to GPS has been running below strength for months, and tonight ISRO will try to change that. The space agency plans to send up NVS-03, a next-generation navigation satellite, from Sriharikota at 11:51 pm. NavIC has been weakened by failing onboard clocks and a replacement satellite that never reached its intended orbit. This launch is the first real step towards getting the system back on its feet.
Why NavIC needs NVS-03
The Hindu's explainer says the launch comes after repeated atomic clock failures and after NVS-02 could not be placed in its intended orbit. Business Standard reports, citing a government reply in Parliament on July 29, that only three NavIC satellites are providing positioning, navigation and timing services: IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01. Four are needed for standalone positioning, so the timing service still works but the system cannot fix a location on its own.
The Hindu notes that NavIC's development began after the 1999 Kargil War, when the United States reportedly restricted India's access to GPS data. NavIC is meant to end that dependence, with coverage across India and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders.
What the satellite and launch involve
NVS-03 is the third satellite in ISRO's second-generation series, and Business Standard says it carries an indigenous atomic clock alongside procured ones. It also adds an L1 signal, which should make NavIC usable on more devices. According to ISRO's mission brochure, GSLV-F18 is the 20th flight of the GSLV and will place the roughly 2,250 kg satellite in a geosynchronous transfer orbit from the second launch pad.
Swarajya puts the three-stage rocket at about 50 metres tall with a liftoff mass of around 420 tonnes. Even a clean launch will not fix NavIC overnight. The satellite must reach its final orbit and clear in-orbit testing, and NVS-04 and NVS-05 are still being prepared, per Business Standard.
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