NEW DELHI: Isro is working to make India’s own regional navigation system ( NaVIC ) easily accessible to civilians soon, as the accurate positioning system was till now confined to strategic use, said Pawan Goenka, chairman of space regulator and promoter INSPACe. He also said that “by 2025, Isro will target to launch a dozen satellites every year, including six GSLV launches”, to fulfil the growing demand of the space sector.
“We are introducing seven navigation satellites with the new L1 band that will make NaVIC signals accessible in civilians’ mobile phones with a compatible chipset. Of the seven, one satellite has already been launched, six more will be launched. Navigation satellites launched earlier worked on different bands (L5 and S),” Goenka informed during a media roundtable.
He also said that NaVIC (Navigation With Indian Constellation) is more accurate than other navigation systems in the world and govt is working to widen its reach. NaVIC provides positioning accuracy of better than 10 metre throughout India and better than 20 metre for the area surrounding India by 1,500 km.
Announcements of creation of INSPACe, space policy and FDI policy have given a much-needed boost to the sector, the chairman said, adding, “our next objective is to bring in Space Law, which the country doesn’t have”. “We have prepared the first draft within dept. We will now send it for consultation and then it will go to the ministry for clearance before the cabinet approval. The entire process will be completed by either end of this year or by the first quarter of next year,” he said.
To grab a lion’s share of the $5.2 billion global small satellite market , Isro is planning to focus on small launchers and satellites, Goenka said. Isro’s mini-launcher SSLV has, therefore, been developed for this purpose and its technology will be transferred to the private sector in the next two years. Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu, which is being developed especially for small launches, will be ready in two years and will coincide with SSLV tech transfer to the private sector, he said.
The SSLV, together with small rockets of Indian startups AgniKul and Skyroot, will try to fulfil the growing demand for small satellites within and outside the country. Isro and the Indian startups will aim to launch around 25 satellites every year, he said.
With growing interest of youth in the space sector, INSPACe is also collaborating with universities to carve out full-year degree courses in space to meet the talent demand in the growing sector, Goenka said.
“In its promoter’s role , a Standing Committee for Inter-ministerial Coordination (SCMIC) of INSPACe meets every month to do authorisation and set targets. We are trying to set up a single-window system to fast-track clearances for applications of private companies. We have till now 566 applications from the private sector, including 67 for launchers and subsystems, 173 for satellites and 28 for ground segments,” Goenka said.
“We have currently planned to provide funding to eight startups of up to Rs 1 crore and also set up a tech centre for this purpose,” the INSPACe chairman said, adding that “we are also encouraging private companies to set up their own constellation of small satellites in space”.
With multi-front growth in the space sector, India's space economy is expected to touch $44 billion by 2033.
“We are introducing seven navigation satellites with the new L1 band that will make NaVIC signals accessible in civilians’ mobile phones with a compatible chipset. Of the seven, one satellite has already been launched, six more will be launched. Navigation satellites launched earlier worked on different bands (L5 and S),” Goenka informed during a media roundtable.
He also said that NaVIC (Navigation With Indian Constellation) is more accurate than other navigation systems in the world and govt is working to widen its reach. NaVIC provides positioning accuracy of better than 10 metre throughout India and better than 20 metre for the area surrounding India by 1,500 km.
Announcements of creation of INSPACe, space policy and FDI policy have given a much-needed boost to the sector, the chairman said, adding, “our next objective is to bring in Space Law, which the country doesn’t have”. “We have prepared the first draft within dept. We will now send it for consultation and then it will go to the ministry for clearance before the cabinet approval. The entire process will be completed by either end of this year or by the first quarter of next year,” he said.
To grab a lion’s share of the $5.2 billion global small satellite market , Isro is planning to focus on small launchers and satellites, Goenka said. Isro’s mini-launcher SSLV has, therefore, been developed for this purpose and its technology will be transferred to the private sector in the next two years. Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu, which is being developed especially for small launches, will be ready in two years and will coincide with SSLV tech transfer to the private sector, he said.
The SSLV, together with small rockets of Indian startups AgniKul and Skyroot, will try to fulfil the growing demand for small satellites within and outside the country. Isro and the Indian startups will aim to launch around 25 satellites every year, he said.
With growing interest of youth in the space sector, INSPACe is also collaborating with universities to carve out full-year degree courses in space to meet the talent demand in the growing sector, Goenka said.
“In its promoter’s role , a Standing Committee for Inter-ministerial Coordination (SCMIC) of INSPACe meets every month to do authorisation and set targets. We are trying to set up a single-window system to fast-track clearances for applications of private companies. We have till now 566 applications from the private sector, including 67 for launchers and subsystems, 173 for satellites and 28 for ground segments,” Goenka said.
“We have currently planned to provide funding to eight startups of up to Rs 1 crore and also set up a tech centre for this purpose,” the INSPACe chairman said, adding that “we are also encouraging private companies to set up their own constellation of small satellites in space”.
With multi-front growth in the space sector, India's space economy is expected to touch $44 billion by 2033.
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