NVS-01 SATELLITE - SCI & TECH
News:
ISRO’s GSLV-F12 successfully places navigation satellite NVS-01 into intended
orbit
What's in the news?
● The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on May 29 successfully placed the
NVS-01 navigation satellite, weighing about 2232 kg, into Geosynchronous
Transfer Orbit.
Key takeaways:
● The
GSLV-F12/NVS-01 mission was launched from the second launch pad at the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
● The
rocket deployed the 2,232 kg satellite, the heaviest in the constellation into
the intended GTO at an altitude of about 251 km.
NVS-01 Satellite:
● At
present, India uses its Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) series of satellites for
civilian and defence navigation in the Indian mainland and even 1500 kms beyond
India's borders.
● NVS
series of satellites will sustain and augment the NavIC with enhanced features.
● The
NVS-01 carried navigation payloads L1,
L5 and S bands.
● For
the first time, an indigenous atomic
clock was flown in NVS-01.
● It
is the first of the second-generation satellites for India's navigation
constellation.
○ Each
of the seven satellites currently in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
System (IRNSS) constellation, operationally named NavIC.
Significance of NVS-01 Satellite:
1. Atomic Clock:
● The
satellite will have a Rubidium atomic clock onboard, a significant technology
indigenously developed in India.
2. L1 signals for better use in wearable devices:
● The
second generation satellites will send signals in a third frequency, L1,
besides the L5 and S frequency signals that the existing satellites provide, increasing interoperability with other
satellite-based navigation systems.
● The
L1 frequency is among the most commonly used in the Global Positioning System
(GPS), and will increase the use of the regional navigation system in wearable
devices and personal trackers that use low-power, single-frequency chips.
3. Longer mission life:
● The
second-generation satellites will also have a longer mission life of more than 12 years. The existing
satellites have a mission life of 10 years.
Go back to basics:
Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC):
● It
is a regional navigation satellite system established by the ISRO to meet the
positioning, navigation and timing requirements of the nation.
● It
is a constellation of seven satellites
that work with a 24X7 network of ground
stations while orbiting above Earth.
● Three satellites are
placed in geostationary orbit and four in inclined geosynchronous orbit.
Coverage:
● The
NavIC coverage area includes India and a region up to 1,500km beyond the nation’s boundary.
Usage of NavIC:
It
offers two services such as
● Standard Position Service
- for civilian users.
● Restricted Service
- for strategic users.
Applications:
● The
system is used in terrestrial, aerial, marine transportation, location-based
services, personal mobility, resource monitoring, surveying and geodesy, scientific
research etc.