'India's self-reliance in critical technologies': PM Modi on Isro's NVS-03 success
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of the GSLV-F18 mission carrying the NVS-03 navigation satellite on Saturday. He expressed confidence that this mission would bolster India's indigenous satellite navigation system, NavIC.
According to Modi's post on X, the successful launch of NVS-03 signifies a significant advancement in strengthening NavIC, which is India's self-reliant satellite navigation system. The satellite, equipped with an indigenously developed atomic clock, will enhance the system's capabilities and contribute to the country's pursuit of self-reliance in critical technologies.
The NVS-03 satellite's deployment is crucial for restoring the operational capabilities of NavIC, which serves as India's alternative to global navigation systems like GPS operated by the US and GLONASS operated by Russia. The launch of an operational NavIC constellation is vital for India's armed forces, particularly for missile guidance, precision positioning, and coordination of naval assets.
India's reliance on foreign navigation networks during conflicts, as experienced during the 1999 Kargil war, highlights the strategic risks associated with dependence on foreign satellite navigation systems. NVS-03 aims to mitigate these vulnerabilities by providing reliable Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) signals for various applications, including military operations.
The original NavIC constellation consisted of seven satellites supported by a network of ground stations. However, the operational strength of the constellation diminished due to the ageing of satellites that couldn't be replaced as planned. The launch of NVS-02 on January 29, 2025, failed to achieve its intended results after a pyro valve signal loss in the engine, which prevented the satellite from reaching its intended orbit.
The successful deployment of NVS-03 is expected to address some of these operational limitations and bolster India's efforts to establish an independent satellite navigation capability.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
