All you wanted to know about Gagan air navigation system

Will put India at number 4 position globally for implementing the satellite-based navigation system

Union civil aviation minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju will formally launch the Gagan satellite-based navigation system for the use by the aviation industry on Monday.

India will become the fourth country globally to do so. Business Standard gives you the details of the new system and its likely impact on the aviation sector.

What is Gagan?

Gagan, which stands for GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation, is a satellite-based system meant to improve the accuracy and integrity of the navigation systems.

It will augment GPS signals over the Indian land mass, the Bay of Bengal, South East Asia, the Middle East and the Arabian Sea widening its reach up to Africa. At present radio navigation aids are used for precision landing and approaches at Indian airports.

What will the system actually do?

With the help of reference and uplink stations, Gagan will essentially provide corrections to the GPS signal to improve air traffic management. It is believed to be 10 times more precise than GPS.

Who developed this system?

It is jointly developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at an estimated cost of Rs.774 crores.

Some of its benefits…
 

• Improved efficiency
• Increased fuel savings
• Direct routes
• Reduced work load of flight crew and air traffic controllers
• Improved safety
• Ease of search and rescue operation

Will it replace existing navigation system?

No. The existing ground-based navigation system will continue and Gagan will be in addition to that.

Will all the airlines in India be able to use the Gagan system?

Most of the aircraft in India are not equipped with a particular type of GPS receiver compliant for satellite based augmentation systems like Gagan. These receivers help in precision guidance for landing at airports using satellite signals. At present only a few non scheduled-charter planes are equipped.

Road ahead…

Existing aircraft would have to be retrofitted with these receivers in order to use Gagan as a primary source of navigation. Until then use of satellite-based navigation system in the country would be minimal.

Also, Airport Authority of India is devising navigation and landing procedures at airports in India. Once these procedures are certified, aircraft equipped with the required GPS receivers would be able to use satellite-based navigation.

So who will benefit in the Indian air space?

It will make it easier for aircraft movements to small airports which do not have navigation aids. Usually such airports have higher visibility requirements for landing. With satellite-based system, these requirements would be reduced.
Compiled by: Somesh Jha and Aneesh Phadnis