Isro nears deal with Raytheon

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is about to sign a major contract with a US company, Raytheon.

It was announced at the Indo-US space meet here today that the deal would be signed in the next few days.

Raytheon will help Isro instal a system that will allow aircraft to use the constellation of global positioning systems (GPS) satellites of the US.

Using special receivers, GPS signals allow one to get a positional fix. But the signals must be augmented to provide the accuracy needed for aircraft navigation and landing.

Isro, in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has come up with a system, Gagan (GPS aidedgeo-augmented navigation ), to augment the signals from GPS satellites. It involves setting up ground-based GPS reference stations and a navigational payload on a geo-stationary satellite.

Gagan Project Director KN Suryanarayana Rao said Raytheon after getting the contract would set up the entire ground systems and the mission control facility.

Rao said the navigational payload was being developed by Isro and would be put in a G-SAT satellite to be launched in 2006.

After an experimental phase for a year, the payload will be operational by 2008.

Raytheon has built similar augmentation systems for the US and Japan. Raytheon was one of the two companies that bid for the contract. French company Alcatel was the other contender.

A spokesman for Raytheon said it would be happy to be associated with India's Gagan, but added that discussions were on and they have not signed the contract.