ISRO launches satellite to augment India's own navigation system NavIC

India's space agency launched a satellite on May 29, 2023 to augment the country's own satellite navigation system NavIC.

Satellite NVS-01 was launched onboard ISRO's GSLV rocket. NVS-01 weighs 2,232 kg and will be placed in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) at an altitude of about 251 km.

The second-generation satellite would also carry an indigenously developed rubidium atomic clock. Earlier scientists at ISRO had used an imported atomic clock.

ISRO developed the NavIC system to meet the positioning, navigation and timing requirements of the country, particularly with regard to civil aviation and military requirements.

NavIC was earlier known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and is designed with a constellation of seven satellites and a network of ground stations that operate 24x7.

(With PTI inputs)