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In its historic 100th launch, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the navigation satellite NVS-02 onboard GSLV-F15 from Sriharikota on January 29. 

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• The GSLV-F15, equipped with an indigenous cryogenic stage, placed the NVS-02 satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
• This launch marks the 17th flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) series and the 11th flight using ISRO’s indigenously developed cryogenic engine.
• The launch will replace the IRNSS-1E satellite and add advanced capabilities to India’s navigation system.

About NVS-02

• The NVS-02 is the second of the five second-generation satellites (NVS-01/02/03/04/05) developed by the ISRO to replace and augment the existing satellites in the country’s navigation constellation Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). 
• The new generation of satellites have a longer lifespan of 12 years and are also equipped with indigenously developed, more accurate atomic clocks. 
• The new generation of satellites also utilise L1 frequency, which is most commonly used in the US Global Positioning System (GPS), and is likely to lead to more utilisation by smaller devices such as fitness trackers.
• NVS-01, the first of the second-generation satellites, was launched on board GSLV-F12 on May 29, 2023. For the first time, an indigenous atomic clock was flown in NVS-01.

About Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)

The Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), earlier called as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), is India’s independent regional navigation satellite system. 

It is a seven-satellite system designed to provide accurate Position, Velocity and Timing (PVT) service to users in India as well as the region extending about 1500 km beyond the Indian landmass, which is its primary service area. 

• The first satellite in the constellation IRNSS-1A was launched in 2013, with a mission life of 10 years. 
• Three satellites are placed in geostationary orbit, and four satellites are placed in inclined geosynchronous orbit. 

NavIC provides two types of services: Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users like defence establishments. 

NavIC SPS provides a position accuracy of better than 20 metres and timing accuracy better than 40 nanoseconds over the primary service Area.

NavIC SPS signals are interoperable with the other global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals namely GPS (USA), Glonass (Russia), Galileo (ESA), and BeiDou (China). 

In November 2020, India become the fourth country in the world (after US, Russia and China) to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS). 

• However, unlike GPS, IRNSS is a regional and not a global navigation system.