Article Posted on : - Jul 18, 2012

Artistic rendition of satellite carrying the GAGAN system.

BANGALORE (PTI): After the US, Japan and Europe, India is on course to put in place a regional satellite-based augmentation system for civil aviation purposes by June next year, say key officials associated with the ambitious project.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which have jointly taken up the Rs 774 crore project GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation), Monday commenced the process of its Final System Acceptance Test (FSAT).

The objective of FSAT is to evaluate the system performance and its critical parameters in the integrated live environment using the satellite signals and ground based systems on integrity, accuracy, continuity and availability for aviation use.

"GAGAN is expected to be ready for operation and certification by June 2013", an official of Bangalore- headquartered ISRO said.

AAI Chairman V P Agrawal added, "We are going ahead with certification of the entire signals and systems".

He noted that since GAGAN is a "new technology, new concept and there are safety issues", it needs DGCA certification. The certified system for aviation purpose would be available from June.

AAI officials made a presentation on the project to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, who visited the Indian Navigation Master Control Centre (INMCC), GAGAN complex, here last evening.

"Only three countries (the US, Europe and Japan) have it before us," Singh said.

According to AAI officials, the GPS (global positioning system) satellite navigation system designed to provide instantaneous position, velocity and time information anywhere on the globe in its vicinity, cannot support requirements for all phases of flight, its integrity is not guaranteed and accuracy not sufficient.

They said GAGAN will provide augmentation service for GPS over India, Bay of Bengal, South-East Asia and the Middle East expanding up to Africa.

GAGAN will be compatible and interoperable with other SBAS systems such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) of the USA, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) of European Union and the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS) of Japan.

It will fill the gap between the EGNOS and MSAS to provide seamless air navigation service across regional boundaries.

GAGAN is in accordance with ICAO's (International Civil Aviation Organisation) strategic plan to achieve smooth transition to satellite-based navigation and seamless air traffic management across the continents.

GAGAN is designed to provide additional accuracy, availability, and integrity necessary to enable users to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, they said, adding, it will also provide the capability for increased accuracy in position reporting, thereby making possible high-quality air traffic management.

In addition, GAGAN will provide benefits beyond aviation to all modes of transportation, including maritime, highways and railways and personal users of positioning location applications, it was noted.