New Delhi, India: The initial phase of GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system is now over. Satellites are in position. The project is currently in the final operational phase. It is now going through the certification stage of the Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) which will be completed by June 2013, according to VP Agarwal, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI). After its final operational phase completion, the estimated cost of GAGAN would be over INR 780 crore.
Along with trials, GAGAN’s certification process is being carried out with Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other bodies, with the AAI and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developing it. The GAGAN transmitter is to be integrated with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to provide an SBAS over Indian airspace.
The Wide Area Augmentation System codes for radio frequencies were obtained from the US Air Force and US Department of Defence on November 2001 and March 2005. US defence contractor Raytheon, which is implementing the Auto Track-III system at the IGI airport, is also involved.
The system would use eight reference stations located in Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Jammu and Port Blair, and a master control centre at Bangalore to provide navigation and air traffic management over the entire Indian airspace and Indian Ocean area — from Southeast Asia to the African shores.
Once operational, GAGAN will be compatible with other SBAS like WAAS of the US, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service and the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System of Japan, providing seamless air navigation service across regional boundaries.
The Flight Management System based on GAGAN would help the operators to save time and money by managing climb, descent and engine performance profiles of aircraft. It would also help improve airport and airspace access in all-weather conditions and the ability to meet environmental and obstacle clearance constraints.
India will become the fourth in the world to adopt this system which would enhance the accuracy and integrity of GPS signals to meet precision approach requirements in the civil aviation. Others using similar technologies are the US, the European Union and Japan.
Source: DNA
