The government is taking steps to restore the full operational capability of India’s Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NavIC) by launching four new satellites in the coming years.
Union Minister of State for Space Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha that the upcoming NVS-03 satellite is ready for launch after implementing corrective measures following the technical issue faced by the NVS-02 mission. The launches of NVS-04 and NVS-05 will follow, along with another satellite planned later to complete the seven-satellite base layer constellation of NavIC.
However, the minister did not provide a specific timeline for these launches.
Addressing the failure of the NVS-02 replacement satellite launched in 2025, Jitendra Singh said that corrective measures have been incorporated, tested, and successfully implemented in the CMS-03 satellite. These improvements will also be applied to future NavIC satellites, including those equipped with bi-propellant propulsion systems.
At present, only three satellites, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1L, and NVS-01, are capable of supporting navigation services. For NavIC to provide complete standalone positioning services, a minimum of four operational satellites with working atomic clocks are required.
With the current satellite availability, NavIC’s independent positioning capability has been affected, making the upcoming launches crucial for restoring the system’s full navigation functionality.
