India will launch its first navigation satellite this year as a part of its Gagan (GPS aided geo augmented navigation) project, says S. Ramakrishnan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), according to a report from The Hindu. Gagan is a regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) jointly developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Ramakrishnan said that the first navigation satellite, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) will be launched with PSLV C-22 rocket in the next few months and only after all the satellites are positioned accurately in the space, the government will be able to provide navigation service through Gagan. He added that the service is expected to be launched in 2014. Funding In March 2011, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved a one-time grant of Rs 378 crore from the Government Budgetary Support for implementation of Gagan project over Indian airspace for seamless navigation. CCEA had approved a total project cost of Rs 774 crore, of which AAI was expected to contribute Rs 604 crore and ISRO was expected to contribute Rs 170 crore. Out of Rs 774 crore, CCEA had noted that Rs 148 crore was already spent in Technology Development Strategy (TDS) Phase which included AAI's contribution of Rs 108 crore and ISRO's contribution of Rs 40 crore. The remaining Rs 626 crore was allotted for the project's final operational phase, of which AAI was expected to contribute Rs 496 crore and ISRO was expected to contribute Rs 130 crore. Interestingly, CCEA had then noted that the project was expected to…
