Bangalore airport ready for satellite navigation

Passengers from Bangalore airport will get to depart and arrive on time on almost every flight as a satellite-based navigation system, as against a ground-based system, will ensure there are no delays in landing, long queues of aircraft to land or take off, delays in take-off and extended hovering.

Bangalore airport is ready for the system, GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GAGAN, which is set to begin operations December-end. The system is being implemented both by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Isro. AAI and Isro both confirmed the December target for GAGAN.

Isro, which is implementing this satellite-based navigation, has said tests are currently underway by AAI to check information flow between Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the flights to ensure that the satellite signals coming to an aircraft are being received correctly. The airport too will receive signals from the satellite and so it will be a three-way communication - between satellite, airport and aircraft.

Isro spokesperson Deviprasad Karnik told Deccan Herald that the new system will help aircraft land and take off precisely, get information accurately about their height and altitude and height from the ground especially when landing. These small aids would reduce the time to land and take off and aircraft save fuel and time. They can fly precisely as per schedule. The typical experience of passengers, for instance, on the Bangalore-Delhi flight has been the long queue of aircraft to land at Delhi airport.

The information about the aircraft waiting, after this new system comes in, will be relayed to an incoming aircraft in advance via satellite signals and the aircraft concerned can then adjust its speed and approach to Delhi. Passengers after long haul flights are impatient to alight and waiting time to alight is high. The new system will ensure the aircraft lands early and beat the rush at the airport. It will also help in reducing the hovering time when waiting to land. If the speed of the aircraft is managed to reach an airport when the queue has shortened, it will hover less and save time.

Approval underway

The approval processes are underway and the system should begin functioning in December.“Bangalore airport will receive the go ahead to draw on satellite signals as soon as the AAI examines the system and conducts tests,” says Isro. Once satellite navigation is in place, it will reduce the turnaround time for an aircraft.

The Isro spokesperson said one payload flying on the GSAT-8 satellite will transmit signals to receiving stations and aircraft. “GAGAN will be enhancing or augmenting existing signals - it will make those signals - the US GPS or Global Positioning System -  more accurate to ensure precision approach requirements. The project is being implemented by Isro and AAI in three phases. The technology demonstration system will be upgraded to an operational one soon after the tests.

The satellite will cover a vast geographical area from Africa to Australia and would facilitate expansion of the service area of GAGAN far beyond Indian airspace. When implemented, the GAGAN would replace most of the ground-based navigational aids and would be possible to provide precision approach and landing guidance up to category I aircraft hitherto not available due to terrain conditions.

Alternative

Major airports across the country should implement this system, mainly those in metros. Bangalore airport is ready to receive the satellite-based navigation, which would be an alternative to ground-based navigation systems. All signals will be received by just one transponder in operation on the satellite. While this system is meant to make existing signals better, India will launch its own version of GPS in 2015 with a constellation of satellites creating a regional navigation system. GAGAN will be replaced by the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite Service (IRNSS) in one-and-a-half-years time.