Protecting India’s navigation satellite system

The deployment of the seventh satellite successfully completed the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), an independent regional navigation system providing position, navigation and timing services. It will revolutionise terrestrial navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking, geographical information systems and a host of economic and developmental works. 

It advances India’s diplomatic, economic, scientific and academic credentials. But concurrently, the threats to these systems are also advancing and therefore it would be wise to build redundancy into the system.

The IRNSS consists of seven identical satellites — three in geostationary and four in geosynchronous and primarily covers India and the region extending up to 1,500 kms from its borders. The position accuracy is better than 20 meters in this primary area. It also provides encrypted service to authorised users. 

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released IRNSS Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document and held user’s meeting in Bangalore in 2015 providing essential information to aid the system’s commercial use.

The Indian government has been pressing for inclusion of space technology in governance and infrastructure development projects like roads and ports. The Indian Railways is accommodating space technology for bettering its services and curtailing accidents. Around 170 such government projects have been identified which could also benefit from the IRNSS. Prime Minister Modi invited fellow SAARC nations to “navigate with Indian constellation.” 

The IRNSS satellites carry a highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock for precise timing. Such precision helps synchronisation of communication systems, power grids, national laboratories and other critical infrastructure.

Businesses and stock markets use precision time stamping for tracing and record keeping of financial transactions. 

The demands for higher data flow and assured information exchange will be met in the future by laser communications between Earth-orbiting satellites as well as uplink and downlinks. India is also establishing IRNSS compatibility with existing and new global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). It is in consultation with countries in the extended neighbourhood to expand the IRNSS. Eventually, it is expected to cover the entire globe, akin to the American GPS.

Given the number of users and variety of services dependent on this system, studies need to be conducted simultaneously on its robustness against jamming and spoofing. Jamming is disruption of electromagnetic signals preventing an authorised user from utilising them. Spoofing is producing counterfeit signals make believing a receiver as authentic. 

Jamming and spoofing of positioning signals disrupts trade, navigation and creates unwarranted security implications. Iran successfully spoofed GPS signals of an American drone making it land in the Iranian territory. North Korea disrupted GPS signals being used by South Korea affecting movement of aircraft and ships in an already volatile region. Proliferation of these devices and techniques into the neighbourhood will hamper India’s political and economic advantages.

But the GNSS disruption market is actually booming on the personal level with access to low cost, portable devices in the name of privacy and preventing vehicle tracking. No government has taken measures to address such concerns and at the same time prevent these devices from falling into wrong hands. The 2008 Mumbai attacks proved tech-savvy terrorists plotting against India.

These vulnerabilities need to be factored in while designing IRNSS receivers. International cooperation is essential for discussing these problems and finding appropriate solutions. 

The author is a researcher in the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi