India has completed technical discussions with Raytheon about setting up India's Gagan regional GPS augmentation system for civil air traffic management, says Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G Madhavan Nair. However, Raytheon is yet to get gain approval from the US government for the project to proceed. Nair says the venture would cost Rp1.1 billion ($24 million) including installation and training to be provided by the US manufacturer. ISRO will take responsibility for operating the Gagan network, which is a joint venture between ISRO and the Airports Authority of India.
Gagan is expected to play a key role in the introduction of satellite-based navigation services in the Asia-Pacific region. The first navigation payload is due to be flown on the G-Sat-4 satellite, expected to be launched in 2005.
RADHAKRISHNA RAO / BANGALORE
Source: Flight International
