India’s NavIC Satellite System To Be On Test In Case  of War Against Pakistan

With war clouds hanging over India and Pakistan, the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) satellites will be put to the test, as will other Indian satellites in the sky.

More so now as the country lost its latest and second-generation navigation satellite, NVS-02, launched to augment the constellation and got stuck in the Geo Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The war clouds formed after a 22nd April terrorist attack killed 26 civilians in India-administered Kashmir. has raised the possibility of military action against Pakistan by India. The BBC reports that Dehli has taken serious diplomatic and other measures and kept the armed attack option open. Islamabad has officially denied any connection to the attack, but tensions remain high.

India’s NavIC Satellites Under Pressure After NVS-02 Failure

India decided to have its own navigation satellite constellation after it was denied access to navigation satellite data by the global players during the Kargil War fought against Pakistan in 1999. As per plans, the full constellation consists of seven satellites – three to be in Geostationary Orbit and four in inclined Geosynchronous Orbit.

The 2,250 kg NVS-02 was launched on 29 January 2025, and it was not able to go up to its intended Geostationary Orbit owing to the failure of the pyro valve that pumps the oxidiser for the fuel to burn.

Incidentally, it is the first failure for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as it has orbited several Earth observation and communication satellites earlier.

It is said, one of the probable reasons for the pyro valve of NVS-02 not opening could be a fault with the electrical connector. However, it is still unknown as to the actual reason for the pyro valve’s failure.

The NVS-02 satellite was to replace the ageing Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System -1E (IRNSS-1E) satellite, part of the first generation satellite series.

The NavIC system provides accurate Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services to the users in India and to the region extending about 1,500 km beyond the country’s land mass.

As of now NavIC provides two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning service (SPS) and Restricted Service – mainly for strategic use.

Of the 11 navigation satellites that ISRO orbited earlier, only four are providing Position, Navigation and Timing service, five satellites provide messaging services, one is totally los,t and ISRO is looking at how to use the NVS-02 satellite.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions and in the Prime Minister’s Office, told the Parliament that the full constellation of seven satellites is expected to be completed in the coming years.

A correction was made on May 2, 2025: An earlier version of this article directly connected the Pakistani government with the 22nd April terror attack, and did not state that Islamabad had denied responsibility. As a space-and-related-technology media site, Orbital Today defers to bbc.com in matters outside of our primary coverage. Corrections will include a link to BBC coverage as the basis for the change.