Overview
- India’s Department of Space told Parliament that only three NavIC satellites now transmit navigation signals, which is below the four needed for basic position, navigation and timing service.
- ISRO data show six satellites lost all three onboard atomic clocks, the precise timers that let receivers calculate location from signal arrival times.
- The failed clocks were imported from Swiss firm SpectraTime, and five other satellites can still send one‑way messages but cannot provide full navigation.
- Of the remaining transmitters, NVS‑01 is the only satellite seen as reliable long term, while IRNSS‑1B has exceeded its design life, IRNSS‑1I has limited life left, and NVS‑02 is stuck in its initial orbit and unusable.
- The government says it is working to operationalize NavIC with a plan to finish the base constellation and adopt indigenous clocks, yet no timeline was given as experts warn dependence on foreign systems could be risky in war and reporters note slow replacement launches after recent mission failures.