Skykraft has begun 2025 with a fresh participating project partner agreement for the Demonstration of Collaborative Position Navigation and Timing in Low Earth Orbit project.
Supported by an International Space Investment India Projects grant from the Australian Government, Skykraft says the initiative marks a key step in supporting the growth of joint space projects between Australia and India.
The project’s primary goal is to develop next-generation collaborative position, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems. PNT systems play a critical role in sectors such as transportation, communication, and infrastructure. However, existing systems can be prone to errors. For example, the aviation industry has been particularly affected in a growing number of regions, with aircraft navigation systems being impacted or incorrect information being reported to air traffic management controllers.
The project will demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale constellations in low Earth orbit, address the vulnerability of existing global navigation satellite systems in denied environments, investigate additional applications for PNT signals that can be exploited from low Earth orbit and, through the demonstration of the resilience of large-scale constellations (which can be easily updated and reconstituted), and provide a roadmap to enable collaborative low Earth orbit PNT.
This project will improve Australia’s space capabilities by demonstrating innovative solutions for global navigation satellite systems-independent positioning and timing and showcase the benefits of a sovereign, resilient, and assured PNT anywhere around the globe.
International Space Investment India Projects broadly aligns with the India Economic Strategy to 2035, especially regarding the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which focuses on strengthening our bilateral relationships and activities with a mutual understanding of common interests and shared values in support of both countries’ prosperity.
The collaboration brings together leading institutions from Australia and India, including RMIT University, the Indian Institute of Science, the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology in Delhi, FrontierSI, the University of Newcastle, the University of New South Wales, and Curtin University.
A significant aspect of this collaboration is the access provided to Indian researchers and students, who can utilise Australian-generated data and test waveforms on Australian-built and operated satellites.
In addition to advancing PNT systems, the project aims to improve environmental sensing through GNSS-Reflectometry and Radio Occultation technology, enabling an improved understanding of the Earth’s oceans, droughts, and floods.
These technologies will also improve real-time space weather and terrestrial weather forecasting, as well as emerging applications like tsunami monitoring and warning, showcasing the technical expertise of both Australian and Indian organisations.
“We are proud to have been selected to lead this joint Australia/India project, which will provide a strong foundation for both countries to develop and launch a next-generation PNT system, said Skykraft CEO Michael Frater. “We are looking forward to working with our partners from both nations to successfully deliver the project and encourage development of an operational independent PNT system.”
By fostering closer business, technology, and cultural ties between Australia and India, Skykraft says the collaboration represents an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of space technology and develop cutting-edge solutions for global positioning and timing challenges.
