Types of navigation

Navigation is the method of determining the position and velocity of a physical body and then directing the course of the body, relative to some reference co-ordinate grid, such that the destination is achieved. The different types of navigation are celestial navigation, X-ray pulser navigation, dead reckoning navigation, inertial navigation, satellite navigation and integrated navigation. The celestial navigation is an old format, where stars are chosen as inertial reference frame. Modified version of celestial navigation is stellar navigation where the star sensors and sun sensors provide accurate direction. X-ray pulsers navigation provides an alternative means for interplanetary missions and for spacecraft tracking. Here accuracy is independent of the distance between earth and the spacecraft. In dead reckoning navigation, the position is derived from the measurements of vehicle speed, reading and elapsed time from the starting point. A set of inertial sensor and a computer is used in inertial navigation. Inertial navigation makes use of dead reckoning principle for tracking the position of a spacecraft. Electronic instruments are used in radio navigation. Satellite navigation is a modern navigation system where artificial satellites are used to provide information. Integration navigation is another navigation tool where data from complementary navigation sensors are used to improve the navigation accuracy.