India’s high-tech spy satellite to go aloft Monday
17 Apr 2009
Chennai: It now appears confirmed that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will put a smaller, improvised version of its planned 1,780-kg radar imaging spy satellite (RISAT) in orbit on Monday. The payload will have a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with the capability to maintain day-and-night watch of the Earth's surface, under all-weather conditions.
Though ISRO has previously launched imaging satellites, none have such a versatile, 24x7 capability. While previous versions of the Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) were utilized mainly for resources monitoring and management, with incidental utilization for defence purposes and deployed optical imaging, RISAT is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar which will transmit signals which will be processed into high-resolution pictures.
Though the satellite will have its usefulness in civilian areas, such as mapping and managing natural disasters, its main purpose will be to maintain a round-the-clock check on movements in and around the country's borders. ISRO sources have now confirmed that this lighter version of the planned RISAT was indeed assembled on a war footing after the Mumbai 26x11 attacks, with inputs from the Israeli Space Agency.
Sources, however, stressed that the imagery would be utilized solely by agencies within the country.
Isro's workhorse launcher, the PSLV (C-12) will take off at 6.45am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, and will put the 300-kg payload into orbit 550-km above the Earth some 17 minutes later. Also piggybacking will be a micro-satellite, Anusat, developed by Anna University, Chennai.
The countdown will start 48 hours before take-off, i.e. Saturday morning.
Anusat is the first satellite to be assembled by an Indian university. The project has involved scores of students and faculty members from different streams for six years. Anusat will be a store-and-forward communication satellite that will enable transfer of confidential academic material such as question papers.