India’s 1st radar imaging satellite prepares for launch

BANGALORE: Preparations are in full swing for launch of an indigenously designed and developed satellite that has the unique capability of imaging during day and night and in all weather conditions. ISRO is looking at ‘lucky April 20’ for the blast-off from India’s spaceport of Sriharikota. RISAT-1, a Radar Imaging Satellite with the capability to take images of the earth during day and night as well as in cloudy conditions, is a fi rstof- its-kind by India and has already reached the spaceport having been transported from here. India had launched RISAT-2, which it bought from Israel for USD 110 million, on April 20, 2009 and Resourcesat-2 mission took place on the same day last year. Both were successful ventures. ‘April 20 is a lucky day for us’, an ISRO offi cial told UNI. RISAT-1, weighing around 1850 kg, is slated for launch by ISRO’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C19 (XL)) into a 536 km orbit. The launch of the spacecraft, the country’s fi rst microwave remote sensing satellite, was put off by at least a couple of months following the ISRO row, the fallout of the punitive action against four former space scientists for their role in the Antrix- Devas deal, that delayed the preparations. RISAT-2 with all weather capability and ability to penetrate through clouds was realised in association with Israel Aerospace Industries. RISAT-2, primarily a spy satellite, is being used solely for Defence applications, keeping an eye on the borders and the country’s neighbourhood. ‘This satellite (RISAT-2) can sharply focus on metallic objects’, an ISRO offi cial added. The RISAT-1 will be useful for monitoring of agriculture and water resources management, among other applications. This satellite would not be used for defence applications as RISAT-2 is already doing that job. RISAT-1 carries a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, operating in a multi-polarisation and multi-resolution mode to provide images with coarse, fi ne and high spatial resolutions respectively.