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India launches radar satellite

On Monday, the trusty Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carried into orbit what is widely perceived as an Israeli-built radar satellite intended for India’s defence and security services. Earth-viewing satellites built and launched hitherto by India have depended on picking up light coming from the ground below. These satellites cannot work at night or when clouds block visibility. Putting a radar on a satellite overcomes these problems and enables it to capture images irrespective of weather and lighting conditions. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has for some years been developing its own radar satellite, RISAT-1 (an acronym for Radar Imaging Satellite), which may be ready to take to the sky by the end of 2009. Meanwhile, the RISAT-2 satellite, which has just been launched, was realised “in association with Israel Aerospace Industries,” according to an ISRO press release. (But RISAT-2, in contrast to RISAT-1, does not figure in the Annual Report or the Outcome Budget presented by the Department of Space to Parliament last year.) In January 2008, the PSLV launched Israel’s TECSAR radar spy satellite. A drawing of RISAT-2 released by ISRO shows the satellite to be strikingly similar to that of TECSAR, and their weights and orbits also match. RISAT-2 is said to have a resolution that varies from one to 10 metres, depending on the mode in which it operates. With a higher resolution than that of RISAT-1 or Canada’s RADARSAT-2, the satellite just launched will be able to detect far smaller objects. The Indian space agency’s press release claims that RISAT-2 “will enhance ISRO’s capability for earth observation,” especially during floods, cyclones, and landslides, and aid in the management of disasters. On the other hand, the space website Spaceflight Now, quoting officials of the U.S. aerospace giant, Lockheed Martin, observed that RISAT-2 will give India a radar reconnaissance capability comparable to that on the latest U-2 spy plane operated by the U.S. Air Force.

India’s first university-built satellite, ANUSAT, travelled as a co-passenger on the latest PSLV launch. The 38-kg “micro” satellite designed by the Anna University in Chennai will be capable of storing and forwarding messages as it orbits the earth. IIT Kanpur is planning another small satellite and IIT Mumbai too is believed to be considering one. Such satellites provide an opportunity to test advanced technologies inexpensively and is also seen as a way to get a younger generation interested in spaceflight. For ISRO, the PSLV has registered its 14th consecutive success. A key challenge coming up this year is the launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle equipped for the first time with an indigenous cryogenic engine and stage.

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