Isro launches new earth observation satellite; to be used for surveillance

Isro Chairman K Sivan said, 'This is an important mission for India'.

RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Satellite-2B), an earth observation satellite, was placed into orbit early on Wednesday by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

It was launched at 5:30 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, off the southern Andhra coast, about 100 km from here.

About 15 minutes into flight, the rocket placed RISAT-2B into orbit.

Isro Chairman K Sivan said: “This is an important mission for India.

It is an excellent satellite, with hi-fi earth observation (capabilities).”

Isro says the application would help agriculture and forestry, and also support disaster management.

Experts say the satellite would also be used for military surveillance. The life is around five years. It can take pictures even under cloudy conditions.

An earlier one, RISAT-2, has been used to monitor activities in camps across the border in Pakistan.

Buisness Standard

PSLV-C46 takes off successfully with India's earth observation satellite

Satellite 'RISAT-2B' will beef up India's surveillance capabilities in the sky and help track and tackle hostile activity, such as infiltration or gathering of militants.

Business Standard : The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro's) workhorse PSLV-C46, carrying RISAT-2B, a radar-imaging earth observation satellite, took off successfully from the Sriharikota space port. The satellite will beef up India’s surveillance capabilities in the sky.

After a successful countdown that started at 04:30 a.m. (IST) on Tuesday, the rocket was launched at 05:30 a.m. on Wednesday early morning as scheduled from the the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, near Chennai.

About 15 minutes into flight, the rocket placed RISAT-2B into an orbit of about 555 km.

Stating that he was extremely happy to announce that PSLV-C46 has successfully injected RISAT-2B in precise orbit, Isro chairman K Sivan said with this mission, the PSLV rocket had crossed the landmark of lofting of 50 tonnes since it started flying. Adding that the PSLV satellite has put into orbit 350 satellites, he said, “The rocket had a piggy back payload, the indigenously developed Vikram computer chip that will be used in the future rockets.”

PSLV-C46 is the 48th mission of PSLV and the 14th flight in 'core-alone' configuration (without the use of solid strap-on motors). This is the 72nd launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota and 36th launch from the First Launch pad.

PSLV, in its 48th mission, carried the 615-kg RISAT-2B into an orbit of 555 km at an inclination of 37 degrees, Isro officials said. The application would help agriculture and forestry and also support disaster management initiatives.

The launch also marks the resumption of a vital ring of Indian all-seeing radar imaging satellites after seven years. Isro officials said that in the coming months, over six satellites will be launched to form a constellation of space-based radars offering a comprehensive vigil over the country. These satellites can serve as the eyes of the nation from about 500 km in space.

These satellites work like a light-dependent camera that cannot perceive hidden or surreptitious objects in cloudy or dark conditions. They are equipped with an active sensor, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR), so they can sense or ‘observe’ Earth in a special way from space day and night, rain or cloud.

Isro working on smaller satellite launch vehicles with up to 700 kg payload

The ISRO will need 50-60 such vehicles every year and the prime focus of the space research agency would be on the Gaganyan.

The ISRO is working on building smaller launch vehicles that will carry satellites weighing 500 to 700 kg to up to 500 kilometres from the earth's surface, its chief, K Sivan, said Thursday.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the Bengaluru Space Expo 2018, a biennial event organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Sivan said the agency was planning to open incubation centres at six places in the country to encourage innovation and start-ups.

He said the academia and the industry are two strong pillars of the ISRO and urged the industry to come forward and share the agency's "load".

"The demand for small satellites is growing. Small satellites are going to be used for communication purposes in an enormous way. To catch up with the small satellites market, ISRO is in the process of developing a small satellite launcher," he said.

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These satellites, Sivan added, would be of very repetitive nature and easier to produce.

The small launch vehicle will be different from the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), ISRO's trusted workhorse, and should take only 72 hours for integration, he said.

"We are working on small satellite launch vehicles. These will be able to launch a satellite of 500 to 700 kilograms in a range of 500 kilometre from Sriharikota (the Satish Dhawan Space Centre)," he said.

The ISRO will need 50-60 such vehicles every year, Sivan said, noting that the industry should come forward in this endeavour as over the next 3-4 years, the prime focus of the space research agency would be on the Gaganyan.

"We don't want to spend time on making these smaller vehicles. We want to give this to the industry and it should take part to make it more effective," he said.

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