Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), April 26 — On an early Thursday
morning, an Indian rocket successfully launched into orbit a microwave
Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-1) from the spaceport here in Andhra
Pradesh, some 80 km from Chennai. With the launch of Risat-1, India has
now joined a select group of nations having such a technology.
The
indigenously built Risat-1, with a life span of five years, will be
used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry. The high
resolution pictures and microwave imaging from Risat-1 could also be
used for defence purposes as it can look through the clouds and fog.
At
5.47 a.m., the rocket - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C19 (PSLV-C19) -
standing 44.5 metres tall and weighing 321 tonnes and with a one-way
ticket, hurtled towards the skies ferrying the 1,858 kg Risat-1 after
unshackling itself from launch pad No.1.
With a rich orange flame
at its tail and a plume of white smoke, the rocket ascended towards the
blue sky amidst the resounding cheers of ISRO scientists and media team
assembled at the launch centre.
People perched atop nearby buildings too happily clapped as PSLV-C19 went up.
Space
scientists at the new rocket mission control room of the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) were glued to their computer screens
watching the rocket escaping the earth's gravitational pull.
The ISRO-made Risat-1 is the heaviest luggage so far ferried by a PSLV since 1993.
At
around 17 minutes into the flight, PSLV-C19 delivered Risat-1 into a
polar circular orbit at an altitude of 480 km and an orbital inclination
of 97.552 degrees.
ISRO, with its network of ground stations, monitored its health.
'PSLV-C19
mission is a grand success. This is the 20th successive successful
flight of PSLV. India's first radar imaging satellite was injected
precisely into orbit,' ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan said after the
launch.
With this launch India joins a select group of nations
like the US, Canada, Europe and others to have such an advanced
technology. It is a 30 year effort, he added.
'With Risat-1 we can now forecast Kharif season,' Radhakrishnan said.
According to satellite director N. Valarmathi, Risat-1 can take images in all weather conditions and during day and night.
'The satellite has high storage device and other several unique features,' she added.
For ISRO, this is the first launch this fiscal as well as in the calendar year.
According
to Radhakrishnan, the Indian space agency is planning couple of more
satellite launches - communication and remote sensing satellites - this
year.
He said the space agency would launch a communication
satellite weighing 3.5 tonne through the Ariane rocket from French
Guiana and two PSLV mission later this year.
He said ISRO will
send SARAL satellite - an Indo-French initiative - using its PSLV rocket
from here. There will also be the launch of first Indian regional
navigational satellite this fiscal.
Speaking about the status of
the space agency's heavy rocket - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLV)- that can carry communication satellites, Radhakrishnan
said the advanced rocket GSLV Mark III has crossed several milestones
and an experimental flight will be made in an year from now.
He said the experimental flight will be to test the rocket systems in the atmospheric flight phase.
The Indian made cryogenic engine is also undergoing several tests.
Meanwhile, the solar panes of Risat-1 were deployed successfully soon after it was injected into the orbit.
According
to Radhakrishan, in three days time the satellite will be taken up to
its intended orbit at an altitude of 536 km by firing the on-board
motors.
Remote sensing satellites send back pictures and other
data for use. India has the largest constellation of remote sensing
satellites in the world providing imagery in a variety of spatial
resolutions, from more than a metre ranging up to 500 metres, and is a
major player in vending such data in the global market.
With 11
remote sensing/earth observation satellites orbiting in the space, India
is a world leader in the remote sensing data market. The 11 satellites
are TES, Resourcesat-1, Cartosat-1, 2, 2A and 2B, IMS-1, Risat-2,
Oceansat-2, Resourcesat-2 and Megha-Tropiques.
Risat-1's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can acquire data in C-band and would orbit the earth 14 times a day.
In
2009, ISRO had launched 300 kg Risat-2 with an Israeli built SAR
enabling earth observation in all weather, day and night conditions.
With
Thursday's launch the PSLV rocket has launched successfully 53
satellites out of 54 it carried - majorly remote sensing/earth
observation satellites both Indian and foreign - and has been a major
revenue earner for ISRO.
The one failure happened in 1993 when the satellite was not able reach the orbit.
The rocket that delivered Risat-1 in the space is ISRO's four stage PSLV's upgraded variant called PSLV-XL.
The
letters XL stand for extra large as the six strap-on motors hugging the
rocket at the bottom can carry 12 tonnes of solid fuel as against the
base version that has a fuel capacity of nine tonnes.
The PSLV's
four stages are fuelled with solid and liquid propellants. The first and
third stages are fuelled by solid fuel, while the second and fourth
stages are powered by liquid fuel.
ISRO had used the PSLV-XL
variant for its Chandrayaan-1 moon mission in 2008 and for launching the
GSAT-12 communications satellite in 2011.
