India today launched RISAT 2B, the all-weather imaging satellite that boosts the capability to image earth resources as well as enhance surveillance and security.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) successfully placed the satellite in its orbit about 556 km within 15 minutes of lift-off around 5:30 am (IST) from the First Launch Pad at Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR on Wednesday.

The RISAT-2B is a radar imaging earth observation satellite, weighing 615 kg. It is intended to provide services in the field of agriculture, forestry and disaster management, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. The radar imaging satellite can observe and image the earth from about 500 km. It is an improvement over the remote sensing satellites in natural resources observation and management. The ISRO, through the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad, has been harnessing the imagery from remote sensing satellites and providing important data for planning and utilisation of natural resources over the past three decades.

Improved version

The ISRO said the images taken by RISAT-2B would be used for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support. It has a sensor called the ‘Synthetic Aperture Radar’, which takes high-quality radar images. Globally, security agencies use the images and services of such satellites.

The X-band synthetic aperture radar can also provide added details such as size of objects on earth, structures, movement and change, which complements the data that is being gathered through the normal optical remote-sensing satellites. The biggest advantage is that ground imageries can be collected during rains and despite dust, clouds or darkness and during all seasons, thus ensuring continuous and reliable data.

In the past decade, ISRO has launched two satellites in the RISAT series, beginning in 2009 with the Israeli-built RISAT 2, and the second one,-RISAT 1, in 2012. The RISAT 1 is no longer operational. According to the space agency, it will launch 4-5 more such satellites in 2019 to form a constellation and substantially increase the country’s capabilities. ISRO Chairman K Sivan said, “With this launch, PSLV lifts 50 tonnes to space by launching 354 satellites, including national, student and foreign satellites”.

He also commended the efforts of the team involved in the realisation of the piggyback payload carried on board this mission, namely, the Vikram processor and low-cost MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) developed by Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh, and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, Thiruvananthapuram, respectively.

The next big challenge for ISRO is to gear up for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 onboard GSLV Mk III during July 9-16, with an expected moon landing on September 6.