RISAT-2

RISAT-2
Mission type Radar imaging
Operator Indian Air Force
ISRO
COSPAR ID 2009-019A[1]
SATCAT № 34807
Website www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/risat-2
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer ISRO
IAI
Launch mass 300 kilograms (660 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 20 April 2009, 01:15 (2009-04-20UTC01:15Z) UTC
Rocket PSLV-CA C12
Launch site Satish Dhawan SLP
Contractor ISRO
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Sun-Synchronous
Perigee 422 kilometres (262 mi)
Apogee 434 kilometres (270 mi)
Inclination 41.21 degrees
Period 93.00 minutes
Epoch 2 January 2014, 23:31:52 UTC

RISAT-2, or Radar Imaging Satellite 2 is an Indian radar reconnaissance satellite that is part of India's RISAT programme. It was built by the Israel Aerospace Industries and successfully launched aboard a PSLV-CA rocket at 01:15 GMT on April 20, 2009 from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

RISAT-2's main sensor is an X-band synthetic aperture radar from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).[2] It is designed to monitor India's borders and as part of anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist operations.[3] The satellite has a mass of 300 kilograms (660 lb).

Technical capabilities

RISAT-2 is India's first heavy satellite with a synthetic aperture radar. It has a day-night, all-weather monitoring capability. Potential applications include tracking hostile ships at sea that could pose a military threat.[4]

Though ISRO sought to underplay the satellite's defence applications in its announcements, a majority of the media classified it as a spy satellite.[5] ISRO's website claims that the satellite will enhance ISRO's capability for earth observation, especially during floods, cyclones, landslides and in disaster management in a more effective way. In a significant deviation, India's state television Doordarshan, did not telecast the launch live.[6]

History

RISAT-2 was built at an accelerated pace after 2008 Mumbai attacks, due to Indian army but however due to delay with the indigenously developed C-band for RISAT-1. It is India's first dedicated reconnaissance satellite.[7]

The X-band SAR used by RISAT-2 was obtained from Israel in return for launch services for the Israeli TecSAR satellite. The SAR sensor enables RISAT-2 to return images at any time of day and in all weather conditions.

ISRO scientists spent tense hours on April 19, 2009 prior to the launch as one of the umbilical cords holding the PSLV-CA rocket to the launch pad fell off, damaging nearly six connectors.[8] The ANUSAT student microsatellite was launched aboard the same rocket as a secondary payload.

RISAT-2 was used to search for the wreckage of the helicopter crash in the dense jungles of Andhra Pradesh on Sep 2, 2009. The crash killed Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, who was travelling aboard the helicopter.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2009-019A
  2. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "ANUSAT". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  3. ↑ "India to launch spy satellite on April 20". The Times Of India. April 8, 2009.
  4. ↑ "India's spy in the sky: ISRO launches RISAT-2". CNN-IBN. April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  5. ↑ "India launches key spy satellite". BBC. April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  6. ↑ Laxman, Srinivas (April 19, 2009). "No live coverage of Isro's spy sat launch". TOI. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  7. ↑ "The difference between Risat-1 and Risat-2". ASM. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  8. ↑ "RISAT-2 not a spy satellite: ISRO chief". The Times Of India. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009.
  9. ↑ "RISAT to search for YSR". The Hindu (Chennai, India). September 2, 2009.
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