Asia Bizz: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is all set to launch its indigenously designed and developed satellite, which has the unique capability of imaging during day, night and in all weather conditions. ISRO is preparing for the launch of the satellite which is due this month. For the ultimate blast off, ISRO is looking forward to April 20, 2012 from the space port of Sriharikota in India.
The satellite has been named as the RISAT – 1 – also known as the Radar imaging Satellite – has the capability of taking pictures of the Earth during day, night and also during cloudy conditions.
The new satellite is the first of its kind by India and has already reached the spaceport after being transported from Bangalore. In the year 2009, the country launched the RISAT – 2, which was brought from Israel for $ 110 million on April 20, 2009, in addition to the Resourcesat – 2 mission tool place in 2011.
As both the ventures were successful, ISRO was keen on maintaining the same date and this was confirmed by one of the officials from ISRO, who said that April 20, 2012 is a lucky day for them. Earlier the GSLV satellite with the Russian engine and another one, which was home grown, had failed to take off. The weight of the RISAT is around 1850 kg and is slated for a launch by ISRO’s work house Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The satellite will be launched in to a 536 km orbit.
With the capability and ability to work in any weather conditions,the satellite was released in association with the Israel Aerospace Industries.
The RISAT – 2 is primarily a spy satellite and is solely used for the Defence applications to keep an eye on the borders and the country’s neighbourhood.
