After the successful launch of INSAT-3DS weather satellite, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is now preparing for a joint project with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) involving a radar imaging satellite.
The joint NASA-ISRO project known as Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is scheduled to launch next month.
NISAR will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies. It will have two radars – one ‘L’ band radar, made by the US, and the other ‘S’ band radar, made by India.
According to ISRO chief S Somnath, the synthetic aperture radar satellite will study the Earth after the impact of climate change.
“The next mission of the GSLV (rocket) is going to be the NISAR mission – the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, which is a very large satellite. The configuration and capability of the rocket is continuously increasing in terms of payload capacity as well as quantity which is going to be extremely useful,” he had said on Saturday.
Somnath also clarified that NISAR is not a surveillance satellite.
The satellite aims to observe widespread changes on the Earth’s surface and will provide unprecedented insight into land and ice-covered surfaces.
The tenure of NISAR mission is three years. The entire world will be mapped every 12-14 days through satellite. It will be able to measure the coverage of water, agriculture and greenery on the Earth’s surface.
On February 17, ISRO launched its meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS on the spacecraft GSLV F14.
The satellite will study weather forecasting and natural disaster warnings.
In its 16th mission, GSLV deployed INSAT-3DS weather satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Subsequent orbit-raising procedures will ensure that the satellite remains in geostationary orbit.
The INSAT-3DS satellite is a follow-on mission to the third generation meteorological satellite from geostationary orbit.
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Published: Feb 19, 2024, 07:18 PM IST
