CARTOSAT-2BThe Cartosat-2B satellite is scheduled to be launched using a PSLV launcher (C15 mission) along with Alsat, a small satellite from Algeria; two nano-satellites from the University of Toronto, and another nano-satellite, Studsat (Students’ satellite), built by several Indian universities.
CARTOSAT-2B / PSLV-C15 COUNTDOWN
The 700 kg. Cartosat 2B will carry a state-of-the-art panchromatic camera with a spatial resolution less than one metre - high enough to spot a car, for instance – and will have applications in urban and rural infrastructure development and management, Geographical Information System (GIS) and other areas where detailed mapping is required. Cartosat-2B, which has a 0.8m resolution, will augment the coverage provided by Cartosat-2, launched in January 2007, and Cartosat-2A, launched in April 2008. This series satellites are mainly used to plan development activities in rural and urban areas of the country. StudSat, the first-ever small satellite, designed in India by a consortium of 13 students from seven colleges in Bangalore and Hyderabad, weighs less than a kilogram. The payload of the satellite consists of a CMOS camera that has a ground resolution of approximately 90 metres. The mission life of the satellite is around six months and the total development cost was around Rs. 55 lakh. CARTOSAT-2ACARTOSAT 2A is an Earth observation satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite is the thirteenth satellite in the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series to be built, launched and maintained by the Indian Space Research Organisation. It was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle - C9 on April 28, 2008 along with the 87 kg Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) and eight nano research satellites belonging to research facilities in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. This satellite is a Ministry of Defence mission for the Government of India. The designation of the satellite could be presumed to be its similarity with its civilian name sake launched on January 10, 2007. It is be a dedicated satellite for the Indian Armed Forces which is in the process of establishing an Aerospace Command. The satellite carries a panchromatic (PAN) camera capable of taking black-and-white pictures in the visible region of electromagnetic spectrum. The highly agile CARTOSAT-2A can be steered up to 45 deg along as well as across the direction of its movement to facilitate imaging of any area more frequently. The satellite's health is continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at Bangalore with the help of ISTRAC network of stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius, Bearslake in Russia, Biak in Indonesia and Svalbard in Norway. CARTOSAT-2CARTOSAT-2 is an Earth observation satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite was built, launched and maintained by the Indian Space Research Organisation. Weighing around 680 kg at launch, its applications will mainly be towards cartography in India. It was launched by the PSLV on January 10, 2007. CARTOSAT-2 carries a state-of-the-art panchromatic (PAN) camera that take black and white pictures of the earth in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The swath covered by these high resolution PAN cameras is 9.6 km and their spatial resolution is less than 1 metre. The satellite can be steered up to 45 degrees along as well as across the track. CARTOSAT-1CARTOSAT 1 is a stereoscopic Earth observation satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite was built, launched and maintained by the Indian Space Research Organisation. Weighing around 1560 kg at launch, its applications will mainly be towards cartography in India. It was launched by the PSLV on 5 May 2005 from the newly built second launch pad at Sriharikota. Images from the satellite will be available from GeoEye for worldwide distribution. The first imagery, received on January 12, 2007, covered a length of 240 km from Paonta Sahib in Shivalik region to Delhi. Another set of imagery of about 50 km length covered Radha Nagari to Sagoan in Goa. Analysis of the first imagery received at National Remote Sensing Agency's data reception station at Shadnagar, in Hyderabad, confirmed excellent performance of the on-board camera. Cartosat-2 can produce images of up to 80 cm in resolution (black and white only), compared to the 80 cm offered by Ikonos which is multispectral. In the past, India has been buying images from Ikonos at about $20 per square kilometer of imagery (where regional pricing was valid) otherwise the price is $7.70 per square kilometer. With Cartosat-2 offering better resolution at twenty times lower cost per sq m of imagery, buying images from Ikonos is likely to decline in future. Currently, India buys images worth about Rupees 2 crore a year from Ikonos. CARTOSAT-1 carries two state-of-the-art panchromatic (PAN) cameras that take black and white stereoscopic pictures of the earth in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The swath covered by these high resolution PAN cameras is 30 km and their spatial resolution is 2.5 metres. The cameras are mounted on the satellite in such a way that near simultaneous imaging of the same area from two different angles is possible. This facilitates the generation of accurate three-dimensional maps. The cameras are steerable across the direction of the satellite's movement to facilitate the imaging of an area more frequently. The images taken by CARTOSAT-1 cameras are compressed, encrypted, formatted and transmitted to the ground stations. The images are reconstructed from the data received at the ground stations. CARTOSAT-1 also carries a solid state recorder with a capacity of 120 Giga Bits to store the images taken by its cameras. The stored images can be transmitted when the satellite comes within the visibility zone of a ground station. Info taken from Wiki |
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Satellites CARTOSAT