RISAT-2, or Radar Imaging Satellite-2 was an Indian radar imaging reconnaissance satellite that was part of India's RISAT programme. It was procured from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [5][6] and successfully launched aboard a PSLV-CA launch vehicle at 01:15:00 UTC on 20 April 2009 from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.[7]
| Names | Radar Imaging Satellite-2 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Radar imaging (Reconnaissance and disaster management) |
| Operator | Indian Air Force ISRO |
| COSPAR ID | 2009-019A [1] |
| SATCAT no. | 34807 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | Planned: 5 years Final: 13 years, 6 months and 9 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | RISAT-2 |
| Bus | OptSat-2000 |
| Manufacturer | ISRO (satellite) IAI (SAR radar) |
| Launch mass | 300 kg (660 lb) |
| Power | 750 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 April 2009, 01:15:00 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | PSLV-CA (PSLV-C12) |
| Launch site | Satish Dhawan, SLP |
| Contractor | Indian Space Research Organisation |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 30 October 2022, 00:06 UTC[3][4] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[2] |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Altitude | 548 km (341 mi) |
| Inclination | 41.0° |
| Period | 90.0 minutes |
It is designed to monitor India's borders and as part of anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist operations.[8] The satellite has a mass of 300 kg (660 lb).
History
editRISAT-2 was procured following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, due to delay with the indigenously developed C-band for RISAT-1. It is India's first dedicated radar reconnaissance satellite.[9] RISAT-2 was procured at the cost of USD 200 million from Israel. In terms of configuration and capability it is identical to TecSAR-1 launched in 2008 by ISRO's PSLV which marked the beginning of India-Israel space cooperation.[5][6][10]
Technical capabilities
editRISAT-2 was India's first satellite with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). It possess day-night as well as all-weather monitoring capability. Potential applications include tracking hostile ships at sea that are deemed a military threat to India.[11]
Though ISRO sought to underplay the satellite's defence applications in its announcements, a substantial number of articles concerning RISAT-2 in the Indian media continue to refer to it as a "spy satellite".[12] This is also supported by the fact that its Israeli sensor is clearly pronounced a military grade sensor by its manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).[5][6]
Launch
editISRO scientists spent tense hours on 19 April 2009 prior to launch as one of the umbilical cords holding the PSLV-CA launch vehicle to the launch pad fell off, damaging nearly six connectors.[13]
ANUSAT satellite
editThe ANUSAT student microsatellite (40 kg) was launched aboard the same launch vehicle as a secondary payload.
Mission
editRISAT-2 was used to search for and eventually locate wreckage of the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, as well as the lives of his fellow passengers, while traveling over dense jungles in southern India on 2 September 2009.[14] The satellite reentered over Sumatra on 30 October 2022 at 00:06 UTC[4][3] after providing payload data for 13 years.[15][16]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Display: RISAT-2 2009-019A". 27 April 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b "RISAT-2 (Radar Imaging Satellite-2)". ESA Earth Observation Portal. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Tracking and Impact Prediction (TIP) Message: RISAT-2". Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ a b Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (31 October 2022). "India's RISAT-2 radar satellite, launched in 2009, reentered at 0006 UTC Oct 30 off the south coast of Sumatra" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c "Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | India readies Israeli radar spysat to eye Pakistan". spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Tango with Israel - Frontline". 3 August 2020. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "ISRO to launch second "spy" satellite RISAT-2BR1 on 11 December 2019 to enhance India's surveillance capability". moneycontrol.com. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "India to launch spy satellite on April 20". The Times of India. 8 April 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
- ^ "The difference between Risat-1 and Risat-2". ASM. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
- ^ “Trends in Indigenous Space Technologies for Societal Applications” 95_PRL ka Amrut Vyakhyaan, 14 August 2024, Shri Nilesh M Desai. 14 August 2024. Event occurs at 38 minutes 02 seconds.
(…) in 2006-07 time frame country desperately needed a radar satellite for our strategic reasons so then military approached us and it was decided to buy a radar satellite so what you're seeing here this is the first active radar satellite bought from Israel it costed around those days 2006 to 09 we gave order in 2006 it was delivered in 2009 and we launched it from our launcher in 2009 for our surveillance requirements it costed us around 800 crores those days 2006 to 09 time frame.
- ^ "India's spy in the sky: ISRO launches RISAT-2". IBN. 20 April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ "India launches key spy satellite". BBC. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ "RISAT-2 not a spy satellite: ISRO chief". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009.
- ^ "RISAT-2 to search for YSR". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2 September 2009.
- ^ "Department of Space, Annual Report 2017-2018" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2018.
RISAT-2 has enhanced the country's capability in the disaster management support activities. The satellite has completed 8 years in orbit and still providing imaging services.
- ^ "Atmospheric Re-entry of RISAT-2". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
