SPACE.com -- Earth Imaging Spacecraft Launched by India's PSLV

India Approves Moon Mission

India Launches Second GSLV Rocket with GSAT

India Launches METSAT into Orbit with Improved PSLV Rocket


	Earth Imaging Spacecraft Launched by India's PSLV By SPACE.com Staff posted: 02:30 am ET 17 October 2003

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- India successfully launched an Earth resources sensing satellite into polar orbit Friday, the nation's space agency said.

Liftoff of the three-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Center was reportedly on time at 12:52 a.m. EDT (0452 GMT).

The eighth flight of the Indian Space Research Organization's PSLV booster carried RESOURCESAT-1, a 3,000-pound (1,360-kilogram) spacecraft built with three cameras that see light in different wavelengths.

Here is some more information about the spacecraft as provided by the Indian space agency:

RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6), the payload on board PSLV-C5, is the most advanced remote sensing satellite built by ISRO so far. The tenth satellite of ISRO in IRS series, RESOURCESAT-1 is intended to not only continue the remote sensing data services provided by IRS-1C and IRS-1D, both of which have far outlived their designed mission lives, but also to vastly enhance the data quality.

The 1,360 kg RESOURCESAT-1 will be launched into an 817 km high polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.

RESOURCESAT-1 carries three cameras as follows:

A high resolution Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-4) operating in three spectral bands in the Visible and Near Infrared Region (VNIR) with 5.8 metre spatial resolution and steerable up to + 26 deg across track to obtain stereoscopic imagery and achieve five day revisit capability.
A medium resolution LISS-3 operating in three spectral bands in VNIR and one in Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) band with 23.5 metre spatial resolution.
An Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) operating in three spectral bands in VNIR and one band in SWIR with 56 metre spatial resolution RESOURCESAT-1 also carries a Solid State Recorder with a capacity of 120 Giga Bits to store the images taken by its cameras which can be read out later to the ground stations.

Soon after its injection into orbit, the solar panels on board RESOURCESAT-1 will be deployed automatically to generate necessary electrical power for the satellite.

The satellites health will be continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at Bangalore with the help of a network of ground stations of ISTRAC located at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius, Bearslake in Russia and Biak in Indonesia.

After three-axis stabilisation, orbit trimming and a detailed checkout of the spacecraft systems, the cameras on board will be switched on.

	New Galapagos Expedition Offers Lindblad Expeditions Explore the Galapagos and save up to 25% off select departure dates www.Expeditions.com

	BP There’s energy security in energy diversity.

	One-stop destination for the lowest domestic airfares Search all airlines, including Southwest now!

	HP ProLiant Servers The HP portfolio of servers-leading technology that respects the bottom line. Powerful ProLiant technology at a price that's worth a second look.