RISAT-l, India’s first indigenously built all-weather Radar Imaging Satellite, was put in orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C19) on April 26, 2012. The venue of the launch was the Snharikota spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Andhra Pradesh. RISAT-l boasts of various applications ranging from agriculture to natural disaster management. Also, at 1,858 kg, it is the heaviest satellite launched by ISRO to date.
RISAT-l is a state-of-the-art Active Microwave Remote Sensing Satellite. It has a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that will operate in the C-band. The satellite can send back images of the earth surface features at both day and night and under every imaginable type of weather condition. The SAR equips RISAT-l with its magical roving eyes, a feature which makes it superior to the generation of optical remote sensing satellites in clearer imaging at all times and under any weather condition.
RISAT-l’s daily routine will include 14 orbits with a repetitive cycle of 25 days. During its five-year mission life, it will use its active microwave remote sensing capability for cloud penetration and day-night imaging of the earth surface. It will provide critical data inputs for a wide range of agricultural and soil moisture studies, besides a host of forestry applications. It will also undertake paddy monitoring in the kharif season, crop estimation and mapping of forestry biomass. Also, it will help in tackling natural disasters.
The PSLV-C19 is the 21st flight of the PSLV series of satellite launches and the 20th consecutive successful launch. It is the third launch to involve the high- end version (PSLV-XL) equipped with six extended strap-on motors, each carrying 12 tonnes of solid propellant. It is worth mentioning here that the two earlier flights of the PSLV-XL were used to launch Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and the GSAT-12 communication satellite in 2011.
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