The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch an earth observation satellite “RISAT-2BR1”, days after sending a similar CARTOSAT-3 satellite from the state of Andhra Pradesh on 11 December. It’s a radar-imaging earth observation satellite, weighing about 628 kg, which will be placed into orbit of 576 km at an inclination of 37 degrees.
The PSLV-C48 launch vehicle is also scheduled to carry nine other commercial satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) located in Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh state.
The vehicle will be sending the satellite from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) and this launch is tentatively scheduled for the afternoon, depending upon weather conditions.
The nine satellites to be carried into orbit are being sent on behalf of Israel (1), Italy (1), Japan (1) and the USA (6) as co-passengers. These are being launched under a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
RISAT-2BR1 is equipped with a special X-band radar which is capable of providing much better images than currently available RISAT series satellites, which are unable to provide high resolution images in heavy cloud cover.
