India to Launch Military Satellite to Detect Enemy Radars, Sensors and Devices

The satellite will be launched into orbit to help India's intelligence agencies keep an eagle eye on other countries.

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch a locally built advanced military satellite, along with 28 other satellites from international partners, on 1 April from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

This will be the 47th mission of ISRO's C45 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

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The launch is also aimed at demonstrating the PSLV's capability to place satellites into orbit. 

"We will be using a PSLV rocket with four strap-on motors. Further, for the first time we will be trying to orbit the rocket at three different altitudes," K Sivan, chairman of the ISRO, said.

The primary satellite will be injected into orbit at 749 km, followed by two fourth stage restarts to achieve a 504 km orbit, where all customer satellites will be injected. Subsequently, the fourth stage will be restarted again to achieve a 485 km orbit to serve as an orbital platform to carry out spaceborne experimentation. 

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In the fourth stage, the launcher will turn into a payload platform carrying three experimental payloads that include an automatic identification system for maritime satellite applications capturing messages transmitted from ships.

The second payload comprises an automatic packet repeating system (APRS) from India's AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) that will assist amateur radio operators in tracking and monitoring position data. The third experimental payload includes an advanced retarding potential analyser for ionospheric studies (ARIS) from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), an ISRO document reads.