Friday, March 20, 2009

India Buys Israeli Spy Satellite

India Buys Israeli Spy Satellite (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - March 20, 2009: India has bought a spy satellite from Israel with day-and-night viewing capability to boost surveillance capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai militant attacks, a report said March 20. Indian Remote Sensing satellites (IRS) are a series of Earth Observation satellites, built, launched and maintained by Indian Space Research Organisation of India as part of the Indian space program. The IRS series provides remote sensing services to the country.* Following are the remote sensing satellites planned by ISRO to be launched next strengthening the fleet of IRS satellites and widening their applications: *RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite): A microwave remote sensing mission with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) operating in C-band and having a 6 x 2 meter planar active array antenna based on trans-receiver module architecture. SAR is an all weather-imaging sensor capable of taking images in cloudy and snow covered regions and also both during day and night. RISAT weighs 1,750 kg. It is slated to be launched in 2008-2009. *Oceansat-2: It is envisaged to continue the service of OCEANSAT-1. It will carry an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band pencil beam scatterometer. It is scheduled to be launched in March 8 2008 on board PSLV. *Resourcesat-2: It will have imaging sensors similar to RESOURCESAT-1. Payload electronics have been miniaturised to reduce the overall weight. RESOURCESAT-2 is planned for launch by PSLV in 2009-10. *Resourcesat-3: A follow on to Resourcesat-2, it will carry more advanced LISS-III-WS (Wide Swath) Sensor having similar swath and revisit capability as Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), thus overcoming any spatial resolution limitation of AWiFS. Satellite would also carry Atmospheric Correction Sensor (ACS) for quantitative interpretation and geophysical parameter retrieval. It slated to be launched during 2011-12. *CARTOSAT-3: A continuation of Cartosat series , it will have a resolution 30 cm and 6km swath suitable for cadastre and infrastructure mapping and analysis. It would also enhance disaster monitoring and damage assessment. It is slated to be launched during 2011-12. *Oceansat-3: Oceasat-3 would carry Thermal IR Sensor, 12 channel Ocean Color Monitor, Scatterometer and Passive Microwave Radiometer. IR Sensor and Ocean Color Monitor would be used in the analysis for operational Potential Fishing Zones. Satellite is mainly for Ocean biology and sea state applications. It is slated to the launched aboard PSLV in 2012-13. The satellite, which can see through clouds and carry out day-and-night all-weather imaging, has been one of the long-standing demands of the Indian military, the NDTV news channel said. The 650-pound RISAT 2 will be launched by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket in the next few weeks, the report said. Indian scientists were in the process of integrating the satellite and the rocket at the Sriharikota space port in southern India, it said. The acquisition was fast-tracked after the Nov. 26-29 Mumbai siege in which 10 gunmen went on a shooting spree. India says the attackers came by boat from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to Mumbai, based on its investigations and the confession of the lone gunman captured alive after the 60-hour siege, in which 165 people were killed. India's existing satellites get blinded at night and in the monsoon season. NDTV said the new acquisition would also provide New Delhi with the capability to track incoming hostile ballistic missiles. India treated Israel like a pariah for decades, but has forged close military links with Tel Aviv in recent years with the Jewish state replacing France in 2007 as its second-largest arms supplier after Russia.

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