EMISAT: India's Eye in the Sky

EMISAT, Source: ISRO

Emisat is an Indian Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) the satellite launched aboard the PSLV C-45 on April 1^st, 2019. The C-45 the mission also carried 28 international customer satellites. This was the 47^th launch of the PSLV. The launch also marked the first launch of a new variant of PSLV; the PSLV-QL, with four new strap-on boosters. 

EMISAT is based on ISRO’s Indian Mini Satellite – II (IMS-2) Bus architecture. The new series is an improvement upon the now obsolete IMS-1 Bus architecture. 

Features	IMS – 1	IMS – 2
Max. launch mass	100kg	450kg
Max. Bus mass	70kg	250kg
Max. payload mass	30kg	200kg
Design life	<2 years	5 years

 

The new bus will also improve upon the power available for the payload which will allow more powerful sensors required for Intelligence to be integrated.

As per ISRO website, the role of EMISAT is stated as ‘Electromagnetic Spectrum Measurement’ which is just a fancy name for ‘Spy satellite’. The payload for the satellite is officially named ‘KAUTILYA’ which is developed by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL), a laboratory under Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO).

Read: MICROSAT

 

OBJECTIVE             

As the name suggests, EMISAT is a spy satellite to be used exclusively by the Indian military. The details of the sensors aboard are under secrecy but we believe it to be operating under Ka and X band frequencies. 

The satellite looks for radar signatures of hostile elements near the border and can pinpoint the location, which can be further used by the military to identify enemy radar assets in the region. 

The radar signature sensed by the satellite can be used for subsequent encounters by the military in future, hence EMISAT is a valuable asset for Indian Intelligence. The primary aim to map the enemy radar signature is, jamming methods could be devised to counter these radars in future conflicts.

The project, KAUTILYA was initiated back in 2013-14 and is fully controlled by DRDO with ISRO providing the satellite bus.

Since it is surveillance satellite, the orbit is SSPO – Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit. This allows the satellite to have maximum dwell time over a particular area of interest. 

Also Read: Rohini

 

EMISAT – Mission details

• Launch Mass: 436 kg

• Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C45

• Orbit altitude: 749 km

• Inclination: 98.376 degrees

• Type/Application: Electronic Intelligence

• Manufacturer: ISRO/DRDO

• Owner: Likely to be NTRO/DRDO