As dramatic as it may sound, RISAT series of satellites are the 'watchful protectors' with varied applications in the domain of agriculture, geology, disaster monitoring, moisture content of soil and so on.
Let's have a look at the background, the tasks and the future of RISAT.
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| RISAT-2BR1 - Moments before launch. (Credit: The Week) |
R--> Radar.
I--> Imaging.
SAT--> Satellite.
The work for distinct imaging of Earth's surface is a necessity to understand weather patterns and predict, to some extent, natural catastrophes, hence the idea of radar imaging took the limelight. Indian Space and Research Organization, or ISRO, developed a versatile radar imaging satellite that is capable of penetrating cloud cover, courtesy goes to its synthetic aperture radars, and obtain the image of an object on the surface with high resolution.
The Synthetic Aperture Radars, or SAR, uses the method of radar scanning of an area to obtain a two or three-dimensional portrait of that landscape. RISAT incorporated this mechanism in its 4 missions so far - RISAT-2, RISAT-1, RISAT-2B, RISAT-2BR1.
Profiles
RISAT-2
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| RISAT-2. (Credit: eoPortal) |
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| PSLV-C12. (Credit: ISRO) |
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C12.
Launch Mass: 300 kg.
Mission: Earth observation; Disaster management; Military surveillance.
Due to the Mumbai Attacks of 26/11, the C-band SAR wasn't ready for use whereas the X-band SAR was up for usage, as a result, RISAT-2 was launched before RISAT-1 comprising of X-band SAR.
Read: SWAYAM
RISAT-1
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| RISAT-1. (Credit: eoPortal) |
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| PSLV-C19 takeoff. (Credit: ISRO) |
Launch Date: 26th April, 2012.
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C19.
Launch Mass: 1858 kg.
Mission: Agricultural applications.
RISAT-1 is the heaviest satellite to have been launched by a PSLV rocket. It had the ability to facilitate imaging even through cloud cover and also capable of imaging in both day and night.
Also Read: ARYABHATA
RISAT-2B
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| Diagrammatic Representation of RISAT-2B. (Credit: Latest GK GS) |
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| PSLV-C46. (Credit: ISRO) |
Launch Date: 22nd May, 2019.
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C46.
Launch Mass: 615 kg.
Mission: Agricultural applications, Forestry, Disaster management.
RISAT-2BR1
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| RISAT-2BR1 in assembly. (Credit: Information Hubspot) |
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| PSLV-C48. (Credit: ISRO) |
Launch Date: 11th December, 2019.
Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C48.
Launch Mass: 628 kg.
Mission: Agricultural applications, Forestry, Disaster management.
This was the 50th and the last launch by a PSLV vehicle till date.
In the near future, ISRO plans on launching RISAT-2BR2 and RISAT-1A via PSLV-C49 and PSLV-C50 respectively.
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