ISRO to launch military satellite CartoSat-2C using PSLV in May

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch a new earth observatory named CartoSat-2C in May. The satellite built for military purposes will blast off using the renowned PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). After the launch, India will join the ranks of China and USA who have their own spy satellites to monitor activities on Earth from space.

Indian space scientists built the satellite at the Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad. Several rounds of tests were performed to check the durability and functioning of the satellite. Two weeks ago, CartoSat-2C was shifted to ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) at Bengaluru. India’s first dedicated military satellite — CartoSat-2A was launched in 2007 and since then it has given very sensitive and highly classified information including the missile launches in the neighbourhood.

“Though little is known about this new satellite which has been built by scientists at SAC, it will be a follow-up mission in the Cartosat series and is expected to provide very high resolution pictures and videos captured from space,” an ISRO official said.

According to the official report, the satellite weighs 690 kilogram. The high-resolution multi-spectral instrument and Panchromatic Camera will enable the satellite to capture some stunning high-resolution images. Previous military satellite had the resolution of 0.8 metre while the new camera installed on the CartoSat-2C has a resolution of 0.65 which means that it can spot even smaller objects from space. What’s striking about the camera of the new satellite is that it has the capability to record videos, process it to reduce size of the file and then beam it back to the Earth.

CartoSat-2C will blast off along with 21 other satellites using PSLV rocket in May this year. It will be placed in a sun-synchronous polar orbit at a low-earth altitude of about 200-1,200 kms above the Earth’s surface. Once launched, it will be one of the finest eyes present in space.