Cartosat 2

Launch data: Designation  29710 / 07001B Launch date  10 Jan 2007 - 04:16 UT Launch site  Sriharikota, SLP Launch vehicle  PSLV-C7 (#10) Mission  Government: Remote sensing Sun-Synchronous LEO Earth orbit on Jan 10.68: Perigee / Apogee  622 x 640 km Eccentricity  4.28E-04 Inclination  97.94° Period  97.33 min

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor  ISRO Operator  Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Platform   Mass at launch  680 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape  Hexagonal box + 2 panels Dimension (m)   Solar array   Stabilization   DC power   Design lifetime   - In service

Mission details:

• The main payloads of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C7 were Cartosat-2 and the SRE recovery experiment. Two picosatellites were also deployed: Pehuensat for Argentina and LAPAN-TUBsat for Indonesia.
• CARTOSAT 2 is a 680-kg photo-imaging spacecraft that provides panchromatic images at one-meter resolution to aid civil planning and other cartographic needs. It is an advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery. It is the twelfth spacecraft in the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series, it joins the other six IRS satellites which are in service: IRS 1C, IRS 1D, OceanSat 1, TES, ResourceSat and Cartosat 1.
• CartoSat-2 carries a Panchromatic camera to provide imageries with a spatial resolution of better than one metre and a swath of 9.6 km. The satellite can be steered up to 45 degress along as well as across the track. The data from the satellite are used for cartographic applications at cadastral level, urban and rural infrastructure development and management, as well as applications in Land Information System and Geographical Information System.
• The Space Recovery Experiment vehicle will carry out microgravity experiments and then use a liquid engine for a deorbit burn. It carries a rounded conical heat shield and will parachute down to the Bay of Bengal for recovery.
• Cartosat 2 joins six other spacecraft currently operating in India's remote sensing satellite fleet, and is the 12th member of the program throughout its history. The 1,500-pound craft is a direct follow-on to the larger Cartosat 1 satellite, which was launched in 2005.
• Data obtained by Cartosat 2 during its 5-year mission will aid officials in mapping and land management across India. The satellite carries a black-and-white camera with a resolution of better than one meter, according to ISRO officials.
• The high resolution camera marks an improvement over Cartosat 1, which could only resolve objects as small as about two-and-a-half meters in black-and-white images. Cartosat 2's camera will take pictures in swaths approximately 6 miles wide, while Cartosat 1's camera produces imagery covering much larger areas almost 20 miles wide.
• Cartosat 2 can also be pointed up to 45 degrees along and across its ground track as it flies above Earth, allowing it to gather different views of imagery targets.

Launch:

• ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) lifted off from the first launch pad at SDSC SHAR, at 9h23 (local time) with the ignition of the core first stage and four of the six strap-on motors. This four-stage launch is 44 meters tall and has a lift-off mass of 295 tonnes. The remaining two strap-on motors were ignited 25 seconds after lift-off. This tenth flight conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, successfully launched four satellites. For the first time, a Dual Launch Adopter (DLA) was used in PSLV to accommodate two primary satellites in tandem.  The main payload, CARTOSAT-2 was the first satellite to be injected into orbit 981.3 seconds after lift-off at an altitude of 639 km. About 45 seconds later, DLA with the PEHUENSAT-1 mounted on it, was separated. 120 seconds later, the Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) mounted inside DLA was separated and finally, 190 seconds later, the LAPAN-TUBSAT, mounted on the equipment bay of PSLV fourth stage was separated. The four satellites have been placed in a polar orbit at an altitude of 637 km with an inclination of 97.9 degrees with respect to the equator.

External links:

• EOportal.org Satellite description
• Satellite tracking: Real time satellite tracking