CartoSat 2B

Spacecraft nº:

Indian spacecraft nº: 55

Launch data: Designation  36795 / 10035A Launch date  12 July 2010 - 03:52 UT Launch site  Sriharikota, SLP Launch vehicle  PSLV-CA (#C15) Mission  Government: Remote sensing Sun-Synchronous LEO (Polar) Earth orbit on Jul 12.41: Perigee / Apogee  622 x 639 km Eccentricity  0.001 Inclination  98.15 deg Period  97.33 min

Photo of the deployed CartoSat-2B spacecraft in the clean room at ISRO (image credit: ISRO)

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor  ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore Platform  IRS-2 Bus Operator  ISRO Mass at launch  694 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape  Hexagonal box + 2 panels Dimension (m)   Solar array   Payloads  Panchromatic Camera Stabilization  3 – axis body stabilised based on inputs from star sensors and gyros using Reaction wheels, Magnetic Torquers and Hydrazine Thrusters DC power  930 W Design lifetime  5 yrs

Photo of the CartoSat-2B spacecraft undergoing prelaunch tests (image credit: ISRO)

Description:

• CARTOSAT-2B is the seventeenth satellite in the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite series (IRS).
• CARTOSAT-2B carries a Panchromatic camera (PAN) similar to those of its predecessors - CARTOSAT-2 (January 2007) and 2A (April 2008). It is capable of imaging a swath (geographical strip) of 9.6 km with a resolution of better than 1 metre. The scene specific spot imagery sent by CARTOSAT-2B's PAN will be useful for cartographic and a host of other applications. The highly agile CARTOSAT-2B is steerable up to ± 26º along as well as across track to obtain stereoscopic imagery and achieve a four to five day revisit capability.
• Cartosat satellites are mainly used to plan development activities in rural and urban areas of the country. The satellites' imagery can be used for preparing detailed forest type maps, tree volume estimation, village/cadastral level crop inventory, town/village settlement mapping and planning for development, rural connectivity, canal alignment, coastal land form, mining monitoring and others.

Mission details:

• Resource mapping, urban planning, transportation studies, water monitoring, and crop inventories.
• India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle made a successful flight from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island on Jul 12, 2010 placing the Cartosat 2B and Alsat-2A satellites in polar orbit. Cartosat 2B is an imaging satellite for ISRO (the Indian Space Research Organization) with 0.8 meter resolution.

External links:

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