CartoSat-1

Launch data: Designation  28649 / 05017A Launch date  05 May 2005 - 04:45 UT Launch site  Sriharikota, SLP Launch vehicle  PSLV-C6 (#9) Mission  Government: Remote Sensing / mapping Sun-Synchronous LEO Earth orbit on 23 May - 21:21 UT: Perigee / Apogee  620 x 622 km Eccentricity  1.43E-04 Inclination  97.92° Period  97.13 min

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor  ISRO Operator  ISRO Platform  IRS-1 Bus Mass at launch  1560 kg Dry Mass  1450 kg Basic shape   Dimension   Solar array   Equipment  PAN Fore, PAN After DC power  1100 W Design lifetime  5 years - In service

Photo of the CartoSat-1 spacecraft at integration (image credit: ISRO)

Description:

Cartosat-1 or IRS-P5 (Indian Remote Sensing Satellite) is a state-of-the-art remote sensing satellite built by ISRO which is mainly intended for cartographic applications. It is the eleventh satellite to be built in the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series. CARTOSAT-1 is launched into a 620 km high polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) by PSLV-C6.

CARTOSAT-1 carries two state-of-the-art Panchromatic (PAN) cameras which take black-and-white stereoscopic images of the Earth in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The swath covered by these high resolution PAN cameras is 30 km and their spatial resolution is 2.5 metres. The cameras are mounted on the satellite in such a way that near simultaneous imaging of the same area from two different angles is possible. This facilitates the generation of accurate three-dimensional maps. The cameras are steerable across the direction of the satellite’s movement to facilitate the imaging of an area more frequently. The images taken by CARTOSAT-1 cameras are compressed, encrypted, formatted and transmitted to the ground stations. The cameras operate in the 500 - 750 nm wavelenght and are tilted +26 deg and -5 along the track. The images are reconstructed from the data received at the ground stations.

CARTOSAT-1 also carries a Solid State Recorder with a capacity of 120 Giga Bits to store the images taken by its cameras. The stored images can be transmitted when the satellite comes within the visibility zone of a ground station.

After its separation from the fourth stage of PSLV, Cartosat-1 is made to accurately point towards the earth through a series of complex manoeuvres. This is followed by a thorough checkout of the satellite, switching on the cameras and fine tuning of the orbit.

Mission details:

• Would have a pan camera with 2.2 meter resolution and a 10 to 12 km swath capability and would be mainly useful for map making and terrain modelling. Other sources claim steerable swath of 30 km.
• Remote sensing and mapping, land use, forest cover, river flow assessments.

External links:

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