Amid preparations for its high-profile Rs 800 crore Chandrayaan-2 mission scheduled for an October launch, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is also gearing up to launch a slew of important satellites in the coming months.
Some of these satellites are significant for strategic reasons as they will help the military keep an eye on our hostile neighbours and safeguard our land and sea borders.
Isro will launch a dedicated satellite, Gsat-7A, for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in September and an advanced remote sensing satellite, Risat-2A, for surveillance purpose by the end of the year.
Gsat-7A, which will be lifted by a GSLV Mk II rocket, will enable the IAF to interlink different ground radar stations, airbases and AWACS aircraft. It will also boost the IAF’s network-centric warfare capabilities and enhance its global operations.
The satellite will be similar to Gsat-7 or Rukmini, which was launched on September 29, 2013, exclusively for the Navy. Rukmini has helped the Navy monitor the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as the satellite has a nearly 2,000 nautical mile ‘footprint’ and provides real-time inputs to Indian warships, submarines and maritime aircraft and also boosts the force’s networking capabilities on the high seas. Rukmini, considered the Navy’s ‘eye in the sky’, is also being used to keep tabs on Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean.
Risat-2A, which will be launched by the end of this year by a PSLV rocket, is an advanced remote sensing satellite that will boost the country’s surveillance capabilities.
Prasanta Patnaik