All Weather Radar Imaging Satellites

ISRO’s RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) family of radar imaging spy spacecraft. They use synthetic aperture radars (SAR) to enable all-weather surveillance.

ISRO’s RISAT series is the agency’s first all-weather Earth monitoring satellite. Previous Indian observation satellites depended heavily on optical and spectral sensors, which were limited by cloud cover.

Because the indigenous C-band SAR to be utilised for RISAT-1 was unavailable after November 26, 2008, Mumbai attacks, ISRO changed the launch plan to launch RISAT-2 before RISAT-1. RISAT-2 utilised an X-band SAR sensor from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), identical to the one used on TecSAR. Later on, Satellite EOS-04, i.e., RISAT-1A, was launched. 

Everything About Satellite EOS04

• Satellite EOS-04, formerly known as the RISAT-1A, completed its maiden payload imaging on February 25, 2022
• According to the space agency, thorough in-orbit testing is currently ongoing. Radiometry, geometric assessment, interferometric calibration, and other tasks are completed
• On February 14, 2022, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C52 (PSLV-C52) launched its radar imaging satellite and two other small satellites, INS-2TD and inspire-1, into orbit
• According to ISRO, all satellites are in good health and working well
• The EOS-04 radar imaging satellite from India delivers high-quality photographs in all-weather circumstances for agriculture, forestry, plantation management, soil moisture, hydrology, and flood mapping
•  The satellite EOS-04, which has a 10-year mission life, is a repetition of the RISAT-1, launched in 2012, and is designed to assure the continuity of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in the C-Band, which provides microwave data to the user community for operational services

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

• It is India’s national space organisation, headquartered in Bengaluru. The Department of Space (DOS) runs ISRO, which the Prime Minister of India directly directs, and the Chairman of ISRO also serves as the executive of DOS
• ISRO is India’s major agency for duties relating to space-based applications, space exploration, and associated technology development
• It is the sixth government space organisation globally with full launch capability, cryogenic engines, the ability to launch interplanetary missions, and the ability to run vast fleets of artificial satellites
• Jawaharlal Nehru founded the Indian National Committee for Space Exploration (INCOSPAR) under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1962 at the suggestion of physicist Vikram Sarabhai, who saw the necessity for space research
• INCOSPAR developed and became ISRO inside DAE in 1969. The Government of India established a Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS) in 1972, placing ISRO under the DOS
• The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalised India’s space research activities. Since then, it has been overseen by the DOS, which supervises several other institutes in India involved in astronomy and space technology
• ISRO created Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1975. In 1980, ISRO launched satellite RS-1 on its SLV-3, making India the sixth country capable of orbital launches

Unmanned Earth satellite

• For almost a decade, unmanned satellites have been employed in beneficial earth-oriented applications such as communication, navigation, geodetic mapping, and meteorology
• These applications are expected to increase in account and scope in the coming 1970–1980 era and to be supplemented by additional applications dealing with the discovery and monitoring of the earth’s natural resources, as well as other phenomena of interest to man—disasters, patterns of cultural development, oceanic traffic, and others
• These latter jobs come under the functional category of “observation” duties. The primary responsibility of a space system will be the collection of information, both by direct observation and by gathering data broadcast through sensors distributed over the earth’s surface
• These observation functions will eventually be supplemented by satellite-directed surface activity (ships, aircraft, and land vehicles). In this latter phase, the satellite’s mission will evolve from pure observation to observation mixed with command and control aspects
• In this capacity, the satellite will serve the needs of humanity as a whole, funnelled via various kinds of “users.” These “users,” who represent certain disciplines, are represented by special government organisations such as the USDA or commercial companies engaged in specialised elements of resource exploitation

Conclusion

ISRO’s RISAT series is the agency’s first all-weather Earth monitoring satellite. Satellite EOS-04 completed its maiden payload imaging on February 25, 2022. It delivers high-quality photographs for agriculture, forestry, plantation management, soil moisture, hydrology, and flood mapping. Jawaharlal Nehru founded the Indian National Committee for Space Exploration (INCOSPAR) in 1962. ISRO created Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1975.

In 1980, ISRO launched satellite RS-1 on its SLV-3, making India the sixth country capable of orbital launches. India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is to launch an unmanned and an all-weather radar imaging satellite on February 15. Satellite EOS04 is capable of producing high-quality images for agriculture, forestry, flood mapping, soil moisture, and hydrology.