Military Procurement International Vol. 19, No. 9, May 1, 2009
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
9, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
INDIA
RISAT-2
spy satellite launched successfully
On April 20, the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully used a Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C12) to put into orbit the RISAT-2 spy satellite built by
the MBT Space Division of Israel
Aerospace Industries for the Indian
Ministry of Defence. The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre Shar, at the Sriharikota barrier island site, just off the coast of
Andhra Pradesh.
The 300kg RISAT-2 features
an Elta Systems X-band Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) that can see through clouds and operate by day and night in
all weathers, with a resolution of almost 10cm. This means that it can read car
number plates. The satellite was placed in orbit at an altitude of 550km with an
inclination of 41° to the equator and an orbital period of about 90 minutes. It
thus overflies Pakistan, can help counter-terrorist operations and can also
track Chinese ballistic missile launches.
In January 2008, an Indian
PSLV successfully launched the similar TECSAR reconnaissance satellite on behalf
of the Israeli Ministry of Defence.