MONDAY, MAY 02, 2005
India to launch 2 new satellites
IANS
SRIHARIKOTA(AP): India will put into orbit two satellites using a home-grown rocket on Thursday as part of its growing programme to harness space for development.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Sunday that the countdown for the launch of CARTOSTAT-1 and HAMSAT would begin at the launch pad here on Tuesday morning.
There are several firsts associated with Thursday's launch.
This is the first time that ISRO will put into orbit two completely indigenous satellites with the help of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. For the first time, the payload will be over 1,600 kg.
More significantly, the launch will mark the first test of Indian cryogenic fuel systems. So far, India has been using Russian cryogenic systems.
CARTOSTAT-1 is a mapping satellite while HAMSAT is a smaller satellite for amateur radio enthusiasts.
The PSLV-C6, ISRO's tried and tested workhorse in space with seven successful launches, will carry the satellites to their respective orbits.
"CARTOSTAT-1 is (a) first of its kind in the civilian domain and will be equipped with two cameras with spatial resolution of 2.5 metres. These high resolution cameras will take stereoscopic images for cadastral level mapping and updating," an ISRO official told visiting reporters here.
The cameras will be able to photograph objects measuring 2.5 metres.
ISRO will use its new second launch pad at Sriharikota for the launch.
"As we grow and as our operations grow, the need was felt for a new launch pad," said K. Narayana, director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
ISRO has been working on the construction of the new launch pad for five years.
Generally, an assembled satellite and rocket are kept at the launch pad for just four hours. The new pad allows ISRO to keep its satellite mounted on the rocket for five days.
The mobile 900-tonne launch pad is built in a way that it can withstand cyclonic winds and lightning of up to 200 kilo-ampere.
It is housed, at non-launch times, in a newly built concrete vehicle assembly building, where various components of the system are brought and integrated with the rocket.
The cost of the satellites is about Rs 2.5 billion ($57.4 million) while that of the new launch pad and its systems is about Rs 4 billion ($91.9 million).
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