BENGALURU/SRIHARIKOTA: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday placed into orbit its most sophisticated and advanced earth imaging and mapping satellite Cartosat-3 with the highest camera resolution of 25 cm.
The satellite, which is the ninth in the series and will replace the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series, was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre’s (SDSC) Sriharikota at 9.28 am along with 13 commercial nano-satellites from USA.
The satellite was placed into orbit 17 minutes and 46 seconds after lift-off at 9.28 AM.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan said Cartosat-3 is the highest resolution civilian satellite, even as ISRO scientists have touted this satellite as a big advance on previous payloads in the Cartosat series.
High-Resolution Camera
The Cartosat-3’s high-resolution camera is expected to help conduct earth imaging with the highest resolution so far among any earth observing satellite in the world.
ISRO said the satellite, with a mission life of five years (up till 2024) is expected to meet the ever-increasing demand for urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover.
The satellite was launched onboard ISRO’s workhorse launcher, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-47.
Cartosat-3 is a third-generation agile satellite with high-resolution imaging capabilities, with a total mass of 1,600 Kg.