The state-owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will contribute to development of Russia’s next-generation Glonass-K series of navigation satellites as part of the agreement India has signed with Moscow, writes Radhakrishna Rao in Bangalore.
The agreement also envisages co-operation on launching Glonass-M and Glonass-K satellites using Russian and Indian launch vehicles. The Indian armed forces would be allowed access to the Glonass satellite network, which was conceived by the Russian defence forces in the 1980s, but is expected to be fully operational by 2007.
India’s weather monitoring, meanwhile, is to receive a boost with the launch in 2007-8 of the Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat), says Surendra Pal, deputy director of ISRO’s Bangalore-based satellite centre. Risat, which will be launched by Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, will have a day and night imaging capability and the ability to see through haze.
ISRO is looking to Risat to complement electro-optical sensors on the IRS series of Earth observation spacecraft. The spacecraft will carry a multi-mode, multi-polarisation, agile synthetic-aperture radar operating in C-band and providing 3-50m (10-165ft) spatial resolution.
Source: Flight International
