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Defence Notes
New
Delhi, 28 April 2009
Risat-II Launch
SURVEILLANC SYSTEM GETS AN EDGE
By Radhakrishna Rao
Quietly and without much publicity,
India’s first all-weather radar imaging satellite Risat-II, realized by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) in association with
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which has made a mark as India’s long-standing
defence partner, was successfully launched
on April 20 morning. A core alone version of the four-stage Indian space
workhorse PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), which had a smooth blast off
from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre(SDSC)in Sriharikota island on the eastern coast delivered the 300-kg Risat-II
into orbit along with a 40-kg, microsatellite Anusat as a co-passenger.
This precise space mission placed
Risat-II into an orbit of 550-km with an inclination of 41 degree to the
equator and an orbital period of 90 minutes. The core alone PSLV, featuring
alternate liquid and solid fuel-driven stages and without its usual six strap
on boosters strung around the first stage of the vehicle stood 44-metres tall
and weighing 230-tonne. Significantly, for the first time PSLV featured an advanced
indigenous mission-control computers as well as advanced telemetry systems that
guided the vehicle from lift off till the injection of satellites into desired
orbits.
Interestingly, this was the 14th
consecutive successful mission of PSLV since it took off around 15 years ago. This
trusted and reliable space workhorse has so far launched 16 Indian and an equal
number of foreign satellites into a variety of orbits. PSLV is considered a
versatile space vehicle since it is capable of launching satellites into a near
earth orbit, polar/sun synchronous orbit and geostationary transfer orbit. In
October last, an augmented version of PSLV was used to orbit India’s first
lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1. Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the country’s
space programme is busy promoting PSLV as a cost-effective launch vehicle in
the $ multi-billion global market for launching satellites.
Featuring an X-band Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) supplied by IAI, RISAT-II can collect data without let or
hindrance even under the cover of darkness, cloud, haze and dust storms. Its’ all-weather
and round-the-clock earth imaging capability is quite useful for monitoring
natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and landslides. As things stand now,
RISAT-II is expected to substantially enhance the country’s capability in the
area of disaster management.
Moreover, because it can sense water
bodies and vegetation in great details, RISAT-II data could be effectively used
to monitor drought conditions, which would be a great boon. In fact, Risat-II
has put India
as the fifth country in the world map to posses such a sophisticated space system
capable of providing data for both civilian and military applications.
Interestingly, the constellation of
remote-sensing satellites operated by ISRO earlier lacked the all-weather data
collection capability. “We had in the past been depending heavily on the
Canadian Radarsat system for our usage. Now we will become independent with our
own indigenous capabilities in having radar imaging,” said an elated ISRO
chairman, Madhavan Nair.
Of course, ISRO denies the
suggestion that Risat-II is a surveillance satellite which can be used for
fighting infiltrators and terrorists by saying: “In our agenda, there is no such thing as spy
satellites.” However, it is candid enough to observe that in the ultimate
analysis everything depends on how the end users interpret the satellite data.
Clearly, it is widely recognized
that an earth observation satellite packed with a variety of sensing payloads can
be used to derive data of military significance. For both surveillance and
earth observation have been considered as two faces of the same coin.
Defence experts drive home the point
that Risat-II data can be exploited to monitor the movement of troops along the
country’s international borders and help in anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist
operations. As Risat-II can sense even the “slightest shift and minor movements
on the surface of the earth” it can also be used to monitor troop build-up across
the border and also identify targets for attack.
In addition, it is also expected to
help in keeping track of vessels and ships moving in the high seas. Well, India by now
knows well that the terrorist groups, making use of sea channels, could play
havoc, much the same way as the Pakistani trained terrorists did in Mumbai.
It is no secret that ISRO is known
to have taken up the development of Risat-II in association with IAI on a war
footing, following the fear psychosis created by 26/11. Moreover, the
development of India’s
own Risat-1 microwave imaging satellite with a C-band SAR and weighing 1780-kg
had run into delay. Everything going as planned Risat-I will be launched before
year-end. It is also expected that India
will launch two more satellites built in Israel over the next couple of
years.
In fact, since the massive
intelligence failure before and during the short lived 1999 Kargil war with
Pakistan, the defence forces have been
clamouring for dedicated earth
observation satellites to beef up their surveillance and reconnaissance
operations. In addition, both the Navy and the Air Force have been projecting
the need for exclusive satellites for meeting their operational requirements.
In fact, in the context of India’s plan to
set up a tri service aerospace command, the need for a range of satellites for
variety of end uses has become all the more pronounced. Similarly, the ongoing
plan of all the three wings of the Services to enhance their net-centric
warfare capability implies the need for a string of high performance satellites
Risat-II is considered a shining
symbol of the growing India-Israel cooperation in vital areas of space and
defence. In January last, India’s
PSLV had launched Israel’s
reconnaissance satellite TECSAR under a commercial contract, which IAI had
entered into with Antrix Corp. This satellite was said to have been put in
place by Israel for keeping a tab on its neighbours, with particular reference
to developments in Iran whose nuclear weapons development programme has
attracted global attention. The Left parties, which have come down heavily on
the UPA Government for its not so transparent deal with IAI for the joint
development of a surface-to-air missile had condemned the TECSAR launch, saying
it “shows how India is
aiding the military efforts of Israel”.
Is it worth making a note of? ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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