Here’s what’s special about India’s Cartosat-3 launch tomorrow

• India will be launching its earth imaging satellite, Cartosat-3, tomorrow morning from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
• The launch will include 13 other nanosatellites from the US aboard the PSLV XL rocket.
• The Cartosat-3 satellite is an upgrade to India’s Cartosat-2 ‘eye in the sky’ satellites.

India is all set to launch its third generation ‘eye in the sky’ Cartosat-3, from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota tomorrow.

The Indian Space Research Organisation ($4) will be using its trusted workhorse, the PSLV XL rocket, to place the satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Deemed PSLV-C47, it will be the PSLV’s 49th flight and the XL variant’s 21st launch.

According to the agency, the satellite’s main use will be addressing the demands of urban planning, rural resources, coastal land use and monitoring land cover.

Since the Cartosat satellites are capable of providing high resolution pictures, they serve a dual purpose. They can also be used to defend India’s borders.

Upgraded surveillance

In September 2016, the $4 helped Indian Army soldiers conduct $4 along the line of control (LoC) by $4 ‘Area of Interest’ (AOI) based images.

That satellite could provide images that were 0.65 meters in resolution.

The Cartosat-3 satellite, on the other hand, is supposed to be even more accurate with a resolution of 0.25 meters. It will also have adaptive optics, acousto optical devices, in-orbit focusing using micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and large area-light weight mirrors.

ISRO expects Cartosat-3 to orbit the Earth for the next five years from 509 kilometers in space.

You can watch the launch live on $4, $4, $4 or on the official $4 website.


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