Cartosat-2 satellite

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 series and 30 co-passenger satellites from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
• Cartosat-2 is a remote sensing satellite with the resolution of 0.6 metres which can spot even smaller objects within a square of 0.6 m by 0.6 m. The ISRO official succinctly defined it thus: High-resolution scene specific spot imagery.
• The previous satellite in the series, which had a resolution of 0.8 metres, took images that helped India carry out its precise strikes on seven terror camps across the Line of Control last year.
• This satellite has been launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which will be on its 40th flight.
• The Cartosat-2 series satellite weighs 712 kg, according to ISRO. Out of the 30 nano satellites which will launch with Cartosat-2, 29 are foreign and one is Indian. The 30 satellites will together weigh 243 kg.
• The 29 international nano satellites are being launched as between ISRO's commercial arm, the Antrix Corporation Ltd and 14 international customers. These customers are Austria, Belgium, Britain, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and the US.
• Once this satellite becomes operational, it would be handed over to the defence forces, which have their own infrastructure, which includes ground stations, and trained manpower to access data. Defence surveillance will get a leg-up because it can be used in identifying terrorist camps and bunkers.
• The only Indian nano satellite is 15kg NIUSAT. It belongs to Nooral Islam University, Tamil Nadu. It will provide multi-spectral imagery for agricultural crop monitoring and disaster management support application

About PSLV:

• PSLV is a four-staged launch vehicle with first and third stage using solid rocket motors and second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines. It also uses strap-on motors to augment the thrust provided by the first stage, and depending on the number of these strap-on boosters, the PSLV is classified into its various versions like core-alone version (PSLV-CA), PSLV-G or PSLV-XL variants.

By: Vishal