ISRO launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on its 48th mission, carrying RISAT-2B on 22nd May. The earth observation satellite RISAT-2B is capable of observing Earth during the day, night and even under rainy and cloudy conditions.
The launch of the PSLV marks the third launch in 2019. It was the 72nd launch vehicle mission from Sriharikota and also marked the 36th launch from the first launch pad.
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RISAT-2B:
The RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Satellite-2B), meant for application in fields such as surveillance, agriculture, forestry, and disaster management support, was released into the orbit successfully. It would replace the RISAT-2, which was successfully launched in 2009.
RISAT-2B is an excellent satellite with hi-fi earth observation capabilities. The RISAT-2B is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar that can take pictures of the earth during day and night, and also under cloudy conditions.
With a mission life of five years, the satellite would also be used for military surveillance. The RISAT-2 has been actively used by India to monitor activities in camps across the border in Pakistan to thwart infiltration bids by terrorists.
2 RISATs:
ISRO launched two RISATs in 2009 and 2012 and plans to launch four more in 2019. This comes afterBalakot airstrikes on February 26, following which PM Narendra Modi claimed cloud cover helped IAF jets escape Pakistan's radars.
ISRO had launched RISAT-1, a microwave remote sensing satellite, on April 26, 2012, from Sriharikota.
1st and 2nd launches by ISRO in 2019:
The PSLV-C45/EMISAT mission, which successfully injected the EMISAT and 29 international customer satellites into their orbits on April 1. The PSLV-C44, which successfully placed the Microsat-R and the Kalamsat-V2 satellites in designated orbits on January 24.
