May 5 2005
From The Space Library
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its Cartosat-1 Earth-mapping and remote-sensing satellite aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C6 (PSLV-C6) from the newly built launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India. The 1.56-tonne (1,560-kilogram or 1.72-ton) Cartosat-1, the heaviest payload that the PSLV had ever ferried to space, carried two f/4.5 Panchromatic cameras, which together would enable the production of a stereoscopic image at a resolution of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). ISRO planned to use the images to generate digital terrain-elevation maps, which would aid in assessing and monitoring land use, forest cover, and river flow. The launch vehicle also carried into orbit HAMSat, a 43-kilogram (0.043-tonne or 0.047-ton) microsatellite designed to relay amateur VHF radio communications. (Space warn Bulletin, no. 619, 1 June 2005, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spx619.html (accessed 17 September 2009); K. S. Jayaraman, “India Launches Cartosat-1 Satellite,” Space News, 6 May 2005.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
