ISRO all set to launch remote sensing satellite on December 7!

Chennai: It has been a fruitful year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with many achievements that have established the country's position as one of the front-runners in the world of space.

However, the space agency's plans for the end of 2016 as well as the year 2017, it has sent out a clear statement that this is just the beginning.

After ISRO announced its decision to launch 83 satellites in January 2017, it revealed today, its plans to launch PSLV-C36 carrying remote sensing satellite RESOURCESAT-2A from the spaceport of Sriharikota on December 7.

The 44.4 metre tall PSLV C36 is expected to place the 1,235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A into an 827km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit in about 18 minutes after lift off.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C36, in its 38th flight, will blast off at 10.24 AM from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, about 125 km from here, ISRO said on its website.

The mission life of the satellite is five years.

RESOURCESAT-2A is a remote sensing satellite developed by ISRO and succeeds RESOURCESAT-1 and RESOURCESAT-2 launched in 2003 and 2011, respectively.

It is intended to continue the remote sensing data services to global users and would carry similar payloads as carried by its predecessors RESOURCESAT-1 & RESOURCESAT-2.

RESOURCESAT-2A would carry a high resolution Linear Imaging Self Scanner camera, medium resolution LISS-3 camera and an advanced wide field sensor camera that operates in various bands.

It would also carry two solid state recorders with a capacity of 200GB to store the images taken by the cameras and which can be shared with ground stations.

Between 1994 and 2016, PSLV has successfully launched 121 satellites of which 79 are from overseas, the rest being Indian satellites, ISRO said.

(With PTI inputs)