The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and its commercial marketing arm, ANTRIX Corp. Ltd., successfully launched the IRS-1D Earth imaging satellite today from Sriharikota, India. The satellite is an identical twin to the IRS-1C, launched in December 1995. IRS-1D will undergo approximately six to eight weeks of on-orbit testing before commencing full operations.
The dual use of these satellites enables Space Imaging EOSAT, the
exclusive provider of IRS imagery to global markets, to offer
5.8-meter resolution images to its customers twice as often as is
currently possible with just the IRS-1C. The imagery is useful for
applications as diverse as natural resource planning, agricultural
monitoring, urban and transportation development, natural disaster
assessment, media use and much more.
“High-resolution IRS imagery has proven its usefulness in a
variety of industries worldwide,” said Dr. Krishnaswamy,
Kasturirangan, chairman of ISRO and ANTRIX. “With the addition of
IRS-1D, users will have the added advantage of frequent updates – as
frequently as three days if the customer requires it. This
capability is crucial for those needing to closely monitor events
that change over time.”
For Space Imaging EOSAT, which has an exclusive agreement with
ANTRIX to market and distribute IRS imagery worldwide, the addition
of IRS-1D means its portfolio of advanced Earth information products
– already the largest and most diverse in the world – just became
even bigger and more robust.
“India has been a world leader in remote sensing satellites for
decades, and with the launch of IRS-1D, they have the largest remote
sensing program of any country in the world,” said John Copple,
Space Imaging EOSAT’s chief executive officer. “The current
five-satellite Indian constellation produces among the highest
resolution, commercially available imagery and Earth information in
the world. By including IRS imagery in our expanded CARTERRA(TM)
product line, and with our worldwide network of receiving stations,
Space Imaging EOSAT can provide customers with a greater variety of
Earth information products than has ever been available from a single
source.”
As the flagships of the IRS constellation, the both IRS-1C and 1D
produce 5.8-meter panchromatic (black and white) imagery, which is
resampled to five-meter pixel detail. These satellites are also
equipped with two-band Wide Field Sensors (WiFS) that cover a
774-square-kilometer (481-square-mile) area in a single image, as
well as LISS-3 multispectral sensors that provide 23.5-meter
resolution multispectral coverage.
The 23.5-meter resolution imagery is resampled to produce
20-meter pixel detail. These features combine to enable customers to
map landcover, monitor water pollution, evaluate crop yields,
determine soil salinity and alkalinity, spot areas and extent of
deforestation, and identify transportation and utility corridors,
among a myriad of other potential applications.
“The high quality of imagery from IRS-1C has enabled us to use
this information in a number of valuable applications for the people
of India,” said N. Sampath, executive director of ANTRIX. “IRS-1D
will help us take even greater advantage of this resource to improve
agricultural efficiency, perform glacial-lake/flood monitoring, and
conduct hydrology studies, just to name a few of the many uses. We
are very gratified that so many users worldwide are also discovering
the benefits of this high-quality Earth imagery.”
Space Imaging EOSAT is the world’s largest single supplier of
space imagery, aerial photography, mapping services, and derivative
geographic information products and services. The company supplies
these products and services to commercial government and consumer
users worldwide. Space Imaging EOSAT also collects and distributes
imagery derived from the Indian IRS satellites, the U.S. Landsat
satellites, the Canadian Space Agency’s RADARSAT, Japan’s JERS, and
the European Space Agency’s ERS satellites.
Space Imaging EOSAT also delivers a broad array of aerial-derived
information products through its Mapping Alliance Program (MAP). The
company will launch the world’s first commercial one-meter resolution
satellite, IKONOS 1, in December.
India at SpaceDaily
