Sriharikota (AP), 30 July (H.S.): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the NISAR satellite on July 30 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This satellite is the first collaborative effort between ISRO and NASA, launched using the GSLV-F16 rocket, which placed NISAR into a 743-km sun-synchronous orbit 19 minutes post-launch.
Union Minister for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh highlighted this event as a significant milestone in Indo-US space cooperation, emphasizing its utility in continuous monitoring of ecosystem disturbances and natural hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis. The satellite's mission includes tracking subtle changes in Earth's surface and crust, aiding in sea ice classification, ship detection, shoreline monitoring, storm tracking, crop mapping, and soil moisture changes—crucial for governments and disaster management.
NISAR, or NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, provides high-resolution data in all weather conditions, enabling scientists to monitor critical environmental changes. It can detect ground deformation, ice sheet movement, and vegetation dynamics. Weighing approximately 2,393 kgs, NISAR features a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar system utilizing NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band, and marks ISRO's 102nd mission from Sriharikota, as well as its first GSLV launch focused on a radar-based Earth observation satellite.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar
