Bangalore: Undeterred by the GSLV-D3 mission
failure, India is going ahead with the launch of an advanced
remote-sensing satellite Cartosat-2B, now tentatively fixed
for May 9 from Sriharikota spaceport.
The high-resolution spacecraft, designed for an operational
life of five years, is slated to be launched from the first
launchpad on May 9 around 10 am, ISRO spokesperson S Satish
told a news agency on Friday.
Yesterday`s GSLV-D3 mission to flight-test the indigenous
cryogenic engine and stage for the first time ended in failure
after the rocket veered off course and plunged into the sea.
GSLV and PSLV missions are independent of each other. ISRO
officials said there is no change in its earlier announced
plans to launch PSLV in the first half of May -- now fixed for
May nine.
"It (Cartosat-2B) will give pictures of 0.8 metre
resolution," ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan has said. In
simple terms, the single panchromatic camera on board this
cartographic satellite would be able to identify and take
pictures of a moving car.
Thus, this highly-agile satellite, weighing around 690 kg,
is expected to give a boost to the tasks of infrastructure and
urban planning. The camera provides scene specific spot
imageries for cartographic and a host of other civilian
applications.
PTI
