ISRO-NASA joint satellite NISAR set for launch today from Sriharikota
This landmark mission, over a decade in the making, represents a joint investment of more than $ 1.5 billion and is poised to revolutionize the way natural disasters and environmental changes on Earth are being monitored.
NISAR brings together the technological strengths of both agencies. NASA has provided the L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a high-rate telecommunication subsystem, GPS receivers, and a 12-meter deployable, unfurlable antenna. ISRO, on its part, has contributed the S-Band SAR payload, a customized spacecraft bus to host both payloads, the GSLV-F16 launch vehicle, and all associated launch services.
Weighing 2,392 kilograms, the satellite will be inserted into a sun-synchronous orbit, enabling repeat imaging of Earth's land and ice-covered surfaces every 12 days. The data will be captured using advanced dual-frequency SAR technology, offering high-resolution observations across a wide 242-kilometer swath.
The satellite's radar systems are mounted on the Integrated Radar Instrument Structure (IRIS), and together with the spacecraft bus, they form a comprehensive Earth observation observatory. This joint project, realized by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and ISRO, will support both national priorities and global scientific research, including surface deformation studies using the repeat-pass InSAR technique.
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan highlighted the satellite's round-the-clock capabilities:
'The Earth observation satellite jointly developed by ISRO and NASA will be launched on July 30 by the GSLV-F16. It can take pictures 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions. It will help detect landslides, monitor climate change, and support disaster management.'
According to a press release from the Department of Space, NASA has contributed the L-Band SAR, high-rate telecom subsystem, GPS receivers, and the deployable antenna. ISRO has provided the S-Band SAR, the spacecraft bus, the GSLV-F16 launch vehicle, and all launch services.
NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being jointly developed by NASA and ISRO. NISAR will map the entire globe in 12 days and provide spatially and temporally consistent data for understanding changes in Earth's ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, ground water and natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides. NISAR.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said 'The July 30 NISAR launch from Sriharikota will upscale ISRO's international collaborations. Missions like NISAR are no longer confined to scientific curiosity—they are instrumental in planning, risk assessment, and policy intervention. As climate change impacts intensify, timely and accurate data from satellites like NISAR will be indispensable for governments to act proactively.'
The event marks a defining moment in the journey of Indo-US space cooperation and also in ISRO's overall international collaborations, he said.
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