NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite to be launched on July 30: ISRO
The GSLV-F16 rocket will inject the NISAR satellite into a 743 km Sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98.40 degrees.
The NISAR satellite, weighing 2,392 kg, is a unique Earth observation satellite, and the first satellite to observe the Earth with a dual frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) — NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band — both using NASA's 12m unfurlable mesh reflector antenna, integrated to ISRO's modified I3K satellite bus, according to ISRO.
NISAR will observe Earth with a swathe of 242 km and high spatial resolution, using SweepSAR technology for the first time.
'The satellite will scan the entire globe and provide all weather, day and night data at 12-day intervals, and enable a wide range of applications. NISAR can detect even small changes in the Earth's surface, such as ground deformation, ice sheet movement, and vegetation dynamics. Further applications include sea ice classification, ship detection, shoreline monitoring, storm characterization, changes in soil moisture, mapping and monitoring of surface water resources, and disaster response,' the ISRO stated.
It further added that the NISAR launch is the result of strong technical cooperation between ISRO and the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory technical teams for more than a decade.
Multiple ISRO centres have contributed to NISAR, including the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, which is providing the mission's S-band SAR, and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, which is providing the spacecraft bus.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
India's space sector evolved; primed for job creation, investments: IAFI President Bharat Bhatia
New Delhi: Bharat Bhatia , President of ITU-APT Foundation of India ( IAFI ) on Thursday applauded the opening up of the Indian space sector and said that it holds immense potential for job creation and new investments. IAFI held its 2nd India Space Policy Conference here in the national capital. According to IAFI website, it is working for last 20 years with the prime objective of encouraging involvement of professionals, corporate, public and private sector industries, R&D organizations, academic institutions, and such other agencies engaged in development of ICT sector, in the activities of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT). "India has opened up the space to the private sector and the way the policy has evolved, it is going to bring in a lot of new jobs, a lot of new investment," Bhatia told ANI. In India, the space sector has been liberalised and private sector allowed to carry out end to end space activities. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was created in Department of Space for promoting, authorising and overseeing the activities of Non-Government Entities (NGEs) in space sector. The number of Space Start-Ups in India have gone up, from just 1 in 2014 to around 266 as of end of 2024, government data showed. "We believe just like what's happening in the US, we will have a lot of Indian companies working in the area of space and creating a lot of opportunities for it is going to provide a lot of job opportunities," he supplemented. He also termed TRAI recommendations on opening up the communications sector as "pro industry ". "India has been working on a policy framework for opening the communication sector to the private and the TRAI has given the recommendations earlier this year in May, and DoT (Department of Telecommunications) is now trying to finalise those recommendations. These are very good recommendations actually. They are very pro industry," he said. Noting that a significant portion of remote places in India still remains unconnected, he said satellite internet services will help connect them. Dr Laura Roberti, Director for Spectrum and Market Access in Telesat, said there is a "strong wish, a desire, a need for satellite services, for additional satellite services in India." Tony Azzarelli of OneWeb said they have been working on providing services in India, pending regulatory approval. "We've been very busy for the past 2 years to provide services in India. We're just waiting for the final touches of the regulations, which are actually very important," he told ANI. In countries like India in general, he said there is room for all the players, both the GSO and non-GSO players. Satellite telecom in India will help the country provide much-needed services in remote interior places where conventional telecom services tend to be costly.


NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Harvard Scientist Claims Rare Interstellar Object Might Be "Alien Technology"
A Harvard Scientist claimed that 3I/ATLAS, a rare and mysterious visitor of our solar system, might be a piece of "alien technology". The comet is the third known object ever discovered coming from outside our solar system. Theoretical physicist Professor Avi Loeb told Newsweek that an alien civilisation could have sent the object. The object has been categorised as interstellar because of the hyperbolic shape of its orbital path. It does not follow a closed orbital path about the Sun, NASA explained. The space agency mentioned that the comet is simply passing through our solar system and will continue its journey into interstellar space. "The retrograde orbital plane of 3I/ATLAS around the Sun lies within 5 degrees of that of Earth... The likelihood of that coincidence out of all random orientations is 0.2 per cent," Loeb told the news outlet. 3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1, 2025, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey telescope in Chile. Scientists have estimated that 3I/ATLAS is approximately 10-20 kilometres in diameter, making it the largest interstellar object detected so far. According to Loeb, the brightness of 3I/ATLAS suggests that the object is around 20 kilometres in diameter. He explained that it is "too large for an interstellar asteroid" and "might have targeted the inner Solar System as expected from alien technology". Loeb said that the object lacks features of the comets. "No spectral features of cometary gas are found in spectroscopic observations of 3I/ATLAS," he said. Meanwhile, other scientists are wary of Loeb's claims. Richard Moissl, Head of Planetary Defence at the European Space Agency, told Newsweek: "There have been no signs pointing to non-natural origins of 3I/ATLAS in the available observations." The comet will reach its closest point to the Sun (perihelion) on October 29, 2025, passing just inside Mars' orbit. The astronomers are studying 3I/ATLAS using ground- and space-based telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to learn more about its composition, structure, and origin.


NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
Shubhanshu Shukla Shares His Astrophotography Journey: "Over Time We Got Better"
Shubhanshu Shukla, one of the four Indian Gaganyatris who recently returned from the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom 4 mission, has shared impressive images of the Orion Nebula. Posted on his newly created X (formerly Twitter) account, the photographs were captured from his rooftop in Bengaluru. The images show close-up views of the Orion Nebula, with the Horsehead Nebula clearly visible in the centre. The photographs clicked on the station take some time to received, verified and cleared because of the multiple space agencies involved. While I wait for them I wanted to share an astrophotography story. I started into astrophotography upon returning to India after my first leg… — Shubhanshu Shukla (@gagan_shux) July 24, 2025 Shukla, who is currently undergoing medical evaluations and post-mission recovery, began astrophotography after returning from training in Star City, Russia. He revealed that he often spent free time in the Cupola (a panoramic viewing module on the ISS) capturing views of Earth and outer space. He has promised to release more images and videos taken during his stay in space. These include footage of scientific experiments conducted in microgravity, which ISRO plans to use for educational outreach. The Axiom 4 mission, which included international participation, is seen as a key milestone for ISRO's human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan. The experience gained will support future missions and help ISRO refine its procedures. ISRO is currently preparing for its first uncrewed Gaganyaan flight, expected by the end of 2025, followed by its first crewed mission in 2027.