India-US collaboration in space, NISAR satellite launch today: Know what it will study
An acronym for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, NISAR appears to be a crucial step in boosting ties between India and United States on space exploration.
A combination of human skills and exchange of software and hardware between the two space agencies for over a decade, the satellite aims to study Earth as a whole from what has been called a Sun-synchronous orbit, reported news agency PTI.
When is NISAR set to launch?
The countdown for the launch commenced at 2.10 pm on July 29 and has been progressing. The mission would be classified into launch phase, deployment phase, commissioning phase and science phase, ISRO announced in its official X handle.
"GSLV-F16/NISAR Today's the day! Launch Day has arrived for GSLV-F16 and NISAR. GSLV-F16 is standing tall on the launch pad. NISAR is ready. Liftoff today," ISRO wrote on X, on Wednesday.
What does NISAR look like?
With a weight of about 2,393 kg, and a life of about 5 years, NISAR is expected to fly on a 51.7 metre tall, three stage, GSLV-F16 rocket at a prefixed time of 5.40 pm on Wednesday, from the second launch pad at Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota spaceport, situated about 135 km from Chennai.
What will NISAR study?
The NISAR mission is targeted to study the Earth and would provide information to global scientific fraternity, ISRO said.
The satellite's primary objectives are to study land and ice deformation, land ecosystems, and oceanic regions in areas of common interest to the United States and Indian science communities.
The satellite would also be able to study seasonal changes on forest dynamics, mountain shifts, glacier movements in the Himalayas and Antarctica, North and South poles, reported news agency PTI.
How long did it take to develop NISAR?
The complex payloads and mainframe systems in the mission have been designed, developed, and realised over a period of 8 to 10 years, PTI quoted ISRO as saying.
Scientists from ISRO and NASA were jointly involved in extensive collaborations.
After reaching the initial orbital conditions on Wednesday, scientists would engage in 'commissioning' the satellite.
ISRO joins hands with NASA
The spacecraft and the launch system are developed by ISRO while the L-band Radar system, high speed downlink system, GPS receiver are delivered by NASA.
ISRO is responsible for the satellite and commanding operations, while NASA would provide the orbit manoeuver and RADAR operations plan.
What is the initial plan?
The first 90 days after launch would be dedicated to commissioning or to perform in-orbit checkout. The in-orbit checkout will prepare the observatory for science operations, ISRO said.
NISAR mission would be aided with ground station support of both the two space agencies for downloading the acquired images, which, after the necessary processing, would be disseminated to the user community.
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