28649 - CARTOSAT 1

CARTOSAT 1 is an Indian (ISRO) mapping and remote-sensing satellite that was launched by a PSLV-C6 rocket from Sriharikota on the southeastern coast of India, at 04:44 UT on 2005 May 5. The 1.56-ton satellite carries two f/4.5, Panchromatic cameras, one 26 degrees ahead of the nadir, and another at 5 degrees behind the nadir. Together they enable a stereoscopic image at a resolution of 2.5 m. Both cameras scan cross-track to image a swath of 30 km with the images being stored in a 12,000 pixel CCD. It stores the data in 120 GB memory to be downlinked over Indian (or Indonesian and Russian) passes. The data from the satellite will help in topographic mapping, land use, forest cover, and river flow assessment. The initial orbital parameters were period 97.1 min, apogee 622 km, perigee 620 km, and inclination 97.9 degrees.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2005-05-10
Launch Vehicle: PSLV
Launch Site: Sriharikota, India
Mass: 1560.0 kg